We discovered yesterday that I had actually booked us for four night in Lisbon rather than the three I originally told Zach. At first I was a little disappointed because we thought we had hit all the highlights of the city, but as it turns out this was maybe our best day yet! Where yesterday everything seemed to be a bit more difficult than we had expected, today everything was shockingly easier than we expected. Our hostel was packed with German teenagers on some kind of tour, so seating (and waffles) were scarce. Where this could have spelled disaster, our girls were magically models of decorum perched on rolling ottomans and eating on a glass coffee table. No spills. No whining. It was kind of amazing.
To Diane’s great enjoyment we then braved the Lisbon subway system, which as it turns out is the cleaneast, easiest, and most efficient we ever have experienced! We laughed thinking of how completely indecipherable the DC metro must seem to foreigners, with its grids of fares based on the hour of the day and the length of the trip. If they could only all be like this. I think Diane was so happy she could have ridden those trains all day, or at least as long as her stomach cooperated.
In a blink we were in North Lisbon, the modern area built up for the 1998 World Expo with parks, high end shopping malls, and our destination, the Lisbon Oceanarium. I was skeptical about another European aquarium after being less than impressed with the highly recommended one we visited in Monaco, but what a pleasant surprise! This one more than stacks up to its much more expensive American counterparts, and all four of us wandered from one beautiful and eye-popping exhibit to the next with our mouths wide open, pointing and squealing and ooh-ing and aah-ing. Although I guess it was a good thing that Zach’s mouth was not wide open when we were in the penguin exhibit and a flying water bird decided to let loose right *splat* on his shoulder. Of course it would happen to Zach. Oh well, gave us some laughs, and I am a mom so I had emergency baby wipes and the mess was quickly taken care of.
After the aquarium we wandered though a water garden, hopping stones across creeks and pulling mechanisms that ferried water through trenches and pipes. A playground all of us could enjoy. Despite my claustrophobic and acrophobic tendencies, we took a tiny cable car to the other side of the Expo park, and what a great ride! The girls loved it and it allowed for a gorgeous view of the river and the Duibai-like highrises in the area. We then strolled through the riverside parks of bamboo, streams, and statues of naked women to get back to our metro station. We were all so happy with our day so far it was hard to believe it was only 3pm! So we took the subway to the most famous art museum in Lisbon and wandered the halls while D napped in the stroller. Melina wasn’t too impressed, but as usual she loved the attention she gets while her sister is asleep so all was good. There were even ducklings and another gorgeous garden to keep her busy.
Diane woke up just in time for the subway ride back to our apartment, putting her immediately back into a great mood. Our meal at the apartment was also better than expected with cherry jam, crusty rolls, Portuguese cheese, and prosciutto paring perfectly for the ideal sandwich. We kept up our Lisbon tradition of a nice stroll after dinner where we picked up some Port wine and more delicious pastries, and had our minds blown by a “living statue” that went above and beyond: he was hovering in mid air. I am not kidding. He must have had some kind of crazy support system rigged up with his cane and through his clothing because he stood about a foot off the ground, stock still. This was clearly worth a euro, which Melina happily gave to see him do a little shimmy without ever touching the ground. Our fearless girl then stood in the middle of the huge crowd that had gathered and yelled at the guy, “HOW ARE YOU DOING THAT? HOW ARE YOU STAYING UP THERE?” When she asked why he didn’t answer I just blamed the language difference rather than explaining the magician’s code.
So again, the girls are asleep and we can luxuriate in our surroundings through our perfect “port”-al to Lisbon:
Some more pictures from the day:
And me, blogging 🙂
Traveling Together 