Wednesday, 19 November 2025
Day at Sea 

Thank goodness for another day at sea and a respite from all the off-ship adventures--I will report on my daily step count at the end of the trip! We do have a number of on-ship activities, however.

First on is a morning talk by guest lecturer David Gardner, "Understanding Russia from 1547 to the Present." At lunch, I enjoy a lovely green- and yellow-tomato salad. Will and I were served these tomatoes on one of our first trips to Italy and we wondered why we were given unripe tomatoes. Then we tasted them and realized they are some of the best local tomatoes that Italy grows.

After lunch, members of the Seabourn Six entertainment team present a "classical" concert by the pool.

Before dinner we have another "Officer & Team Member Salute" on the pool deck. Primarily for those passengers disembarking in Lisbon tomorrow, everyone is welcome for cocktails and canapés. I have already attended two of these parties, in Athens and Rome.

Tonight we have another dinner in Solis, the specialty restaurant, with Anita and Deb. This time we enjoy tiramisu made fresh at the table.

Thursday, 20 November 2025
Lisbon, Portugal

Today is a special day for us as we arrive in Lisbon, our final port before crossing the Atlantic. Today is Will's birthday, although the celebration began last night in Solis, where Deb and Anita gifted Will with two boxes of Perugina Baci, chocolate kisses with special messages inside the individual wrappings.

Will has never been to Lisbon so we arrange a four-hour private van tour through Viator, the on-line travel agency that offers tours in cities throughout the world. We have used Viator in many places over many years and they are always honest and reliable. Lisbon, like Rome, is built on seven hills, although the streets are much steeper. Even I have trouble navigating some of them and Will would find it impossible. We have a private driver-guide, Vasco, whose English is perfect and whose knowledge of the city is excellent. Vasco will take us to the most important parts of the city, including some places I have never seen, even during my first time one-week stay in May 1995.

Our tour begins at 8am with an early-morning drive up the narrow, winding streets of the Alfama, Lisbon's oldest neighborhood and the only one to have survived the devastating earthquake of 1755 (read about it in Voltaire's Candide). We stop to admire the view from one of the highest points.

St George's Castle (11th cent)

As we drive down through the Alfama we have less panoramic but equally evocative city views.

Will and Vasco in the Alfama

Our tour continues down past the former cathedral (Seo)  to the Baxia, the central flat downtown of Lisbon. But we are soon driving upward again through the high-rent district of Parque Eduardo II and then through the Monsanto Forest Park, the largest in the city. The long leafy drive takes us to Belem, one of the most popular parts of Lisbon. Home to the Jerónimos Monastery, one of the most prominent examples of late Portuguese Gothic Manueline architecture (early 1500s), Belem is also the site of several other important monuments, including the Belem Tower and the Monument to the Navigators.

But the most important place to visit in Belem is Pasteis de Belem, since 1837 Lisbon 's finest bakery. Everyone comes here to taste the custard-filled pastry that every other bakery in the city tries to imitate. Not only does Vasco purchase pastries for us to take back to the ship, but also gives us an extensive tour of all the backstage areas of the operation, since he seems to know everyone on the premises.

We continue Will's birthday celebration, with our friends and our favorite servers, Bharat and Klevi, and an extra special bottle of prime champagne gifted to us by the Head of Dining Services, Kevin. Besides our regular chosen desserts, Will suffers the indignity of a special birthday cake and best wishes all around.