Garin planned this day out as impeccably as he did our first day. There were a lot of moving parts and he didn't miss a beat, other than waking up and realizing that he left his much-needed copy of the Portugal guidebook behind on the plane. Luckily there was another copy of the same book in our Airbnb (although a much older version that he insisted was outdated). After a few tense moments, we got out the door and recovered from that snafu. It's traveling after all, which means it's all but guaranteed that something is going go wrong. As I told Garin as he grew frustrated about the leaving the book behind on the plane, "It could be worse, my wallet or our passports could have been stolen, or we could have been hit by a crazy Portuguese driver speeding around a tight corner of the many narrow road we have encountered" There's nothing like a reality check to put thing in perspective.
With one less day in Lisbon than we had originally planned for, Garin had a long day planned for us, but at least we stayed fairly close to home, which was nice. We explored the Baixa-Chiado neighborhoods (https://www.travel-in-portugal.com/lisbon/baixa-chiado ). Still contending with jet lag and spending many hours sightseeing on foot, I was really proud of the kids for being such troopers.
Garin chose great activities and we really enjoyed exploring this historic heart and commercial center of Lisbon. There were wonderful monuments, town squares, quaint shops, gorgeous churches, enticing cafes, and so much more to experience.
The weather was picture-perfect, which made the day all that much better. With the weather in the low-to-mid-70s, with a constant ocean breeze, you couldn't ask for anything better.
Praca do Comercio, the heart of the city overlooking the Rio Tejo (Tagus River).
We stopped for a mid-morning snack of these special Portuguese cod cakes, called pastel de bacalhau. They really hit the spot!
We visited the Church of St. Dominic and took at break at this beautiful fountain at Rossio Square.
Lunch was scrumptious with many traditional Portuguese dishes. Miles, on the other hand, went for the predictable burger and fries.
We took the funicular up a very steep hill to the Barrio Alto neighborhood, with the most resplendent views of the city. And yes, those are bras, decoratively hanging over the street. You'd never see that in the United States. I love Europe!
Everyone took another little break and sat by the fountain to enjoy some time off our feet.
For dinner we decided to go light and eat at home. We made various stops along the way to pick up provisions. We stopped at a famous Pasteis de Nata store a few blocks from our apartment. While out shopping, we came upon this lady with her dolled up cat. The feline appeared to have a large collection of hats which she compliantly wore while she napped on the window sill.
For dinner we had two kinds of fresh baked bread from the bakery around the corner, European butter, two delicious local cheeses, grapes, cherries, and the Pasteis de Nata for dessert. It was a perfect light meal after a long day out.
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