Shortly after our return from the US we received a visit from our friend Lewis, who was on his way to a conference in Malaga. He stayed for only two whole days, but we packed them full!
Lewis arrived late Thursday evening, hungry after flying from Seattle via London, so we tried the Indian restaurant across the street (restaurants stay open ’til around ten here). It was quite good.
The next morning, after a leisurely breakfast, Lewis and Ben headed up to Sintra by Uber. We found ourselves deposited in the main village, not the tourist center, so we walked up there and grabbed a quick, light lunch. After lunch we headed up the mountain on foot, through the Parque das Merendas, up to the Moorish Castle. Kathy and Ben had visited back in July, when it was a good deal hotter, so had only climbed one of the walls then. Lewis and Ben first climbed the other wall, and then returned to the first one. Plenty of exercise was had!
From the Moorish Castle we walked up to Pena Palace (though we did take the shuttle bus up the hill inside the park). After admiring the views and the crazy architecture we walked back down to Sintra Centre and grabbed an Uber back home. Over the afternoon we’d walked 11.5 kilometers and climbed (and descended!) 450 meters.
Friday evening we went out to dinner at A Taberna do Mar, where Kathy and Ben had gone with Celia last year. It was very good again this year, and the ten-course tasting menu is quite an experience.
Saturday, Ben had to make a visit to the local hospital to have his eye checked out, having developed a “floater” of significant proportions. The ophthalmologist there (“oftalmologista” in Portuguese, a more sensible spelling) confirmed that Ben’s retina was OK, though she did allow as how the floater “was a big one!”
Meantime, Kathy and Lewis visited the Maritime Museum, one of Ben and Kathy’s favorites from last year. They enjoyed that, and took in the usual sights of the Monastery and Monument to Discovery on the way home.
In the afternoon we visited the MAAT, starting with MAAT Central, which is the decommissioned power station on the banks of the Tagus. It’s an amazing piece of early 20th century engineering. One has to wonder how anyone was able to conceive of such a thing.
There were also some modern art galleries in the same building, which mostly left us cold. And some artist thought it a good idea to suspend a speaker in a hall that repeated “you are so beautiful” and occasionally “turn around!” in an endless loop. Workers there must either now know how beautiful they are, or they have been driven completely insane.
On the way to dinner we went into center Lisbon, walked up Rua Augusta, took a glance at the Elevador de Santa Justa, and then climbed up and over the hill through Chiado and over to our restaurant, Taberna Sala Grosso in São Bento. We’d eaten at their other location, in Alfama, with Amatsia and Martha, and we were not disappointed with the São Bento location.
Sunday morning we sent Lewis off to the airport after grabbing breakfast and pasteis at Pasteis de Belém. And please don’t call them pasteis de nata when ordering there!
[Not actually part of Lewis’s visit, but putting it here anyhow.] Kathy spotted a submarine steaming out of the Tagus.
Submarine photos and video:
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