Short hop over to Lisbon Portugal…a metroplex housing 3 million vs Madrid at almost 6 million. Still LOTS of traffic. Lots to see and luckily our apartment was in the perfect location. The city is filled with bright yellow trams clattering by and all the streets are cobble stoned, giving my new knee a huge challenge. The building are covered in bright azulejo tiles which summon your eyes at every turn.

Unique experience first night we arrived. Got an Uber to drive us over the Lisbon version of the “Golden Gate Bridge” to see their relics of Rio’s THE CHRIST. Had read about a little seafood cafe called the Ponte Final (Final Point) down on the waterfront in the same area. After 20 minutes of winding thru the narrow alleys of an almost deserted small fishing village, and the Uber driver was cussing his GPS and then turned into a dead end alley, was backing up and hit the corner of a building😝…several minutes later, he finally pulled up to a dead end overlooking the ocean, with no a soul in sight in any direction, and told us to “get out” and if we walked 10 minutes down the beach, we would find our restaurant. Somewhat scared and confused, we did as we were told. At one point, there was a really steep slick hill that I managed to conquer with Cissy’s help…and finally the vision of the side of an old building appeared…when we came around the corner there it was… Final Point. There were small metal chairs and tables on the deck but ALL tables inside were reserved… oh yeah, it WAS Valentine’s Day.🤪 so we persevered the wind and breaking waves and had ourselves a feast on the deck. No challenge is too great for 2 TEXAS ladies!

We caught the best view of the city at the Castelo de S. Jorge, a hilltop Moorish castle & palace ruins dating back as early as 48BC. All the rooftops are orangish red clay tiles and the houses are painted in pastel colors. When you look out across the rooftops and plazas to the Tagus River, it looks like a painting…everything is crisp and clean. The castle itself is mostly ruins, but the view makes it well worth the visit. Lisbon, like many other European cities, is full of small alleyways and sidewalk cafes. Breakfast was the world famous “pastel de nata” egg custard pastry from a local street bakery. Lunch at 28 cafe, hidden in an alley near the oldest landmark in Lisbon, Torre de Igreja (Bell Tower) included our first try at a “hamburger”. As most know, I’m pretty picky with my hamburgers since our family’s claim to fame is that my Uncle Fletcher “invented” the hamburger. Their version was on a sourdough type bun with grilled onions, a white cheese, some type of orange sauce and the meat was definitely NOT 100% beef…LOL. Think I’ll stick with seafood which is absolutely fresh and delicious here.

One afternoon we walked the riverbank to see the Belem Tower, which was build in 1514 as a fortification serving as a point of embarkation and disembarkation for Portuguese explorers and as a ceremonial gateway to Lisbon. It was originally set on small island in the middle of the river, but when the 1755 earthquake basically destroyed the town of Lisbon, it redirected the river and now the tower sits almost on the shore line. There’s alot to see in this area, especially people strolling the Riverwalk enjoying the sunshine and fresh air. Remember they all live in those tiny apts above the stores with no trees or yards in which to enjoy the outdoors.

After an incredible seafood dinner our last night, and gathering up 6 pastel de natas for the road….we decided enough is enough of big cities and traffic..let’s head to the countryside and ocean. Onward to Sintra…