Lisbon, Portugal: Part 2
Posted on April 4, 2024 • 17 minutes • 3578 words
The next morning I headed to the store to get some food and had a bit of fun with the fruit. The light green bumpy fruit was a joy to find. I had some of these in Peru years ago, but never learned the name. Not knowing what they were, a fruit seller on the street cut us up one to try and we ended up buying a few. I was thrilled to find them! And couldn’t resist some passion fruits.
We had yogurt with fruit overload for breakfast and started out on our day. Jess/Dave crew were hanging with their family, so we decided to head along the coast towards Belem. We started out with a view down over the port, before starting down the steps to sea level.
And then down we went.
Shenanigans by the port.
We didn’t actually know the exact route, so we kept heading towards the water and then were going to run right. We weren’t sure if this was was a dead end or not (with the shipping port) but we found a swing bridge that we wanted to cross. We waited patiently, as it was open as a boat had just passed.
We crossed, figured out that we couldn’t continue on the shore that way and then crossed back. Still walking along the water, just not on the port side. We had the Ponte 25 de Abril (aka the Portuguese Golden Gate Bridge) in view and quickly arrived beneath it. Interestingly enough, the base was a giant hinge. No column continuous to the foundation with the base plate connected to the column. Assuming they didn’t want to create any moment at this base, but that is a lot of shear in that bolt!
We continued along the shore with great views back at the Golden Gate. :) There were a few options for lunch, but I had created exactly what I wanted in my mind, so I refused to let us stop anywhere else…even though we were getting hungry. I wanted food right on the shore, food truck type, open space for kid to run around. Even my perfect idea for what I wanted didn’t top what we stumbled upon!
Food truck - check! Outdoor eating - check! Sangria - bonus! Place for kids to run around - check! Literally a park right behind the siting area
Amazing food - check. We got the tuna guacamole, 2 fish bruschettas and 1 veggie one.
Everyone loves the food - check! Seriously so good!
Sara getting quite tipsy, if not drunk - bonus! :) The pitcher was huge, strong and so tasty…AND I may have taken more than my share. We finally wrapped it up, probably only because I had to pee and headed to the MAAT museum right next door, that had the coolest looking roof. We went to the bathroom and headed up the arched roof.
Rounded up 2 of the 3 for a phot.
This is the top. It’s hard to see the slope and arc of it. Kids ran around as if it were flat. There were guardrails!
We loved it up there and took our time taking in the views. Sam even did a drawing.
We made it down, safely, and continued on to try to get to Belem. From my last trip here, I remember loving the giant world map made out of different color marbles in the ground, and really wanted to show the kids. We just about got there and I had to pee again. In my state, my tipsy logic prevailed and I figured I’d use the bathroom at a gelato place so we could all get gelato. Then we found the map.
I had everyone stand on their favorite country from our trip. Not sure what Max was doing, nor anyone really as Sam always claims Turkey was his favorite. They did see their friends in Italy, so that could have swayed their decisions.
And it’s impossible to miss the giant statue, honoring all the sailors lost at sea. I like how it’s to look like a ship, literally heading out to sea.
Instead of walking the whole way back, we took the train to Dan and Jess’s for a pizza dinner. Note: Train pictured, Dan and Jess’s not.
The next morning we did breakfast in before another beach day. Fruit overload with oatmeal…always good for our tummies. And still, Max is the biggest lover of oatmeal. If given the choice between most breakfast choices, he goes with oatmeal…and wants me to have it with him. It makes him SO happy when I do (which is almost every time he asks).
Jess had the plan to take the ferry across the Tagus to a beach on the Atlantic, Praia da Morena. (Love it when someone else plans the day!) The ferry ride was so fast, maybe 10 minutes, and then we opted for Ubers to the beach instead of the 1 hour wait/ride for the bus.
At the end of a dirt road, we found the beach with a small restaurant. Just a few people on the beach; sort of felt like we were all alone. Kids dashed to the water, parents plopped down. Note: the ball was just perfectly oriented like this!
