It’s a perfect day in Lisbon. Sunny, warm, a cool breeze. We couldn’t ask for better weather sailing in along the picturesque Targus river and then docking at Appalonia dock – the closest dock to town. Yes!
We’re docked and hard alongside before 3pm, even without our stern thrusters. Gangway is on the same deck as our cabin so we are outside in a matter of minutes. Today we are planning to just wander up to through the Alfama district to the Sao Jorge castle, then down again, looking for a Fado café (that great soulful Portuguese singing tradition here in Lisbon). Unfortunately, our timing is off – it’s too late for lunch Fado and too early for dinner Fado, so….we end up just hoofing it up the hill and back down to sea level again, stopping only for photos of the city from above and of course all the trolleys! Heck – it’s our gym for the day!
Back down by the port though, there are tons of little restaurants and cafes, so we select one for a beer and wine. They aren’t serving food yet – but we had noticed a lot of signs for Caracois – snails!!! Must be in season. After our liquid refreshment, we head back up the street and stop at a cute little café that has the Caracois sign.
Wow! The lady inside (who I’m calling Mama) cooks us up caracois like you wouldn’t believe! Tons of the little delicacies, all soaked in olive oil, spices and vegetables. That and a beer and wine – 4.90 Euros. Incredible!
After our little snack, we headed back to the ship so we could relax a bit before dinner. Right outside the port entrance there was a large building with restaurants and a bar – we wandered in and one of the places, Musicais, was open and pounded out the music, DJ style. We were all excited – figuring we’d come back here after dinner and actually listen to some music outside of the big band era. Yay!
So, happy hour, dinner, then out on the town. We hit the dock at 9:00 and headed straight to Musicais – no one there, no lights except behind the bar. Hmmmmm….asked a girl who didn’t speak English at the restaurant next door when Musicais opened and eventually she pantomimed 10 (with 10 fingers held up – then shrugged). OK, well, we’ll just wander around and stop here on our way back.
Out in Alfama, it’s a beautiful night – people all over, restaurants busy. Unfortunately, we were right in the middle of dinner service, so we couldn't really just hang out somewhere for the Fado. We settled for a little café on the corner of a square where we had beer and wine and just enjoyed the evening – and the people watching.
Drinks done, we meandered back to the ship –stopping at Musicais which sadly was not open at all – locked up tight. Bummer. So back aboard we went – settling into our room for a quick episode of House – and then to bed to get ready for our morning tour the next day.
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