Lisbon (Sunday 3/26)

Another packed-full day in Lisbon, with 8.5 miles of walking, mostly uphill and up stairs. We started out with breakfast at TimeOut Market, where the adults had pasteis de nata from Manteigaria and the kids had giant donuts. Then we headed to the Alfama neighborhood--the oldest part of Lisbon. Twisty streets, tile everywhere, cobblestones, laundry hanging from lines outside ancient apartment windows. We walked and walked. We tried to see the Lisbon cathedral (the Se), but Mass was going on and we couldn't go in. Our destination was the castle, and getting up there was no small feat--we were all struggling with the steep hills and stairs. Truly struggling. We didn't have tickets to go in, so the trek was really just a way to see more of the neighborhood. We bought some souvenirs in a shop as we walked back down.

We were very ready for water and lunch at this point, and everyone had to go to the bathroom, and it was much hotter than any of us had really dressed for--so we headed back to the TimeOut Market for lunch. Unfortunately, it was wall-to-wall people; there was nowhere to sit, lines for every food stall, and big lines for the bathroom. It was chaos, so we bought some waters, used the bathroom, and left to find another lunch place. And we just couldn't. We were all too overheated and over-walked, and we (I) had a lunch meltdown. We decided to just get food from the grocery store by our apartment and have lunch at home. A good decision. We made a charcuterie board and revived ourselves.

For dinner, we went to Ramiro--a seafood restaurant featured in every travel show about Lisbon. We ordered a bunch of dishes to share: clams; shrimp with garlic; oysters (for Andrew); canilha (also called spiny dye-murex), which we incorrectly called cockles; barnacles; and steak sandwiches. I'd promised the kids an item of their choice at a store of their choice if they tried everything, which they did--but the looks on their faces when faced with the barnacles was priceless. They were aghast. "Barnacles grow on WHALES" and "Barnacles grow on OLD SHIPS" are among the many comments the girls made. The horror of the barnacles and cockles was a running joke for the rest of the trip. It may be a running joke forever. "Why don't we just have some COCKLES," Lucia would suggest in a voice dripping with sarcasm. Greta would occasionally call Lucia a barnacle as an insult. "Strong as a barnacle" somehow became a catchphrase. 

For dessert--back to the fabulous gelato place, Sorbettino. 

We couldn't have packed even one more thing into this wonderful Lisbon day.