Kids were so happy! Loving having friends and loving being on the beach. The sand castle building was extensive, which I partook in…as I love building/digging in the sand.
Sometimes at the beach I’m so taken by the water, that I forget to turn around to see how pretty that is too!
Yes, the water was freezing!
Someone got taken out by a wave.
We had another round of sandwiches, to which Maggie commented to Jess that my sandwiches were so good, I should open a deli. See, best sandwich maker ever! All adults, minus myself, headed over to the restaurant for some drinks. Sand castle making was stepped up a notch!
After hours and hours there, we thought our limit was coming soon, so we packed up, got Ubers, then the ferry and were back in Lisbon. Jess/Dave crew headed home for dinner and we went to the Time Out market again, as it was right by the ferry dock. We tried a new place with some pork belly sandwiches and fish…and of course sangria for me.
Everyone ate well, so we went for gelato again after dinner. I found out that you could 3 different flavor in a small cone and man, were the decisions tough! Finally figured out the 9 choices…passion fruit was the hit!
The next morning Dan offered any kid who was done with their journal when he was ready to go out, to come with him and help pick out pastries for breakfast. There is a phrase in Spanish “Ponete las pilas!” and when the kids really focus on something like this, I always think of that phrase. It translates directly to ‘put the batteries in yourself’ and Sam did! Good choices. Lots of chocolate croissants and Sam got a double cinnamon roll thing.
I wanted to get some work done, so the Dads took the 5 kids out for the late morning. I received a few photos back; some made sense, some did not.
There was some festival/health day going on. Dan messaged that the park was closed where they were heading. I asked if it was going okay as changes in plans sometimes doesn’t go well for the kids. He sent this photo back.
Found a fountain and thought about going in?
I got to a good stopping point and headed out to meet them, with the hopes of going to the Quake museum. Due to the massive earthquake in the mid 18th century that pretty much leveled the city, engineers rebuilt with designs to resistance earthquakes. The museum is supposed to be pretty amazing, but I’ll have to take other people’s word for it as we never made it. Pretty huge bummer, but it wasn’t in the cards that day. On my walk there to meet up with them.
I found them…all digging in the dirt, finding sticks or climbing trees.
The parks have been pretty amazing here. Very lush, open and clean.
I had passed a food truck right at the start of the park. They had finished all the food they ordered in the park, so I walked back to get some empanadas. It’s so hard for me not to order them when I see them! Not the best, but everyone else seemed to like them.
Got a bit of a workout in before joining the walk back to our places.
There are these cream pastries that are unbelievably good. Not sure exactly how to describe them…crispy sides with creamy custard center…like a melty creme brule flavor/texture (just the center). They are called pasteis de nata and they will change your life. Dave picked some up and they were still warm.
Time to leave the park and Max couldn’t decide with 1 stick I was letting him keep.
We headed over the bridge to get back to the shore side, which dumped you back onto the arched roof of the MAAT museum.
Stop part way for energy boosts!
The kids had been asking to rent pedal cars they had seen on the walk out. We found one that was a bit enclosed and not right on the shore where a kid for sure would have gone into the water. It was so fun to watch them to their laps. A few crashes, but overall really fun.
We were close enough to walk the rest of the way, but Dave and the kids were going to take the train. We thought maybe we could stuff in a dinner that night, but they were flying out the next day very early. We said our goodbyes with lots of hugs and many ‘SO SO SO glad this happened’. I can’t express how good it was for us to have a week with them. We needed it more than we realized…or maybe we knew it. We miss having friends on a weekly/daily basis! Probably the hardest part of the traveling this year. Anyways…one last photo.
On the walk home, saw some fun art on the sides of the road. Being Lisbon, tiles…not paint for the rainbow.
And a different kind of wall art.
