Transatlantic Crossing Day 7

Start of day: Lisbon, Portugal
End of day: At sea

Of the four ports on this voyage, Lisbon is the easiest one to do if you don’t want to book a shore excursion. Still, I wanted to get out into the country some and didn’t want to rent a car, so I booked a tour out to the coast and to the José Maria da Fonseca winery.

A tour group walking along a cobblestone street in Vila Nogueira de Azeitão beside the long whitewashed wall of the José Maria da Fonseca winery, its name spelled out in large gold letters decorated with painted tiles, under a tiled roofline and an overcast sky

Close-up of hand-painted Portuguese azulejo tiles at the José Maria da Fonseca winery, showing a cluster of blue grapes and green vine leaves on a white glazed background, framed by small blue-and-yellow floral motifs at the tile corners

A dim, spotlit cellar wall at the José Maria da Fonseca winery with an old barred wooden gate between two large round bronze plaques, the right one reading 'Moscatel de Setúbal,' the walls and gate darkened and furred with age and cellar mould

An aged wine cellar at the José Maria da Fonseca winery, with stacked oak barrels lining both sides, a long aisle of iron racks holding dusty bottles behind, cobwebs hanging from the ceiling, and a plain wooden table in the center lit by a single overhead lamp, holding a candlestick and a small decanter

A cobbled path leading through a rounded archway in a whitewashed wall with a yellow-trimmed tile coping into a shady garden at the José Maria da Fonseca estate, framed by leafy shrubs and trees, with fallen leaves scattered across the stones

Looking down into the José Maria da Fonseca wine shop, a whitewashed hall with dark exposed roof beams, crystal chandeliers, large painted barrel ends mounted on the walls, and wooden shelves and displays of wine. Tour group members browse below and gather in the foreground

Two ornate azulejo tile signs side by side at the José Maria da Fonseca winery, each topped with a yellow castle tower and ringed with the name 'José Maria da Fonseca' in a blue oval band, one reading 'Wine Shop' and the other 'Loja de Vinhos'

While the shore excursion was well-run and delivered on what was promised, it started me thinking there needs to be a published ratio of bus time to not bus time. We spent around 2.5 hours on the bus for this 4 hour excursion. That’s not a complaint, as it’s a necessary part of the trip, but I’d like to be able to filter for trips where there’s more doing.

After returning to the cruise terminal I walked around town near the ship, covering some of the same ground as our August trip.

A square of modern azulejo tile art set into a whitewashed gatepost marked '34A' in Lisbon, depicting a woman's face cradled in her hands, her skin and hands covered in blue-and-white traditional tile patterns against a black background, next to a green iron gate under a deep blue sky

This is a dog park:

An archaeological excavation area near the Castelo de São Jorge in Lisbon, with crumbling stone walls of old buildings, a dirt yard with wooden boardwalks and benches, wooden fencing with information panels, and tall cypress trees against a clear blue sky

I walked up the hill to Castelo de São Jorge. I decided to save it for a future visit when I’d have more time.

The ornate stone gateway leading to the Castelo de São Jorge in Lisbon, topped with a carved coat of arms, beside a high stone wall shaded by large trees. Visitors walk over the cobblestones toward the arch, and souvenir stalls under white umbrellas sell tiles and textiles along the wall

Two posters pasted on a graffiti-covered green door in Lisbon advertising 'Maria's Dog Walking Service,' one in English reading 'No time to walk?' and one in Portuguese reading 'Sem tempo para passear?', each with a close-up of a brown-and-white dog against a pink sunburst and a QR code

A narrow cobbled stairway descending between a white wall with an iron handrail and old tiled townhouses with wrought-iron balconies in Lisbon's Alfama, an iron street lamp arching over the alley, a leafy tree overhead, and a sliver of the Tagus visible at the bottom under a clear blue sky

And for the second time in as many months I found myself sailing under the Ponte 25 de Abril bridge.