I Love LISBON!

Day nine was spent in beautiful Lisbon. I want to come back and spend more time here. Once again, we pulled into port in the early morning hours. I'm not a morning person, but I was up and on our balcony as we approached.

And then as the sun rose, I got some great pictures of the city.

Lisbon at dawn

The day before we arrived, we attended a lecture on board to tell us all about the city. That's where I learned about the tiles in Lisbon and was looking forward to seeing them. But let me say that it's one thing to see them in pictures, but it's another to see them in person. They are spectacular. Some create optical illusions of movement, while others are just pretty to look at.

After we disembarked, I boarded one of the Hop On/Hop Off buses for a circuit of the city, before getting off and starting to walk.

This apartment building caught my eye from the bus; I think the face is  rather startling and they were on more than one side of the building. I wonder if after living in the building for a while, you'd not even notice them.

There was so much to see and so little time, that I just enjoyed the ride and snapped away. 

Jeronimos Monastery

When I got off the bus, I began walking in the general direction of port, so that I could work my way back to the ship.

 My walk carried me through Rossi Square, where I was fascinated with the artistry of the tiles. The tiles truly look like they are undulating.

As I continued meandering, I stumbled on Casa Portuguesa do Pastel de Bacalhua, makers for more than 100 years of Pasteis de bacalhau, or cod fish cakes. It's a hand pie of sorts, Being a lover of most things that are fried and contain cheese, I tried one. Pretty tasty.

My time in Lisbon was drawing to an end and I continued my walk back to the ship. I saw lots of people of color and wondered if they descended from the Moors or if they are Brazilians. I saw the first Starbucks since landing in Europe and being a "typical" American, had to make a stop.

We also learned why we hadn't gotten our passports stamped in the ports. Apparently, you have to request it and only Americans ever ask. Clearly, the customs officer doesn't want to stamp 3,000 passports every time a ship pulls in.

Back on board, I chilled on the balcony to watch the city as we pulled out. 

Late afternoon sun on Lisbon

We passed under the replica of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. Lisbon also has a replica of Rio's Christ the Redeemer statue, called Cristo Rei. We said farewell, but I will be back.

Vasco de Gama Bridge in Lisbon

Cristo Rei 

Until next time...