Day 1

Monastary of Jeronimas
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Arrived in Lisbon on Thursday evening after a LOOOONG day of travel.

Saw the longest line I've ever had in Portland for the Lufthansa check-in, and they only have the one flight a day to worry about (ok, maybe there are others, but not many)!!  Took over an hour to reach the counter, leaving me just enough time to clear security and get to my gate for boarding! (OK - I didn't leave 2 full hours like I should have, but I couldn't leave before the kids got home from their last 1/2 day of schoool!)

Lisbon - what a great city!

Belem Tower
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Then my 4 hour layover in Frankfurt turned into a 9 hour Odyssey....a severe thunderstorm had closed the airport and cancelled MANY flights earlier that morning - so I was stuck in queue again while other passengers got re-booked.  Almost 2 hours this time!  Then our flight was delayed and additional 4 hours (again due to the impact of the earlier weather problems) - thus 9 joyful hours in the Frankfurt airport.  For those that remember Pat and my first Europe trip 20 years ago you'll realize that Frankfurt really has it in for us!

Fishing at the monument to the explorers
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After a good night's sleep (for me a rarity when on Biz travel) I took most of Friday to explore Lisbon while my body clock adjusted - what a great city!  I explored Belem with it's wonderful monastary church and monument to the great Portuguese explorers, then took the tram back to the Praca do Commercio and the Baixa neighborhood - amazing shopping district with narrow streets, outdoor cafe's and lot's of people.  Unfortunately my camera battery died halfway through the day, so pic's of the Baixa area will have to wait!

Interior of the monastary
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The Monistiero dos Jeranimas (Monistary of Jeranamas) in Belem was everything a European Church should be, wonderful archetcture, tombs of famous Portuguese (including Vasco De Gama), grand and solemn.  The palace next to the Church contains the Museum of Archeology - I skipped going inside but loved the architecture!

Across the way was a wonderful fortress tower built in the 1500s - Belem Tower.  17 canon still face out over the Tagus river (which the city sits on and gives access to the sea), and a tiny spiral staircase lets you explore from the basement (armory and prison) to the top of the tower 5 floors above.  Plenty of nooks and narrow passageways to explore and get unique views of the river and the city - loved it!

The Cultural Center of Belem (performing arts center)
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After a tram ride back to the center of Lisbon I visited the Baixa district and had a wonderful dinner - the Portuguese version of Chiappino (I forget the Portuguese name, but it was seafood stew) - that and a beer made for the end of a great day.

After an evening catching up on work stuff and trying out this blogging thing, I'm off to bed!