The hardest part is to travel, and to be away from your family. Glenn Tipton

A good nights sleep puts you in an entirely different frame of mind.  I woke up this morning at seven am much more refreshed than I would have thought since it was two am on my internal time clock.   It’s six thirty in the evening here in Lisbon and we have so far had a wonderful day.  I realize I miss being instantly connected to my family.  I miss them and yes I actually miss my dogs today. ( More on that later.)  At any rate a non foggy head and a breakfast buffet in the hotel started me off on the right foot before our tour bus ride though Lisbon.  Again I remind you that my knowledge of geography and history is limited non existent so although this was already a full day and we saw wonderful sights in Belem Tower and a 16th Century Jeronimus Monastery I can’t give you details of exactly what was what but it was educational and beautiful.

There were some unexpected pleasures for the day.  After one tour there was a famous pastry shop nearby where they sell Pasteis de Nata, which are an egg custard tart.  At one time, convents and monasteries used large quantities of egg-whites for starching of clothes, such as nuns’ habits. It was quite common for monasteries and convents to use the leftover egg yolks to make cakes and pastries and these particular pastries became famous.  There are long lines for take away and table service at the Fábrica de Pastéis de Belém where they are sold.   We had coffee and tea from Starbucks while Skip sampled one ( sadly they are not gluten-free but looked and smelled delicious.)

Pastel de nata

An unexpected treat was a military band passed by as we were sitting down enjoying the treat complete with full uniform and horses.

We spent a short time at a lovely outdoor fair where they sold all kinds of things and had lunch at a Beer Museum.

This made me a little sad for my puppies Harry and Frankie at home, but if I could train them to hold a begging cup in their mouth this might help them to earn their keep!!

Back to the hotel for a lovely glass of wine and conversation with friends.   Many more adventures to go but a great beginning.   This quote made me laugh as it relates too well to me!!

“Travel becomes a strategy for accumulating photographs”.  Susan Sontag