Promenading On Deck
on the second sea day returning to Southampton, there was an hour or so of sun and I took the opportunity like many others to walk the deck.
Promenading On Deck
I suppose though in the ten days of the cruise, we probably had about three hours of sun.
The Things I Forgot To Bring
I didn’t bring everything I needed on the cruise.
The main omission on my part, was not to bring a thick coat and plenty of cold weather clothing. But at least the jacket I did bring was very waterproof.
I also forgot my temperature and humidity meter from Maplin. It would have enabled me to do some experiments to find the atmosphere that is best for my health.
I also forgot to bring a pack of cards, which I was able to borrow on board. So I spent the last day at sea, playing Canfield.
Playing Canfield
And as always, I beat the bank. But then Mr. Canfield in Saratoga Springs made a fortune, as there were more mugs than people like me.
Incidentally, the rules I use, were from an old edition of Hoyle’s Games given to me at about eleven and are tougher than those generally used or indeed given in Wikipedia.
So this might be why, Mr. Canfield made a fortune.
I don’t gamble on cards, but if any casino decided to allow punters to play Canfield, I’d certainly check them out!
I think the only other thing I forgot was a shoehorn.
The Only Sun On March 26th
I did find a bit of sun on March 26th, as we came back from Lisbon to Southampton.
The Only Sun On March 26th
But as you see it wasn’t very strong.
Smoker’s Corner On Oriana
The weather wasn’t good on the way home, with cold winds sweeping the decks.
I thought this might be a good place to shelter, but the smokers had got there first.
Smoker’s Corner On Oriana
I suppose I was surprised that smoking was allowed on board. You just don’t see it in hotels and restaurants these days.
The Only Failure I Saw On Oriana
It was only small really, but this was the only thing I saw that was broken.
The Only Failure I Saw On Oriana
And it only happened as high winds blew on the way h0me.
Summing Up Lisbon
Lisbon was as I remembered it, when I came here with C twenty or so years ago.
The trams still have their old charm and are sticking up two fingers at the modern age, just as their bigger cousins do in Hong Kong.
Perhaps, I should fly to Portugal and come back by train via Madrid, Barcelona and high speed train back to London.
Lisbon’s Unique Lift
Lisbon is one of the few places I know with a lift to raise you up the hill.
Unfortunately, it was so busy, I decided to give a ride a miss. But I did ride it twenty years ago with C.
I do sometimes wonder, why we don’t see more lift systems like this in cities!
Santa Apolónia Station
Santa Apolónia Station is the station by the Cruise Terminal of the same name.
These pictures show the station and the view from my room looking down on the station.
So if you are lucky and are berthed by the Cruise Terminal, you can use the station just behind it.
Lisbon’s Metro
Lisbon’s Metro is modern, fairly extensive and impressive.
I used it several times and especially after I found there was a station by the Cruise Terminal.
One thing to note is that there is a very large El Cortes Ingles built on top of the São Sebastião Metro station, which is on the line that goes to the Cruise Terminal. The shop had a massive food department, so I suspect, it had a selection of gluten-free food.
Buying A Transport Ticket In Lisbon
I tried to buy a ticket after a coffee in Black Horse Square, where tram route 28 passes through. But there was no information, although someone tried to sell me a ticket for one of the bus tours.
So in the end I got one of the new trams to one of the Metro stations. I bought the ticket for this tram on-board using a few euro coins.
At the Metro station, I found a machine, that after some co-operation with an Austrian lady, I cajoled into giving me a 24 hour ticket. lonely Planet says there are kiosks for these tickets, but I didn’t find one.
The Anonymous Widower 