There was a restaurant by our place that had a giant plaza below it. For some reason we hadn’t tried it yet, but it seemed to make sense this night. We wanted to sit outside so we could see the kids below. This of course was risky due to my proneness of being cold, but Dan walked back to get an extra jacket for me. I’m sitting at the table and the yellow building right behind Dan is our place. SO close.
Parents with drinks above, kids running around below.
Three of us got soups, three of us got salmon sandwiches and one got a ham and cheese sandwich. It was all so good, we almost ordered more. But instead, I just made Dan give up his food to the kids. :)
On our last full day there, I started it off with a run along the shore. I should have been doing this everyday, but mornings were feeling extra lazy and I was really embracing my vacation.
It really is the best way to see a city or area. Zoned out on a run, taking it all in when the place really hasn’t woken up yet.
We did another amazing breakfast out. Kids ALL got the salmon bagel, which had horseradish in the cream cheese, yet no one commented. :)
It came with a beet egg. What is a beet egg you ask? Not 100% sure, but I think they boiled it in watered down beet juice. Kids needed a photo to send to Grandpa Hohenshelt to let him know they were eating his beets. Technically it came with a poached egg, but knowing the kids, I asked for the yellow cooked.
We really hadn’t wandered the old town much, so we headed in that direction. Not sure where it was, but we knew we’d be going up. Another city of 7 hills, like Edinburgh and Plovdiv. Seems to be the cool thing; to have exactly 7.
We found a view point where you could see the castle perched atop it’s hill. Really, you could see everything in this direction.
And right below us was a giant plaza. Plazas, another thing Lisbon does really well.
Dan wanted to sit and enjoy a coffee while the kids played. It sort of worked, as where they wanted to play was of course on the other side of the plaza from where the cafe was.
They finally obliged as they got really into trying to electrify their wands (aka sticks) because they found some metal wire. No sparks were formed, but they were into it!
More walking around, more trams.
We found another plaza that was almost dizzying with the waves of black and white mosaics.
And a fountain, that was not easy to keep the kids out of! A little too much leaning by Max, but luckily, no one fell in.
Max had to pee, so while Dan and him were searching for a toilet, the rest of us went in a football store to look for balls. A guy there gifted the kids Renaldo face masks. They had no idea who he was but were happy with the gift and asked for an extra for their brother. Sam was so excited; he popped out the eyes and put it right away. This photo does no justice to the situation for the next 30 minutes. Two mini Renaldos walking down the street and EVERYONE was looking and laughing. It really was a hilarious site. I’d forget they had them on, turn around to see that they were coming and start laughing again. They knew they were funny and were loving it.
Thanks to my googling, I found that instead of waiting for the elevator we walked past the other day, you could walk around and climb up the road and then stairs. It was pretty easy and cool to be up there. Renaldo masks still on, reluctantly taking them down for the photo.
Close up of the top of the elevator.
There was a spiral staircase to go even higher, but it was roped off. We looked in all the directions and then started down. On the way down, there was part of the skeleton of a building…still hanging in there.
Dan always jokes I need to document when I wear a skirt. Documentation done. And one Renaldo mask was confiscated after Max walked into two people in a row. Sam still going strong with his.
Came home for sandwiched at home. I had bought salmon and the reddest tomato I have seen in 7 months and the sandwiches were delicious.
Sam went with the ‘bowl’ option where he hollowed out his bread and stuffed everything inside.
Wanting to still stay out, we planned to go to a park I had wanted to check out, Jardom da Estrela. Ben wanted to explore the streets more, so we split up. Dan took Max and Sam to the park and Ben and I walked around more. Got this photo from Dan with the text ‘yes, our kids are at the top’.
Ben and I went up and down and up and down, just walking around. He did want to get a soccer ball and we found one.
Dan kept messaging me to warn me that Ben was missing out, but he was loving walking around and having Mom time. We finally headed over there, with the caveat that he’d only have about 10 minutes to play before we needed dinner. Really, Ben just wanted to play with his new ball…as did Sam. Dan found a ramen place and we headed there for some dinner after they got some soccer playing in.
