Day 12 – Lisbon Portugal
We cancelled the tour booked through the cruise and decided to go on our own in Lisbon. After getting off the boat around 9AM, (an hour and a half earlier than the arranged cruise tour – gave us that much more time and we didn’t have to go to another cathedral) we made our way to the main street. We caught a tram filled with rush hour commuters into the main square (commercio ??) – a tenth of the price for a cab.

Lisbon is an interesting old city. It dates back several thousand years. Settled in 800BC. Has a population of about a million in the whole area and has experienced a lot of tragedy such as war, earthquakes and fires. They have a lot of large community squares and most buildings are around 4 stories.

We took a tram (street car) from near the main square up to the castle. Well it didn’t quite go to the top and dad had to hike up a long steep hill. He did it though, was a little tired but succeeded. Everyday he amazes me with how much he can do compared to just months ago. The castle was great and dates back to 800AD. You could climb to the top of its walls and walk around getting amazing views of the city from every angle.

We took a cab down back to town (only 4E) much easier. Then we hopped on a open top bus and took a 2 hour tour of the city and outskirts. It’s a busy city. Cars bombing around everywhere, traffic and a mix of new and old buildings. They have a couple of roads which are wide and open but for the most part in the city area, the roads are very narrow like most of the cities we have been to and barely fit one car. Certainly our large American cars. People at times just park and block all traffic and then everyone is honking away until they return.

We drove by the palace of the President and at that time he was just leaving and the police and Mercedes caravan went by in front of us. Kind of fun to see. After the ride around town, we went for lunch to a nice outside restaurant. It was great, we had some Super Bock beer and I enjoyed some fried sausage thing with a fried egg and veggies. Odd combo but it was supposedly a Portuguese thing so I had to try it and was happy I did. Took dad back to the boat via a taxi and then I went back to the city to walk and walk. Lots of shopping and stores (clothing) and people milling about. I noticed more beggars than usual and also noticed a man with a tumor all over his face asking for money. Would break your heart to see. Between him and the old lady in Rome I saw with her scalp missing showing her open wound, I really appreciate Canada and our social healthcare system.

Many streets were either tiled with tiles and designs or cobblestone. English wasn’t as prevalent as I would have thought. When I wanted something, I had to either show pictures or play charades. I made it back to the boat with 5 minutes to spare but it turns out, others were 45 minutes late, the boat waited though. Had dinner in the upper back deck, not the main dining room. Had some meat loaf which was delicious and then we went to see a comedian. Very funny guy from Kentucky. Then had too many beers and stayed up too late 2AM just hanging around in various bars.

Day 13 – At Sea
Up Wednesday morning at 8AM and waited for dad to get up at 10AM so we could go eat. It’s going to be a lazy day I think as we make our way up North on the Atlantic towards Le Havre France. The sun is shining and the ocean is calm so I expect to do a lot of nothing.

I won $75 playing blackjack – played $5 a pop for about 30 minutes and won $75 – I quit while I was ahead and left despite being on a roll. Lost $20 at the slots though. Made a deal with dad that I either lose my $20 or win $50 – either way I stop. I got it up to $48.50 and then lost it all. Waited by the machine cause I knew it was ready to pay and dad put in $5 and got $40 in a couple of pulls.

BINGO !! I just won $74 at bingo. I had to get all the B’s and O’s and then yell I’ve got BO !! That was fun. The grand prize before we leave is going to be around $2000. That would be sweet to win.

Dessert Extravaganza day. The chefs made a ton of different desserts and everyone came by to sample them. Just what we needed, more food. We still had ice cream after that though.

Feeling a little woozy – don’t know if it’s the lack of sleep, too much food, too much beer or the ship rocking. Water has changed the last couple of hours and it’s getting rough. Off to dinner and our show now.

Dinner was great – had a Tony Roma dinner of ribs – finished the plate and the waiter brought me a whole other meal again. I’m so stuffed now – didn’t need that hot fudge sundae for dessert. So we just finished going to the showtime – it’s the first show we walked out of, not that the guy wasn’t good, we just weren’t in the mood for a baritone opera type singer. We dropped $40 in 5 minutes in the slots on the way back to the room.

Went to the bar til 1AM – exhausted – looking forward to doing nothing again Thursday. Just pack and get ready as Friday in Paris will be a packed day.

Some things I’ve noticed:
-Old people fart and think no one can hear them but I’m only 10 feet away.
-People (now me) take elevators up or down 1 floor.
-If you look out your window at the waves – you feel even more nauseous
-People will spend money eating in a pay restaurant on the ship when a perfectly good one is free.
-I’m really bad at remembering faces and names
-Everybody loves Vancouver
-People can be sold anything – people buy art for thousands of dollars without researching the artist or true value or the artwork.
-I still don’t know who won American Idol
-No one is following the Stanley Cup playoffs