The almost unbearable chore of the travel day started yesterday at the Toronto airport around 2:15 pm when we arrived at the departure gate four hours early. We had spent the prior evening at an airport hotel and despite a late checkout we couldn’t find much to occupy the pre- departure time. There’s only so much daytime television one can abide before totally losing sanity! The flight to Frankfurt on Lufthansa thankfully left on time and we were upgraded to Premium Economy (i.e. more legroom, meals served on real plates, not plastic ones, with metal cutlery and a large seatback monitor). Not quite business class but better than the poor souls in Economy Lite (where you are basically sitting in the fetal position eating lean cuisine-style meals). The food on Lufthansa is much better than Delta (no surprise there) and Alitalia (there goes the reputation for Italian cuisine), with an Indian vegetarian entree that was spicy AND tasty and yogurt (instead of the dreaded Hot Pockets wannabes that I have recently been offered on the other two airlines) for breakfast. We arrived in Frankfurt on time, took the customary bus ride from the plane to the terminal and got through passport control in record time, (we jumped the line) thanks to the 75 euro extra added service of a personal escort from gate to gate. I guess that I can technically add Germany to the list of countries I have visited since we spent about 90 minutes at the gate. Here is proof that we were in Germany- a sausage fast food restaurant!
The flight to Lisbon had over an hour late departure time, but we didn’t care as we had no further flight connections.
Arriving at the Hotel Lisboa Plaza was a relief after all the hours of waiting and in-flight time. The taxi ride was quick and inexpensive (about 11 euros). A shower, teeth brushing and change of clothes do wonders to refresh the body and mind. Today is the Feast of St. Anthony, the patron saint of Portugal, who was born in Lisbon in 1195. 
The city has been in celebration mode for the past couple weeks and many of the parks scattered throughout the city have set up musical stages and food booths. 
One of these is just a block away from our hotel. We couldn’t resist trying one of the traditional specialties, grilled sardines. They are cooked over coals, head and all, and can be served alone, with bread, or with other grilled fish and meats. The bones are very fine and can be eaten, but I refuse to snack on fish heads!
We usually like to orient ourselves to a new city by strolling the main thoroughfares. We walked down to the waterfront on the banks of the Tagus (Tejo) River, passing several of the main Praças (like the plazas in Spain and piazzas in Italy). 
Along the way we sampled the traditional liqueur called ginjinha, made from a berry that tastes like sour cherries 
and a local draft beer at the Museu (yes, that’s Museum) of Beer.
At this point, our stomachs were rumbling as the two sardines that we shared had been completely digested, so we were in search of a restaurant for dinner. The Rick Steves guide book recommended a place close to our hotel so we gave Restaurante di Gina a try. I had a wonderful grilled sea bass, Tony had cod and octopus prepared “Portuguese style” baked in a wood oven, and our “dessert” was a glass (small) of port wine.
After such a substantial dinner, we needed a long walk, so we joined the thousands of others on their evening passeggiata (Italian word) /paseo (Spanish). There are 275 steps up to the Barrio Alta on the western part of the central city, with outdoor restaurants arranged on the stair landings. We climbed up to the top and then came back down, thereby completing our cardio workout for the day!
It has been a long, sleep-deprived day so we returned to the hotel for a well deserved rest. But not before a visit to the famous (infamous) Fantastic World of Portuguese Sardines! It was surreal, with walls covered with colorful cans of sardines.
It would be great to buy some as small gifts, but I don’t want to lug around a bunch of sardine cans for two weeks! Tomorrow we have a private tour of some of the castles in Sintra, the neighboring town and I am fading – so good night,all!
Camino Musings 