A very good night's sleep in a very comfortable bed last night. We were both up around 7 am to make our way down to one of the world's best breakfast buffets. There are five large stations in the dining room, each could be a meal unto itself. I would have taken pictures but my hands were full filling my plate. The stations were (starring the things I tried):
Breads and Pastries - cut your own bread from freshly baked loves, croissants* other puff pastries, frosted and plain donuts, a variety of desserts including a mango mousse*, and the local specialty Pateis* - a sweet custard tart.
Meats and Cheeses - a large selection of many cheeses both hard and soft including brie* and bleu cheese*, and a variety of cured meats. All were being carved from large blocks as you would in a deli.
Eggs and Omelets - two cooks were busy continuously making omelet*s and eggs in all forms.
Hot Breakfast Items - the usual cast of characters including three forms of bacon*, several types of sausage, hash brown potatoes, mushrooms*, and I don't remember what all.
Fresh Fruit and Yogurt - pineapple*, watermelon*, other melons, bananas, mangos, oranges, and a wide variety of fresh yogurt*. A juice bar had fresh squeezed orange juice*, and six other varieties of fresh juices.
And of course your waiter brought you the coffee or tea of your choice.
After breakfast we boarded our bus at 8:45 with our driver Manuel and our guide Elizabeth to explore a small part of the city of Lisbon. After touring several areas we visited Belem Tower, a 16th century fortress on the river that was used to protect the city from naval intruders.
Our next stop was the Maritime Museum. Here we learned about how the Portuguese and Spanish during the 15th century were responsible for opening up many of the established trade routes around the world. Under King Manuel explorers were sent out to claim large parcels of continents around the world.
One interesting exhibit was this portable altar complete with a painting of Christ and prayers permanently mounted in the lid of the case. According to legend, the altar travelled with Vasco da Gama in 1497 on his maiden voyage to India and would have been used for religious ceremonies.
The detailed models of the sailing ships from different eras were fascinating. Some had cutaways so you could see how storage compartments were arranged below deck. Our guide used them to point out the advantages and disadvantages of different ship and sail designs.
The museum was huge and we saw only a very small part of it. Our tour ended in a large warehouse like facility with dozens of actual boats. The one that fascinated me most was this floating royal barge, commissioned by one of the king's of Portugal, that required 40 oarsmen (two on each of 20 oars) to operate. It had a very ornate cabin at the back. It was actual used to entertain Queen Elizabeth in 1954 (?).
After the museum we crossed under the highway in front to visit Monument of the Discoveries, built in 1960 to honor those pioneers who have lead Portugal in new discoveries over time. There are 33 such heroes depicted on the monument.
Most the sidewalks in Portugal are mosaics of stone. They are beautiful to look at, but often slippery to walk on when they are wet.
Driving back to the hotel we saw the recreation of a Roman aqueduct which, to this day, supplies a large amount of water to the city. It is over 12 miles long.
Our final stop of the morning was at a park that overlooks the city and the water.
We got back to our room about 1:30 when I worked on the blog, then we both grabbed a short nap in preparation for the evenings' events (see next blog entry).
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