Gym's Ramblings: Atlantic Odyssey 2025: Lisbon

The Old World had been sighted after breakfast on May 12, 2025. Soon after, the Vista cruised into the mouth of the Tagus River and under the 25th de Abril bridge. Minutes later, the ship was expertly steered into the cruseship terminal of Lisbon. The long transatlantic journey had come to an end. Gym was relieved because he was worried about the supply of limes being exhausted. Since they had left the Azores, margarita consumption had been very high.

The ship would stay tied up there in the capital of Portugal for about 28 hours. New supplies were taken onboard. some more passengers were swapped out and the staff had a little break. Almost immediately after the gangway became operational, our hero and his lovely sidekick were off to explore the Portuguese Riviera. They had signed up for a tour of two of Lisbon's more chi-chi suburban areas.

The tour spent most of the afternoon in Sintra. Sintra is situated about 25 km from the cruise ship terminal on the slopes of the Sintra Hills. The highlight there is the Sintra National Palace but there are also many fine villas around the palace that now are home to numerous restaurants, bars and cafes. The palace was used by Portuguese royalty for six centuries from the late Middle Ages to the 19th Century. No two rooms are on the same level and you climb up and down at least 100 stairs as you inspect each amazing room. The palace is made of granite and has withstood the test of time, protecting the elaborately decorated reception areas and the period furniture and decor. The highlight for our hero was the beautiful tiled walls.

The tour would continue to a neighbourhood known as Cascais and don't think you can properly pronounce this place name. Due to the Moorish influence on the Portuguese language, the letter 'S' can become a completely different sound than what we are used to in English. Cascais is an upscale seaside area full of tech millionaires that have young families and golden retrievers. There are numerous swanky seafood restaurants and upscale bars here as well. It also has some nice beaches where the well-healed euros and rich ex-pat residents take quick dips in the cool Atlantic. On the way through Estoril, another upscale area nearby, they past a Maple Bear School. Now I ask you, what in that name belies the country where this international charter school is based? Of course it is a Canadian-based charter school and Mr. G learned that many Canadian expats live in this area.

On their second day in Lisboa (Portuguese spelling), the adventurers designed their own walking tour. The main goal of the quest was to find Azorean tea. Our hero went to google maps and found a quaint tea shop 4.8 km for the boat, so they headed in that direction, along the waterfront. Sadly, when they arrived at the shop, the proprietor had just run out of this popular item. Mr. G was heartbroken that he would not accomplish the main goal of the expedition. As they wandered back to the docks though, the eagle-eyed Mrs. G, a certified expert shopper, spotted a small tea shop on Augustus Street and as luck would have it, they had just got in a bunch of the Azorean treasure. Mrs G. turns out to be much more than just a pretty face, she is a valuable asset on shopping missions such as this. Aside from the shopping, the neighbourhood is also a great place just to stroll around in and explore. There are many four and five-storey tiled apartment buildings with lovely wrought iron balconies in this area. Numerous mercatos, shops and cafes also line the streets.

The adventurers ended up making their quota of steps very easily that second day.

On the night of May13th, the ship returned to the Atlantic and headed north to Porto.

Stay tuned!