Sunday, Nov 6^th:

Breakfast was included at the Sofitel hotel. They had a lot to choose from and I chose a lot. After breakfast we did a "Seven Hills" bus tour. We viewed the city from the bus at various overlooks before stopping at Jerónimos Monastery. Miguel, our local tour guide pointed out several features of the monastery. He noted features in the masonry that reflected items the explorers reported/brought back from their journies to India via Africa. These included the Ptolemy sphere that they used for navigating by the stars, corn, artichokes, etc. Artichoke was brought along the trips because it would last longer than other vegetables. The exploration was conducted by the Knights Templar, so you see a lot of their equal sided cross. The tomb of the explorer Vasco da Gama is found at the entrance of the church. A masterpiece of 16th-century architecture in Portugal, the Monastery of Jerónimos is listed as a National Monument and inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List (1983).

Our next stop was at the Tower of Belem. Belem (or Santa Maria de Belem) is best known for Belem Tower (or Torre), a 16th-century fortified lighthouse built to guard the port. The port from which famous Portuguese navigators like Vasco de Gama set off to explore the world was built just outside of Lisbon because there wasn't a big enough area in Lisbon to build the number of ships that were built to explore the world. On the one side you see a rhinoceros statue indicative of the new species the explorers brought back with them.

From there, we walked to the "Discoveries Monument". On the way I could see the bridge and the statue overlooking the area. Cristo Rei is a gigantic image of Christ standing on a tall pedestal was inaugurated across the river in 1959, as a way for the episcopate to thank God for having spared Lisbon from World War II. We also had a view of 25 de Abril Bridge. Although I missed it initially, Miguel pointed out a display of a Lisbon, Portugal - June 11, 2017: Monument of the biplane to the first flight across the South Atlantic in Belem. The crossing took from 31 March to 17 June 1922.

Following our tour, I took some photos of the "Monument to the Dead of the Great War", Monumento aos Mortos da Grande Guerra. It was just at the end of the block at the Sofitel Hotel that we were staying at is located.

We then met up with Marilou's nieces, Anne Antonio and Bambi Lorica, for lunch. After checking out the menu for the restaurant near their hotel, we decided to return to the Cafe Gelo. On the way I got a picture of the Praça dos Restauradores. I considered getting the black paella, but decided to get the regular seafood paella, since I hadn't had squid ink in a long time. While we were waiting for the meal to come, Anne and Marilou went to buy sardines.
After lunch I took some pictures in the Praça Dom Pedro IV, Lisbon's lively central plaza with a wavy cobblestone pattern, 2 baroque fountains. Meanwhile the girls went back to buy more sardines for gifts.

Marilou got Anne to send some pictures of our get together and the meals we ordered. The first two pictures are my Seafood Paella the second time there and the Bacalhau I had the prior time and Anne's order this evening. I think Bambi got the salad and Marilou the Grilled Golden Bream.

Anne and Bambi went back to their hotel as they had other plans for the evening while Marilou and I went to Church of St. Dominic, Igreja de São Domingos, for Sunday Mass, 6 PM. I didn't understand so much due to the language difference and I don't think the priest followed the order of the Mass so closely. He started with a lengthy opening talk and concluded with another long dissertation, neither one of which I could follow. The church is in bad need of repairs some of which appear to be in progress.

Monday, Nov 07^th:

Today we skipped the Ama Waterways Sintra Trip to do a Fatima Day Trip by Viator. The first stop was at Fatima where the guide walked us through the shop where they make the candles and other artifacts for sale. Then we entered the store to buy our remembrances and empty bottles for Holy Water. He then gve us a brochure, pointed out the various locations, and where to find the van in an hour and a half.

Our first stop was at the location of the visions the three children saw of Mary. The tree had since died due to the pilgrims having had picked all the leaves and branches. A chapel has been constructed there and a statue of Our Lady of the Rosary behind the altar.