We started home and it felt like it was going to be a long walk. Unfortunately the ramen place we picked was the exact opposite direction from the park from our place. Very sluggish after SO much walking that day, but we slowly made it, taking pictures along the way.
The next morning, Dan and Max went out for pastries to go with eggs. Max picked the double cinnamon rolls for all the kids.
We had a 4:30pm flight and an 11am checkout. Our hosts were not helpful at all and wouldn’t let us leave bags there…not even under the stairs that I’m sure the cleaning crew doesn’t even see or clean. I was a bit annoyed, but we figured out a plan. We were all packed up and took a taxi back to the park from the day before where we’d let the kids get energy out and just be outside before the flight. It was that or the airport and we only looked a little odd.
It was a beautiful day and we were fully enjoying it.
I was able to explore around the park a bit, since I hadn’t the day before. Really cool trees and other plants; it almost felt like a mini botanical garden, minus all the plant label signs. This tree had, what looked like, roots growing down from the branches.
We made lunch of the rest of the food we had in the place. Sam went for the banana on the peanut butter sandwich…my kind of kid!
Another cool tree.
It was almost 2pm, so we figured it was time to head to the airport. We walked to the exit, got an Uber and were on our way. Even got to see some more sights of the city on the way.
Easy check in and then to drop off the bike at oversized luggage. The airport had numerous of these ‘columns’. It looked like an HVAC system, and probably was, but it seemed like a lot of pipe cross sectional areas for the space…there were lots! Note: Not an HVAC expert. Maybe they are trying to have the AC come out at a lower level, than just have it in ducts at the roof level. Would make sense if that’s the idea.
Through security and no passport control as we were staying in the Schengen region. We found a place to sit to get lunch while Dan went in search of a place to fill up our water bottles. Turns out there was only one place and it was on the other side of the airport, so we waited a bit. He came back and went to get us some food. I guess because he really does love me, he got us some salads and a quinoa bowl for me. :) He then went back to get dinner for the plane, as it was a 4+ hr flight and we were landing at 11pm.
While he was waiting for the food, I took the kids to the bathroom. I decided to make my life a little easier and use the family bathroom and there were three kid toilets in the bathroom! This did mean I had to also use it, but it was easy and didn’t have to juggle the kids in the boys and girls bathrooms.
Overall, the Lisbon airport was really family friendly. There were strollers to use while in the departure area, a nice kids area (we didn’t have time) and lots of high chairs in the food area with wooden flags to make them easy to spot.
Our flight was about 30 minutes delayed, but didn’t seem too bad. We didn’t have any shows downloaded Dan frantically downloaded some audio books while we were waiting at the very crowded gate. I was dreading the what I thought was a 5hr flight (it was actually 4hrs, but I thought it was longer not realizing Finland was 2hrs ahead), but it went by in a breeze. We had an extra seat, so the kids rotated between sitting with Dan and listening to an audio book and sitting with me and reading.
Then to our surprise we started our decent! Other passengers were confused too, the couple behind me asked if I knew what time it was in Finland. I looked on my world clock on my phone and found out we just saved an hour of flying! We landed early, quick walk to baggage claim, then waited 45 minutes for our baggage, even though it seemed we were the only landing plane. Dan thinks shift change. It was a bit of a struggle, as it was midnight (10pm to us) and we were all tired.
Bags finally came and we went out to retrieve our AirBnB key…yes in the airport…at a small kiosk store. Maybe lock boxes aren’t allowed. I was a bit worried, but we found it on the second try. Taxi and happily piled into our new place, where we’d be for a month. This can always be stressful. Great that we aren’t moving for a month, but if the place isn’t great, then you can be stuck there. I was confident as the photos were amazing and the reviews raved. From just stepping through the door, we knew it was going to be perfect for our family. No unpacking, apart from toothbrushes and we all wend to bed quickly.