DAY 1

Monday 8th October

We had a leisurely start to the first day of our holiday as our flight to Heathrow wasn't due to take off until lunchtime. This gave us plenty of time to check that the windows were locked and the gas was shut off at least fifteen times, so that we could go away with an easy mind.

Elain and Cameron drove us to the airport which was good as we had plenty time for a cup of tea, before British Airways whisked us south to Heathrow on time. The flight went without incident and, because our bags were checked through to Lisbon, getting off the plane was stress free.

We were met by Bob's cousin Marilyn who should have whisked us to our hotel, but instead took us on a tour of the environs of Heathrow airport, which was instructive, but ultimately futile. Happily we got checked in and arranged a wake up call and a taxi to take us to the airport in the early hours of the morning. Marilyn then did a repeat of the hotel journey, but in a different order just to keep us interested. Eventually, we made it to her home in Ascot.

We had tea and biscuits in her posh garden shed.

Not long after, Bob's Aunt Toodles and cousin, Lorraine and husband Roger arrived, which was very nice. We had a lot to catch up on, not least Roger's toilet habits! Luckily these have become a bit more normalised than of late and we were able to thoroughly enjoy the very nice meal that Marilyn had lovingly prepared for us all after a glass of champagne.

Marilyn had even gone to the trouble of hand carving solid blocks of butter for our delectation and delight.

We had a seafood extravaganza to start with, which was fresh and light on the palate and just what we needed. It was well paired with a nice Pouilly Fume.

  The main course was a delicious chicken casserole with lots of fresh vegetables - just delightful.

This splendid repast was finished off with the highlight of the meal - a fresh and tangy lemon meringue pie which just melted in the mouth.

Well done to Marilyn and thanks to her for picking us up from the airport, feeding and watering us and then taking us back to our hotel, albeit by a circuitous route again.

We had a great evening and it really was good to catch up with everyone.

The perfect start to our holiday.

DAY 2

9TH OCTOBER - LISBON

After a good night's sleep at the hotel, we got a taxi straight to the airport and breezed through security in search of a light breakfast, which we found easily.

The flight to Lisbon left on time and arrived a bit early.

We were met by Fatima from  Viking, who arranged for us and the other couple on the flight to be taken to our hotel in Lisbon in a nice big black Mercedes people carrier.

We were at the hotel in about half an hour and were met by Bob's Canadian cousin, Michael in the foyer of the hotel. We went to the Viking desk and were given a glass of fruit juice and some little canapes along with all the information we needed for the first day or two. We could not check in to our rooms as it was a bit early in the day, but our bags were taken care of. Michael's wife Cindy soon came down to join us, and Bob & Michael managed their first beer of the holiday.

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It was very warm in Lisbon, with bright blue skies. Michael and Cindy had arranged a private walking tour of the hidden gems of the city in the afternoon, so we had to change out of our travelling clothes and into shorts and shirts. Luckily we were able to use Michael and Cindy's room for this.

We took a taxi down to the ? cathedral where we were to meet our guide for the tour, Isabel. It was hard to miss the cathedral and we waited for a few minutes for Isabel to meet us on the steps.

Isabel gave us a brief history of the cathedral and then took us inside - the first of many trips inside churches on this holiday. Apparently, parts of the cathedral survived the great earthquake of 1755 which destroyed huge parts of the city. We would hear a lot about this earthquake over the coming days.

The interior of the church was quite impressive, but, frankly, not anything like as ornate as some of those we would see late in the trip.

Our walk took continued through some nice gardens and into more residential areas of the city, with a much more intimate architectural style. These areas were built after the 1755 earthquake.

It was quite a quaint and charming neighbourhood, with lots to wonder at.

Trademark tiled buildings.

Some "interesting" new architecture.

Isabel took us to a local market, which not only sold everyday food, but also had little restaurants and wine shops. It was a delight.

An amazing array of tinned sardines.

It also had a gin bar that we had to drag Sharon away from, kicking screaming.

We had not really had lunch and the market had made us so hungry, that we were really pleased that Isabel took us to an award winning cafe that was reputed to make the best Pastel de Nata in Lisbon. So we sat down in eager anticipation. 

We were not disappointed. They were very good and not really big enough for our hunger, but they do come in at 250 calories each, which is quite a lot for four dainty mouthfuls in each tart.

Suitably fortified, we pressed on into more up-market areas, including the embassy quarter.

 There were some delightful tiling details in unexpected places.

 There were views down the streets to the River Tagus. 

Famous Lisbon trams.

One utterly over the top house with bizarre ceramic decorations.

 After a short tram ride (in a modern tram rather than one of the famous old ones) Isabel took us to our final destination - the LX Factory. This was a a previously deserted and run down industrial area that had now become an artistic and creative hub.

There were giant bees on the walls.... 

 ...purple ceramic pigeons flying past manufactured holes in the wall.....

.....and a very adventurous baby!

There was an amazing book shop.

However, we were in need of sustenance and not education. Isabel left us here and we set about finding somewhere to have a late lunch -it didn't take us too long!