We then entered the old basilica where a mass was in progress. After the mass I took some pictures of the church. The three children's remains have been moved into the church. Leaving the church, we went to the Museum to view the bullet that had injured Pope John Paul II. The attempt on his life was one of the predictions that the Lady had told the children. Further away is a part of the Berlin Wall, but we didn't go there to see it.

Next on our day trip was a stop at Batalha. Batalha Monastery (Mosteiro da Batalha). A surprisingly humble interior hides behind the lacy stonework facade, looming gargoyles, and prickly spires. The UNESCO-recognized resting place of Portuguese royalty. It was constructed to celebrate the Portugal victory in the 1385 Battle of Aljubarrota.

Our next stop was to visit the viewpoint sitio da Nazaré. It has a fantastic view to the city and Atlantic Ocean. Our guide told us a story of a Lord for the area who was out deer hunting on his horse and the devil disguised himself as a deer and enticed the lord to chase him on his horse to the cliff. When the Lord saw he was going to fall to his death, he prayed to Mary and the horse froze in space saving them. A little chapel was built there covered in blue tile inside and on the outside there is one tile that depicts the event.

The area is known for the view point for Nazaré as well as the big waves. Apparently, a world record ride on a wave there has made the area a surfer magnet. We walked down the path to the shore, but turned around in order to make our return time at the top.

One final look in the chapel to see the statue of our Lady of Nazare that I had missed before. The guide also pointed out the hoof print in the rocks on the cliff where the horse stopped itself suddenly.

Our final destination was the Walled Town of Obidos. Óbidos is known as “The Wedding Present Town” - King Dinis and Queen Isabel spent their honeymoon in Obidos in 1282, and the king ended up giving her the entire town as a wedding gift. Portuguese queens then controlled much of what happened in town (until 1834), including the construction of monuments, such as the landmark aqueduct, which Queen Catherine of Austria (who married Portugal’s King João III) had built in the 16th century.

As we exited the Van our guide pointed out the ad for Ginja de Obios, a sweet and sour cherry liquor that is served in a chocolate glass so no dish washing is required. We tried one from a girl in the street selling from a bar window. It was good. We had another on the way back.

We first walked the streets viewing the walls, churches, castles, etc. As the evening pressed on Marilou did some shopping. Then we made our way back to the meeting site.

Tuesday, Nov 08^th:

After breakfast we boarded the van heading to Tomar, with a comfort stop in Santarem. I got a cafe americana there, Marilou didn't want to have to force an additional stop on the trip.

At Tomar we visited the Convent of Christ which was originally a monastery of The Knight's Templar from the 12^th century. It is a sizable monastery, indicative of the power and wealth of the Templar's that led to the French Kings asking the Pope to disband them. Not sure I remember the whole story but it seems the Portuguese kings weren't as jealous of the wealth of the Templars but needed to follow the order of the Pope. They allowed the Templar's to reinvent themselves to the Convent of Christ order.

We saw a hallway leading to numerous quarters. The lead quarter had a fireplace and the rooms had a door opening between them to allow the heat to filter down the hall. Your room's distance from the heat source reflected your power/influence. Also saw their lunch room, comfort facilites and bread oven. Guide mentioned that they would also cook loafs of bread for the poor that would come each day.

Following the tour we were brought to the town to choose where to eat lunch. The waiter at the Cervejaria do Fernando Restaurante was very interested to get us to eat there. He kept bringing out examples of the steaks and other meats he wanted to prepare for us. I didn't come from Texas to Portugal to order steak. I asked him if they served fish, and he brought out some nice*looking options so we sat down there. The rest of the group went on to interview the other places. Once we sat down there several other groups of customers got seats so I see why he was so persistent to get the first customers to sit down. Our meal was really good. We then met the other couples at the punishment post and continued our trip to PORTO.

When we arrived at the AmaVida, we checked in then unpacked in our room. I haven't cruised in a few years so I forgot how small the rooms are, but we figured out how to fit in. We don't normally spend much time in the room, so it being so cozy isn't a problem. We had a welcome cocktail, the mandatory safety meeting, and dinner in the restaurant. After dinner the AmaVida did an illuminations cruise of the port area.