Mile 34: Lisbon Reunion!

The ship’s arrival into Lisbon was an especially happy day for me because it meant I would get to see Mom and Dad after almost 1.5 months at sea (yay!). I love my sea family – friends who I’ve traveled with on the ship – but I was really looking forward to the comfort of connecting once again with my own loved ones. Since I was spending a few days with them, I packed a bag of clothes and headed out to their hotel.
The trek took longer than expected because the ship was not docked near any major taxi stands. After walking a ways, I found a kind Portuguese gentleman and his mother who pointed me in the direction of the correct bus (language barrier, shmanguage barrier!). I arrived safely and gave both my parents a huge hug. I passed along trinkets from my travels so far: cardigans and scarves for mom and SAS gear for Dad. They, in turn, showed me the massive bag full of homemade snacks I could take back to the ship!

We made plans to head to Sintra, a small town outside of Lisbon known for its historic castles. I had heard about these castles before and almost everyone who visited Lisbon previously had told me to make the trek up the mountain to see them. After multiple train rides and a bank stop, we arrived at the base of the mountain. Chitchatting and eating Indian snacks brought by mom made the trek go by very quickly. Mom and Dad had been in Lisbon for the past few days and they told stories of their hop on hop off tour and delicious Indian feast the night before. They marveled at the height of statues and large park in the city center and giggled at their ability to speak “Portuguese” with only hand gestures; they seemed to have really enjoyed their first European experience!

It was a really warm day and heading up the mountain by bus brought cooler breezes and sweeping views of Lisbon. At the top, we bought tickets to the Pena Palace and were floored by the magnificent castle. In warm hues of marigold, royal blue and blush pink, the castle walls stood prominently on top of the hill. On one side, the lookout point displayed the west coast of Portugal, truly stunning and expansive views all the way to the coast. Some of the castle was being renovated so we couldn’t see it all, but some of the rooms included religious alters and figurines. We ran into Dr. Mark and Erin at the castle, who stated that they had walked all the way up the mountain to see it (on such a hot day? What were you thinking??)

After a sandwich lunch (with lots of water) pit stop, we walked to the Palacio National and were treated to some really cool architecture and art. The multiple room building included remarkable furniture pieces, exclusive artwork and lots of tiled walls. I couldn’t get over the colors of the tiles: deep blue, white, green, yellow. The kitchen was mom’s favorite! It was a very large room with two chimneys, a wall length fireplace for cooking and dozens of bronze pots of various sizes. Mom kept saying, I could make so much daal in that thing! We sat on the cool concrete floor in the kitchen for a while, just taking in the view and thinking about the communal aspect of this country. How nice is it that the kitchen is twice the size of the bedroom!

Following the inside of the Palacio National, we ventured outside to the multi-tiered gardens. Even though it was quite hot outside, Dad made an uphill beeline to see the views of Sintra from the top. He is a real lover of nature and plants and the manicured planter boxes with various local species were a special treat for him. The gardens, though small, were very beautiful and included blue tiled walls, beautiful roses and a lion sculpture. We sat at the top for a while, taking in the cool breezes and getting a reprieve from the heat. We headed back into the town of Sintra where mom bought souvenirs with her spectacular bargaining skills (seriously, she has a PhD in it). It was so nice to have time with the parents. They are cool people and even if I weren’t their kid, I would want to spend loads of time with them. So glad they came to visit during the SAS voyage!

On our way back, I shared stories of ship life with them and told them about my favorite ports (France was not included!). We ate dinner in town at a McDonalds (I know I know, but its not a bad word in Europe if you’re looking for wifi), since we couldn’t find a veggie restaurant anywhere (after walking for almost an hour!), and then headed to bed early.

The next morning, we got dressed early and left to get on the MV Explorer. I had made arrangements for Mom and Dad to board the ship for the day because I really wanted them to see it. Mom had brought so many snacks for me that it took both Sylvia and Vladimir to ok all the ingredients (although I still think some of that stuff wasn’t supposed to be allowed on board, thanks Vladimir!) They both loved the ship, especially my room and Glazer lounge. Dad drank coffee and enjoyed the views from Glazer and Mom thought the salad bar at lunch was delicious. We ate lunch in the Garden Lounge, and snapped a few photos of my cabin; I introduced them to some of the folks we ran into on board as well. Then, we left to see Lisbon for the day.

We had decided to travel by hop on hop off again today to make travel easy but the ship was not very close to any of the stops so we walked for a while in the heat (not fun!). Finally, we caught the local bus to the famous Jeronimos Monastery in Lisbon. Even though I had told Mom and Dad not to visit it before I got to Lisbon, they couldn’t help themselves and thus, had already seen it – much to my chagrin. Hmph. So, I wandered in for a while without them and the church was definitely worth a visit. The size was overwhelming and it reminded me a lot of Notre Dame in Paris. 

Then, we walked over to the Monument to the Discoveries on the other side. It was quite warm so we headed for shade whenever we could. We rode the hop on hop off around the city for a while (thank goodness for air conditioning!) and I got to see the many hills around Lisbon. It was such a compact city and the rooftops all glimmered in shades of terracotta. We hopped off at a few locations to do some shopping and get water.

Our final stop was the Pombaline downtown center (Baixa) and we walked through the Rua Augusta pedestrian street to the famous Rua Augusta Arch and onto the large and picturesque Commerce Square. That area was really one of my favorites in the city because the architecture was very quirky and eclectic – one place had decorated its exterior walls with dozens of surfboards! The heat was quite unbearable by the afternoon so Dad and I took some photos and then we all headed back to the hotel near the Marques de Pombal. I only got to see the city for about half a day, and I definitely want to return, but Lisbon seemed to be very quaint city. The next time I go to Lisbon, I definitely want to see some of the higher viewpoints and go to St. George’s castle. Must return! That night, we ate a quick dinner and then packed our bags for the airport. We were heading to Seville!