We walked in the narrow streets were cars cannot drive. Tui took us to Alfama, Home of Fado Singers and Music. Such a brilliant story of a people who knew that they were Christians and kept to their roots. Between the Moorish and the Spaniards, there was much fighting that occurred before Portugal became its own. We heard of the historical events that were significant to Portugal becoming a country. He introduced himself and proceeded to take George and I on a two-hour tour of all things Lisboa. Receiving our First Pilgrim StampĪs we left this Cathedral, Tui, the Tour Guide spotted us. It also happens to be the starting point of The Portuguese Way to Santiago. The monastery church was thought to have been principally designed by the Italian-born architect, Filipe Terzio and constructed between 15 with other buildings added up until the 18th Century. The present building dates from the rule of King Philip II of Spain over Portugal from 1580. It is dedicated to Saint Vincent of Saragossa, patron saint of Lisbon, whose relics were brought from the Algarve to Lisbon in the 12th century. Built in Romanesque style outside the city walls, it was one of the most important monastic foundations in mediaeval Portugal. The original Monastery of São Vicente de Fora was founded around 1147 by the first Portuguese King, Alfonso Henriques for the Augustinian Order. Honestly, we had no idea that this was the case until we started reading about the history of St. We walked the town, found one of the oldest and important Cathedral’s in all of Portugal. George and I found a swanky little patio that overlooked the water, and had our first Portuguese Beer. There are Cruise Ships that drop off thousands of tourists daily, and this means lots of things to do. Alfama overlooks the water, and is such a great location. We offloaded and found a place to eat and drink. It was perfectly situated in Alfama, a lovely barrio with tons of Cafes, Bars and Restaurants. After nearly three hours, a couple of breaks, we arrived at our Air B&B. It was actually the best thing we could come up with after being trapped in a plane for 24 plus hours! Walking felt wonderful. George and I landed in Lisbon, Portugal at 11am Monday morning, cleared Customs and walked the four plus miles to our Hotel. All snuggled up in Coach, I slept for a whopping 2-3 hours. I made it through the first flick and by the second, I was barely keeping my eyes opened. Followed by a great movie, a personal sized pillow and blanket, I was ready for a Red-Eye to Lisbon. Drinks and pretzels, then dinner and wine. The ride from Canada to Lisbon was with Air Canada. By 11pm, and some 18 hours later, we were on our final leg! Toronto Airport at Da Bar Once in Canada, we have plenty of time to eat and drink. Then we sat back and enjoyed the flight to Toronto. We landed in DC, and ran to our boarding gate. So with the short delay of only 45 minutes, we had 20 minutes to make our connecting flight. Luckily, Bri had already come to the airport and was assigned to another flight. Typically this wouldn’t be a huge deal, but our second flight from DC was quite tight. There will be a delay until we can find another to fill her spot. Over the loud speaker we here, “Sorry but we had to send your Flight Attendant home today for reasons unknown. Once we negotiated that, we were seated, waiting for the Boarding Call. It was like going to Penitentiary without wearing Prison Blues! The Waiting Game Begins Did they tell them to have no personality and never crack a smile? Oh my. With our brief inconvenience, we head upstairs and go through the gauntlet of TSA Personnel. Somehow, we did not have seats assigned so she found us two seats together. Maybe they want to upgrade us for free?!? That’d be nice. We used the self-serve ticket line, then it said, “you must see an agent.” Hmm, that’s new and exciting. George and I were off from Sacramento Airport. With any adventure, there are always kinks.
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