April 27, 2024 Lisbon, Portugal, 8 days left of 138 days

 

Lisbon, Portugal day one. Mike took some pictures as we were coming up the river. On the left is Christ the King statue.  It was fashioned after Brazil's Christ the Redeemer Statue. This is just a glimpse of the bridge they say was fashioned after the Golden Gate bridge.

Once the pilot reaches our ship it won't be long before we are tied up. The buses are usually lined up to take us off to places to see.

We are off today to the Medieval Obidos. It is a hilltop city that has a labyrinth of narrow warrens and whitewashed houses. When King Dinis married Isabel of Aragon in 1282 this city was her wedding gift. 

We entered through the 14th century gate.

Below was the view as we drove into the city surrounding this walled city.

The aquaduct brought water to the residents of the city. This was built by the Romans. Mike and I took our picture just out side of the wall with the end of the aquaduct.

We entered the gate to the city, and could hear this pair singing Opera. She was very young, and he was either her father or voice  coach. The acoustics here were amazing, and both their voices made for beautiful music. Everyone stopped to enjoy their talent. Mike had to drop some bills in the hat.

They told us not to walk up to the top of the wall as it was dangerous. I only walked up this far, and it was enough for me, but I had to have the picture. There are people going up and down, and no handrails. Mike was at the bottom to give me a hand down.

In the middle of the walled city is Santa Maria Church. It is known for its frescoes, elaborate hand-painted tiles and stately Renaissance columns. In 1441 Afonso V famously married his cousin, eight year old Isabel here. It was a different time. 

This is considered one of a sculptor, that we can't remember the name of, greatest works. They were very proud of it.

We made it to the top of the castle, and this is the view of the surrounding area. The day looks cloudy, but the weather was predicted to be raining, and we had a little rain as we drove to the city, we were able to do our full tour in perfect weather, and it started raining shortly after we got on the road back to the ship. Perfect!

This is a pastry the area is famous for. We did not try it here, but had it for dinner later back on the ship. The crust is flaky, and the filling recipe dates back to the earliest times. The Nun's would use the egg whites to starch their habits. This left them with a surplus of egg yolks. They came up with this recipe, and each area or town has a slight variation of the recipe. One particular bakery has the original recipe, and the owner and a few employees who sign a confidentiality contract to never share the recipe. It is custard like, but seems to have more spices in it.

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We found these working phone booths. I asked Mike to step in and look like he was using it. As I was setting up the picture, this family stopped by to place a call to Grandma so they could teach their kids how to use it. Mike had a good time talking to the kids.

Our guide Phillip was excellent. They are responsible to keep track of us, move us from place to place to make sure we see all we can see, and how they keep the dates, Kings, and history all in their heads makes mine spin. We are enjoying our day.

This is a cork tree. The bark is removed to make corks. Here in Portugal they have expanded their use, and they make purses, bags, placemats, shoes, and any number of other items. It filled a whole little shop.

Our drive home was beautiful rural area with grapevines, and other crops.

They are working to harness the wind for power, and seemed happy with the wind turbines. Note the picture below, there is a small Dutch windmill between the two larger wind turbines. Look closely.

Once back on the ship we took off for our next port. We are hoping for calmer seas tomorrow.

Here was our view of their Golden Gate bridge look a like as we sailed by.