John started the day helping relocate his family to the airport, whilst Bob and Gill finished the housework.  I had the lame excuse of packing and writing the blog.  It was a very easy journey back to Lisbon with Johns expert driving.  We took the longer route to Lisbon so that we could cross the Vasco de Gama bridge which is the longest bridge across water in Europe, at the time of its opening it was the longest bridge over water in the world.  17km long.  So long that when designing it they had to factor in the curvature of the earth.  Trust me it is long, just when you think it is coming to an end you see more bridge.

Then back through the narrow streets of Alfama, you remember the tales from the last blog when we arrived.  Similar experience but during the day it was a little easier and John was an expert.  Below is a picture to demonstrate how narrow the streets are.

Not much room for error here.  Back to our favourite hotel in Lisbon and a comfy bed.  One thing I was not sad about was leaving the bed and pillow that we have had for the last two weeks.  I need a month of physio to get my back and neck to normal.  The bed was so hard you had to turn over every 30 mins otherwise you felt like you were getting a bed sore.  The pillow was made of lumpy foam that dispersed when you put your head on it – I mean what is the use of that.

We checked in and went straight out to explore the streets of the Old Town, this was amazing.  Exceeded both of our expectations.  We lunched and met up with Bob and Gill for more exploring.  The photos will tell the tales – you just meander up and down streets and come across things like the oldest book store in the world, a giant quilt covering the facade of a building site, cobbled streets that are uneven and slippery as hell but the effort that has gone into the making of them cannot be overlooked.   There are touts trying to get you to lunch in their bar, Ella Fitzgerald playing as you walk past.  Convivial, atmospheric and cultural are words I would use to describe it.  Then you come across monuments that tower over everything, trams jingle and clang behind you – over all a very tiring but thoroughly enjoyable day out.  See the photos

Back to the hotel to shower and then meet up with Bob and Gill for cocktails and dinner.  They met us at our hotel room as it has a wonderful terrace.  We had a cocktail or two there and decided to stay there for dinner as it was just gorgeous.  So great to catch up with those guys and have some one to one time with them.

It was an early start so we were all tired, and I was so looking forward to that soft luxurious linen and bed with oodles of feather pillows to rest my sore aching neck on.

Did we make Patty laugh?  No, we made her cry!

Categories: Portugal

Shaz Thompson

Mad about golf, enthusiastic about life, totally in love with my husband and just having fun.