Last Day in Lisbon

The real downside of this year’s trip was that the only dates available included Thanksgiving. Since the kids had planned to spend Thanksgiving with the “other family,” I decided to come.

I gave my exam today, and then had to decide what to do with my last afternoon. Last night with my Via Lusitania friends, I got a couple of suggestions, but in the end, I decided to go back to basics and walk at least part of the Camino from Lisbon. After all, the non-human thing I am most thankful for is the Camino.

I made sure to look for some old Caminho GPS tracks, because the new ones I followed last year did not take me through the old port that I had remembered from my first Caminho Português in 2008. They have moved a lot of of the Caminho over to the riverfront, which is nice enough, but I thought it was more interesting to walk past the actual port buildings that were a bit removed from the water.

I was surprised to come upon a big complex, the sign pronouncing that its name was Unicorn. If you can understand anything that this website describes, you are sharper than I am! https://unicornfactorylisboa.com

I just started walking around inside and went into one of the restaurants to find out what it was. A waiter told me that the complex was a former military base, which has been turned into a “destination.” The big beer brewery was in a former electrical generating room, and they’ve left all the machinery, polished and shining. Other places had different styles and menus.

When I got close to Parque das Naçōes, I moved down to the river walk. Lots of fancy apartment buildings going up. At the Vasco da Gama tower, I turned around, walked back past the Calatrava train station and hopped in an Uber.

I had not seen the Christmas tree in the main square lit up, and I’m really glad I stopped there. I was FaceTime-ing with one set of grandkids while walking around the square, and it was fun to show them how beautiful it is. But it is easier to impress three– and seven-year-olds with a beautiful Christmas tree than it is an 11-year-old!

Tomorrow I head home. A big storm is forecast for the Chicago area, so who knows when I will arrive.Read more