First up a cold drink and some olives and nuts while we decided what to eat.

The poster at the bar said it all.

I couldn't agree more.

There was pata negra ham, bread, oil, hummus, it was all delicious and just what we needed.

After that we caught a taxi back to the hotel, checked into our room, had a rest and shower, then it was time to go out for dinner which Michael had booked. The restaurant called Peixaria de Esquina is not enormous but it is well known for the seafood. The waiter was magnificent and explained everything and recommended some very nice local wines.

We started by sharing a ceviche of Sea Bass with chilli, dried tomatoes and coriander and lobster with asparagus with an orange sauce. It was utterly beguiling and even Sharon enjoyed the ceviche.

Michael and Bob shared a grilled turbot with roasted vegetables. Wonderful.

It was taken off the bone at the table.

 Sharon and Cindy both went for the Prawns with a light and fragrant curry sauce and pistachio and coriander rice.

We all shared a caramel and pistachio tart and a chocolate mousse,  which had been mixed through with some marinaded figs - heavenly.

A glass of 20 year old port to finish the meal and the first day in Portugal. It all augured well for a very good holiday.

DAY 3

WEDNESDAY 10TH OCTOBER - LISBON

Wednesday was another bright and sunny day and at 9 am we were on the bus for the start of our tour of Cosmopolitan Lisbon. Our guide was Fatima, who had met us at the airport.

The first stop was the Tower of Belem, which is pronounced in a nasal kind of way that I cannot replicate with the written word. It was actually quite busy here as there were lots of other buses visiting this landmark site in Lisbon.

This area in general is important in Portuguese history as the starting point for many of the voyages of discovery undertaken by Portuguese mariners and explorers throughout the ages. Indeed, the first thing we stopped to admire was this monument to the first aerial crossing of the south Atlantic from Portugal to Brazil. This took place in 1922.

Rather more prosaically, this street vendor opposite, lets you squeeze your own orange juice by pedalling the bike! It was a bit too energetic for us to do that.

 Here we all are in front of the Tower.

The Tower was completed in 1519 and is considered to be a very fine example of Manueline architecture, so named after King Manuel I who ruled Portugal at about that time. It is a rich and slightly idiosyncratic Gothic style of architecture, but it does look pretty good.

 Surprisingly, we did not visit the nearby Monument of the Discoveries, which was built in 1960, to commemorate the many voyages of discovery that left from this part of Lisbon. I managed to take this photo with the zoom lens just to show that it is still there. 

 It was a very short bus ride to our next stop, the Monastery of St Jerome. This is a splendid Gothic and Manueline building that took 100 years to build from 1501 to 1601.

It is astonishingly beautiful both inside and out.

As  you might expect, it has some quite nice cloisters inside as well.

Vasco da Gama was entombed here. He was, as you will remember from school, the first European to reach India by sea in 1499.

 Happily Viking had sorted out tickets to get in, so no queuing for us. Even more happily, Fatima had arranged to meet us, after our tour of the monastery, in a little cafe where we managed a quick cuppa and another of those delicious little custard tarts.

It was here that I came across this long tea bag - I've never seen one of these before. It was actually very good.

Then it was back on the bus to go to the Alfama area of the city. This had once been under the domination of the Moors, but later was a bit of a Jewish enclave. It was typified by tiny squares, white churches and narrow streets.

The area of Alfama lies below the old Moorish Castle that sits above the city.

 Shortly after our visit to Alfama, we were released by Fatima to spend the rest of the afternoon in the city centre. The four of us worked our way down to Commerce Square that we had passed earlier in the day.

We went by the Santa Justa elevator that allows people to move easily between different street levels. It was built in 1902.

We soon found a little place for some lunch called Tapas and Friends. It is a chain, but the food was nice as was the service.

We had some nice ham, prawns, Padron peppers, crispy thin potatoes with aioli, olives, red wine. What's not to like?

Nymphs at the fountain.

 At the Commerce Square, we happened upon the most astonishing thing - a beer museum. It was quite warm by now, so we had to stop for a very cold beer, just because it was there.

Of course, the square is not just about the beer, it has some very nice architecture to be photographed in front of.

 From the square we left for our hotel and spent some time resting up, freshening up and dressing up for another dinner. Sharon had been in Facebook correspondence with the owner of the Little Wine Bar and that is where we went. It is rightly famous for tapas and wine. 

One of the specialities is the chorizo flamed in wine at your table.

We also had some more Pata Negra - you really cannot eat too much of this ham - along with more prawns with chilli and garlic, codfish cakes, cheese croquettes, nice bread, oil, mixed butters. It was all just delightful.

Michael and I also had these little steaks with onion and horseradish.

 Pudding was a scrumptious chocolate cake.

We had a very nice Gallego wine to start and then a bottle of Quinta de Rede from the Duoro. We also managed a glass of port with the pudding.

It was a lovely meal, but the restaurant was in the middle of a very long flight of steps, so not the most accessible. However, there were restaurants all up and down the steps, which made it very pleasant to walk by before we got back to our hotel.