Disembark at Lisbon 里斯本下船
July 18, 2024: Our 7-day cruise ended in Lisbon today, but our journey continued. We disembarked at 9 am. The cobblestone street is not suitcase-friendly, so we decided to take a taxi to our hotel, even though the hotel is not far from the cruise terminal. We immediately ran into an unpleasant surprise: a taxi driver demanded 30 euros for a trip that was less than a 10-minute walk. It seems taxis in Spain and Portugal aren't well-regulated. Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me. We decided to look for other options later on.
Our hotel is in the heart of a bustling restaurant and bar area. After a brief rest, we set out to explore the city. First, we joined a walking tour in Alfama, one of Lisbon's oldest and most picturesque neighborhoods. History is alive here. Initially built by Muslims, it later saw Jews opening stores and banks. Then, Christians conquered the area, leading to the conversion or execution of Muslims and Jews. But the story took an intriguing turn. On the morning of November 1, 1755, All Saints' Day, a massive earthquake struck Lisbon while Christians were at home celebrating, leading to fires that destroyed 85% of the buildings, including the royal palace. However, Alfama was largely spared since the converted Muslims and Jews did not observe the Christian holiday at home, preserving its medieval character. Today, it is one of Lisbon's top tourist attractions.
At the end of the tour, our guide took us to Pastelaria Santo António, where we tried our first custard tarts in Portugal. They were too sweet for our taste. Our guide also suggested a 5 euro sandwich café for lunch, which had a long queue. We didn’t want to wait; we had other plans: go to the Time Out Market. This market features high-quality food and drink vendors in a lively food hall setting. It was very crowded, unlike anything we had seen before. We ordered a few tapas and enjoyed the bustling atmosphere.
After lunch, we took a train to Belém to try the original and famous custard tarts (Pasteis de Nata) at Pasteis de Belem, based on a secret recipe created by nuns. The line wasn't very long that day, but the tarts, though famous, were still too sweet for us.
Having checked off that item on our to-do list, we visited the nearby Jeronimos Monastery, a UNESCO World Heritage site. We then walked to the Monument to Discoveries before heading back to the city.
Tonight, we had a fine dinner and Fado show at O Faria in Alfama. Dinner reservations are available from 7:00 to 8:30 pm and feature a fixed-price menu with a starter, main course, and dessert. The food was delicious and high quality. The Fado show started at 9:00 pm and had three sessions with 20-minute breaks for diners to enjoy their meals. The show ended at 11:00 pm. For us, it was a four-hour dinner. Exhausted, we returned to our hotel, but the streets seemed to just be coming alive.
2024年7月18日: 天下没有不散的筵席，我们为期7天的邮轮旅行今天结束了，但我们的旅程还在继续。我们在上午9点在葡萄牙首都里斯本（Lisbon)下船，却遇到了一个不愉快的小插曲：尽管从船码头到我们的酒店步行不到10分钟，因为拖着行李箱在碎石路上走太累，我们叫了出租车，结果出租车司机开口就要求30欧元。看来西班牙和葡萄牙的出租车监管都不好。连续二次被出租车司机骗，我们决定以后不再用出租车，而是寻找其它出行方式。
我们的酒店位于热闹的餐馆和酒吧区的中心。稍作休息后，我们便出门赶着去参加预定好的“免费”的阿尔法玛区（Alfama)徒步游。这里是里斯本最古老、最漂亮的街区之一。导游介绍说这里最初由穆斯林建造，后来犹太人迁入开设商店和银行。之后，基督徒征服了这个地区，穆斯林和犹太人要么被迫皈依，要么被处决。1775年11月1日是个圣徒日，基督徒在家生火做饭庆祝节日时，一场大地震袭来，因作饭的火而引发的火灾摧毁了85%的建筑物，包括皇宫。然而，阿尔法玛区大部分建筑幸存下来，因为皈依的穆斯林和犹太人没有在家庆祝基督教节日，其中世纪的建筑特色得以保存。今天，它是里斯本的顶级旅游景点之一。
昨天在船上的讲座有提到著名的葡萄牙蛋挞。今天导游介绍说葡萄牙蛋挞有二个版本。徒步游结束时，她带我们去了圣安东尼奥糕点店，这家是二个版本中的一个，我们在那里尝试了葡萄牙行的第一个蛋挞。中间用蛋黄酱制成，对我们来说实在太甜了，根本咽不下去。导游还建议我们去一家很热门的5欧元三明治餐厅吃午饭。看到那里的队伍很长我们就放弃了，而是来到Time Out市场，一家设有许多高质量饮食摊位，很有人气的室内市场。我们点了几份小吃，享受一下当地热闹氛围。炒蛤蜊非常新鲜美味，四季豆天妇罗也是绝佳。
午餐后，我们乘火车去了贝伦（Belem）， 那里是最著名的葡萄牙蛋挞（奶油蛋挞）所在地。修道院边上的蛋挞店卖的是另一个版本的蛋挞，也是原创版本，由修女创造的秘方制作。那天店排队的人不算太多，我们高高兴兴又买了几个。但很失望，所有这些著名的蛋挞对我们来说都太甜了。
接着我们参观了旁边的杰罗尼莫斯修道院，这是联合国教科文组织的世界遗产。然后我们步行到发现者纪念碑，之后返回市区。
今晚，我们在阿尔法玛的O Faria餐厅享用了一顿美餐并观看了法朵表演。晚餐可以在晚上7:00到8:30之间预订，提供固定价格的菜单，包括前菜、主菜和甜点。食物美味且高质量。法朵表演从晚上9点开始，分三个阶段，每个阶段间有20分钟的休息时间，让顾客享用晚餐。演出在晚上11点结束。对我们来说，这是一个四小时的晚餐。疲惫不堪的我们回到酒店，但街上的人们似乎才刚刚开始夜生活。
