Christmas Day
Peaceful day on a calm sea. We had exchanged presents a few days earlier when I realised I hadn’t packed any cuff links... Each of us had got the other a pair. Martyn has got me a fine pair of binoculars, so we’re looking forward to our next U3A bird watching day. I got him a set of brushes for watercolours and acrylics. I’d brought some art kit with me, but we somehow didn’t feel moved to paint this time.
Dinner was disappointing: as a main course we’d chosen a dish of grilled turbot with lobster and langoustine with a bouillabaisse sauce. The presentation was awful: it looked like a school dinner stew. The sauce completely swamped the subtle flavours of the fish. Head waiter advised.
Boxing Day
Back to wonderful Lisbon. As always a good experience despite, this time, some frustrations early on. We were out on the balcony, dressed, as we sailed under the Salazar/25 April bridge this morning as the wind howled through its cables and girders, and the traffic played tunes on the metal mesh roadway. Wouldn’t want to live close to that!
We got the shuttle bus to the Restauradores: it stopped conveniently opposite the tourist office, where we were to collect our pre-paid Lisbon transport and museum cards. They work a numbered ticket queuing system, and when we finally reached a counter, 45 minutes after we arrived, it still took the boy 10 minutes to find and issue the tickets. Next, we went to Starbucks in the Rossio station, where we queued to order our drinks (mainly to qualify for an entry code to their filthy chiottes), and then queued to get them. It didn’t help our tempers when I got us lost on the way to the Estufa Fria which, it being December, was not on the top of its form. It is a wonderfully peaceful place nevertheless.
From there I took Martyn for a proper Lisbon experience: a grilled chicken restaurant in the Largo do Rato. There used to be a place there where they grilled chickens at the front window, but that seems to have gone. Large portion of delicious chicken per man, served with rice, chips and salad, two glasses of wine and a mineral water: 14€70. By the time we were getting stuck into our lunch, local people were queuing for tables, so that must be a recommendation. From there we took an ancient tram to the Chiado, and then another up to Graça, where we stayed a few years ago. I love the tram rides on the winding streets of the Alfama. (I was nevertheless conscious of the fact that one of them tipped over the other day causing not a few injuries.)
From Graça we got a bus (slightly less terrifying than last time) down to Santa Apollónia station, which is a hop and a skip from the cruise terminal. Back on board in time for a cup of tea and a snooze before the afternoon quiz (which we lost). Our mobile phones - and knees - tell us that we walked over 10000 paces during the day.
We were out on the balcony as we sailed, and stayed out until we were past the bridge. Some lovely sunset views towards the bridge and the Cristo Rei statue.
Supper was again curate’s egg: Martyn’s mozzarella, rocket and vine tomato salad was short on mozzarella and long on anaemic glasshouse tomatoes. My beef was suitably rare, but rather tough. Martyn’s lamb was just right. After supper we teamed up again with Carolyn and David for the wipeout quiz, and won it again.
29 December
We were in the car by 09:25, and home by midday, having shopped en route. The journey was pretty smooth: the A3/M25 route is the least worst of the options.
The last couple of days at sea were smooth and uneventful, and we were treated a couple of times to sightings of pods of dolphins. We did various quizzes, including a ‘name that melody’ game: which my team won, narrowly beating Martyn’s. (I even got one answer that the rest of my team didn’t! Miraculous, given my zero knowledge of popular music.) Martyn played a few ends of bowls one afternoon with one of our quiz friends, discovering that he has lost none of his skill.
Taking stock of our trip, we have mixed feelings. After twelve nights on board, we are glad to be home and on our own again. We met some delightful people as usual, notably Pam and David, whom we’d met on a similar cruise two years ago, and a lively bunch of people we met in quizzes. We got a bit fed up, however, with people moaning about anything and everything, and particularly with people who were rude to the staff. So we’ve had enough of communal life for a while.
In the main, Cunard’s service is exemplary, and they sorted out the problem we had with our cabin with polite professionalism. The ship is luxurious and refined, and except for the unusually rough conditions on the way south, one is scarcely aware of movement or mechanical sound. There is a point just aft of midships where you hear the sound of the exhaust stack running up through the superstructure, but the only time we were aware of mechanical noise in any of our three cabins was from the bow thrusters while the ship was leaving or arriving at a berth. In our final cabin, forward of the bridge, we only heard the occasional slap of waves under the bows: it would have been a very different story had the sea been as rough as on the way south!
Having spent 12 days in an enclosed space with 3000 other people, it’s perhaps not surprising that I’ve started yet another cold. As my colds go, however, it seems to be a mild one, and I just hope I haven’t passed it on to Martyn. But we have cried off our usual Hogmanay invitation, not wishing to pass it on to a frail elderly friend.
30 December
Latish start for us both today, and we aren’t missing a lot: it is grey and misty. We broke the back of the laundry yesterday, so have been able to take it easy today. I spent 20 minutes or so in the garden, however, chopping down the rudbeckias and doing an interim prune of the roses nearest the dining room doors. I took a quick look yesterday at the cold frames, where the penstemon and other cuttings seem to be doing well. Of course, we have had few frosts so far, so we’re cautiously optimistic at most. The donor penstemon plants are still flowering timidly, as are the daphnes. One of last year’s primulas is flowering, and the little sarcococca plants at the front door are coming into flower.
1 January 2019
Within 36 hours of leaving the ship, Martyn developed symptoms of a gut bug, and took to bed where he remains as I write, though I think he’s slowly getting over it. Some joker was letting off fireworks yesterday mid-evening, and there were sounds of partygoers in the street when I went to bed. Whether there were fireworks or festivities at midnight I couldn’t tell you.
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