Lisbon - Day 2
We left the ship mid-morning to spend some time walking around Lisbon prior to the pastry cooking class we booked for mid afternoon. Walking around much of the old town in Lisbon is pretty challenging. The streets are extremely narrow as are the sidewalks. Many streets are cobblestone and all sidewalks are composed of small tiles beautifully arranged but often dislodged.and portions of the sidewalk sink unexpectedly, forcing you to keep your eyes on the ground and not the sites. To make the roads more challenging are the hills in parts of the city. Most traffic is bared from the old town during the day but traffic and pedestrian traffic movement is still a challenge with streetcars, city buses, motorbikes, tuk-tuks (small vehicles that look to be a cross between a golf cart and a very small car), and many pedestrians.
Europe has many spectacular cathedrals and Lisbon is no exception. In the Lisbon Cathedral there are a number of chapels that have crypts. I especially especially enjoyed the crypt of Saint Anne, with the cover of her crypt carved with her figure laying down reading a book. The cathedral had 2 beautiful working organs and an organist was playing one as we toured the cathedral. They also had an ancient organ on dusplay in the choir loft.
After walking around on the hills with the uneven walkways we found a flat space, the Praça do Comércio. It was once occupied by the Royal Palace until the earthquake of 1755 destroyed it. It remains an open square where people gather (including pickpockets unfortunately). We enjoyed walking around the square and watching people enjoying a man making bubbles enjoyed by young one and adults alike.
We had a little time before our pastry class so we stopped for a salad and a drink at a cafe located on one of the main thoroughfares near the bakery.
Our pastry class was a 2 hour “Master Class” where we learned to make the traditional Portuguese custard tart pastry called Pastel da Nada. We had a great time. The owner of the pastry shop. João and his assistant taught the hands on class. Participants in the class came from the US, Australia, France and the Ukraine. We all had a great time and our pastries came out great. We also got the recipe to take home as a bonus.
Back on our cruise ship we had just enough time to get ready for dinner and the White Night Party which is held on every Azmara cruise. We elected to eat dinner in one of the specialty restaurants instead of the on-deck buffet but joined the party afterwards for a little fun.
