Lisbon, Portugal

Adler catches up on his sleep on the ping-pong deck in preparation for Portugal.

Little mermaids:  three of Genevieve's bestest buddies on the ship.  From left to right:  Stella, Katie, Charlie.

Freaky monkeys trying to act normal after getting off the boat on a wet and windy day in Lisbon.

Neither all that super nor all that bock, but still the national beverage that you'll see advertised everywhere.  Suffice it to say that the port in the port of Portugal is far better than the beer.  

Pig sandwich -- delicious!  And also available without the pig as the bottom layer.

Colonial dreams die hard, especially for the very port from which a young Christopher Columbus set out to "discover" the new world.  But the Pastel de Nata, I'll admit, was some tasty pastry.

As were these, of which we tried one each... or so it seemed.

Lisbon students wearing the traditional capes that still linger from medieval times.

At the Extra-Large Gelato Shop...

The products were smaller than advertised, but not an ounce less tasty. 

Traditional streetcar in Lisbon, suffering from global advertising of the "anywhere-is-better-than-here" syndrome.  This was funny to me, because the first beer I had in Ireland was a Heineken (a Dutch beer, as the pub I landed in did not serve Guinness) and the first ad I saw in Portugal (after leaving Dublin) was for an Irish whiskey.  Ah humanity!

Adler bemused by the streetcar.  Daddy, I'm facing sideways, nor forwards:  is that okay?

Jasper, Oliver, and Adler on another streetcar, facing the right direction this time.

Walker and Chesterton seeing the sites.

Ollie and Adler hamming it up for the camera.

Dad gives Oliver's tired legs a break, while Genevieve wonders when her turn will be.

At the Museum of Electricity, Jasper and Genevieve get to know the local flora.

The Church of Santa Engracia in the Alfama district, with a large weekly outdoor flea market surrounding it on the hill.   

The oldest section of the original city wall back when Lisbon was a walled city.

The Rua Augusta arch in the center of the Praça do Comércio major plaza -- the largest in Europe.  

Vivi loves Portugal how much?  THIS much!

Young chilluns in front of the architecturally hysterical, uh historical,  Casa dos Bicos

Multi-tile portrait of the Virgin Mary floating above the faithful at the shop Loja dos Descobrimentos on the Rua dos Bacalhoeiros, where we saw many beautiful tiles, plates, decorations, and other hand-painted ceramic works.

Here's the American pop culture equivalent:  floating Virgin Mary symbolism from Terence Malick's Tree of Life.

Choosing the right one for friends Katherine and Stewart, who have a kitchen decorated in lots of these.

Rachel on date night, which was more of a date afternoon, since we had to be on ship by 6:00pm.

Fado music played here...

and here...

And sung by her, with instrumental backup by him:  no idea who they were, but it seemed like everyone and their dog had a side job performing Fado for tourists like us.