All along the Mediterranean Cruise - Lisbon

Sunrise coming into the Tagus

The Belém Tower

Prince Henry the Navigator

At breakfast, the Captain confessed to being two hours late, so we did not get going until 11. The view coming into the Tagus from the wind-blasted top deck was worth bracing oneself for.

We walked into the city & stopping for a coffee on the way. The square, the Praça do Commercio, is right on the river front & spectacular, with a statue of the baby-face King Joseph I but dressed to kill.

Arco Triunfel in Praça do Commercio

A corner of the Praça

Over-ornate building

Praça do Commercio

Baby-face King Joseph

Back of Arco Triunfel

Antique trams

The Lift

Main shopping street

Running inland was a pedestrianised main shopping street, in a rubbish shop on which, we bought a doll for Bessie the grand daughter. The King Pedro Square at the end had tromp l-oeil paving that looks undulating but is actually flat. This has the National Theatre at the top. We walk past it on the right & up to another open space & back, stopping for an expensive but amazing lunch of several different types of fish. Back to the Pedro Square, we went a bit wrong going up but saw part of the inhabitants part of Lisbon.

St. Dominic's Church

Back through the Figuera Square, pick up some Euros & back to the ship.

On a Fred's ship, the Rosario Trio are an easy-listening group but this incarnation had Joyce, a Phillippina violinist, who was excellent & made listening to them a joy in itself, as she improvised around every tune. I would have liked to hear her play with the similarly excellent Phoenix Jazz Band but the timetables never worked out. The next day, I gave another buckshee lecture, on Liszt, which I had had time to much revise. One more day at sea, across a calm Bay of Biscay, got us back to Portsmouth. In the afternoon, the Boudicca Choir gave a concert, Avis being among them in their tuxes & posh dresses. In just three weeks, Tony Metcalfe had drilled this rabble into a quite good choral society. All credit to him & them.