Friday – Lisbon, Portugal
After a morning of using the free wi-fi in the terminal by the quayside, I had a quick lunch to be back out on the quayside in readiness for my tour excursion escort duties. The tour was ‘Lisob Highlights and Estoril’; a coach drive through Lisbon city centre, stopping off at the monument above the city (with impressive views, but a monument that looks like a dog’s dinner), annd then heading out to Estoril, a small town a few miles outside Lisbon.
Estoril is famous for it’s large casino, where Ian Fleming supposedly met a real-life spy who inspired him to write the James Bond stories. Other than that, despite being a relatively pleasant place, Estoril doesn’t seem to have an awful lot going for it. Linda, the Jewellery Crafter was also escorting the tour, on a second coach, so we walked along the sea-front looking for somewhere for a drink and a sit down, and really struggled. The majority of bars and cafes along the front were closed, mostly due to the inclement weather of the previous two weeks, which has left a good deal of damage in its wake. We did, finally, find one, but it was actually a restaurant, and they clearly expected us to order food… how disappointed where they?
Most of Estoril, what there was of it, seemd closed, yet we were expected to spend an hour here. Looking out across the sea, it was a bit like being at Scarborough, but without the people.
After our hour was up, the coach took us back to Lisbon, stopping off at the large memorial commemorating the Portugese Explorers and Henry The Navigator, before returning us to the ship three and a half hours later.
By the time I could get my laptop and return to the terminal, it seemed the internet connection had been turned off, so I headed across the road to a small bar advertising free wi-fi and spent a happy hour with pint in hand, retrieving and answering emails.
