Last night, after I had posted, we took a little excursion down to the riverfront to watch the sunset regatta. Of course I had trouble with getting a subway ticket, which I later decided was because my coin was rejected, but instead of giving me the coin back, the machine spit out smaller change. We went one subway stop too far --it was closer than the previous one, perhaps, but in a neighborhood we couldn't navigate very well and which looked like not the world's greatest place to be wandering around alone. Everyplace was a rowdy party because Spain, who they of course hate, was playing Netherlands, who they either love or who they just love because they're playing against Spain in the World Cup. . And Netherlands beat Spain 5-1. Joy all around. I liked the boats, but we missed sunset by about 45 minutes. No red sails in the sunset for us.
And the walk home included gelato. 
Just when I thought it couldn't get any better, I woke up this morning and there is a flea market right outside our hotel. We were scheduled for a 9 a.m. city tour, so I briefly looked at the people while they were setting up. There seem to be a couple of actual antique dealers there, but it's mostly garage sale stuff. not that there's anything wrong with that!
In the 30’s all the religious houses in Portugal were closed. Monks were forced to go out into the world and fend for themselves. Nuns could stay in the convents until they died, but no new nuns could come in. The last one lived in the convent for 16 years alone.
Lots of guys selling nice china demitasse cups and saucers, antique jewelry, some of it gold and €€€, some of it silver and affordable! but I didn't buy anything, because i. didnt see anything that new or different. I did see some antique pieces I lusted after, and a gorgeous silver art nouveau tray that I might have considered committing a crime for, but it was a good possibility I wouldn't be smiling when I took it to Antiques Roadshow. Then again, it could have been real. 
We took an interesting city tour this morning. There are so many monuments and important churches and stories to remember in European cities, and they mostly slide over me, though in the moment I'm sure I'll remember them.
Random things I remember: manuelino is a style named after king Manuel and is a kind of gothic revival with a Portuguese flair. Fine examples of it are at the jeronimo monastery.
Portugal was never attacked from the sea, so its fortification tower still stands and is undamaged. 
The war memorial here is controversial because it commemorates a war nobody wanted to fight -- the fight against the now former colonies who wanted their independence. 
A little close up detail: 
There is a cool monument to sailors, I think from the 60s or so.
The famous tarts of Belen are sold all over the place, but this place is In the guide book and everyone lines up to get theirs here.
We also walked through what was very long ago the Jewish quarter, but little remains except for a street name that says avenue of the Jews. They mostly decamped during the Inquisition. There are plans for a big museum here someday.
This afternoon we had an excursion to the Tile Museum which I thought was a lot of fun. First of all, the tile was beautiful. They had some examples of Flemish or Dutch tile, and I remember when zoe and I saw their tilework on some trip and also that they kept their recipes and techniques a secret. You can see when you see the Portuguese tile of the period side by side with the Flemish/Dutch tiles that it was a good secret. But the Portuguese gradually figured it out. 
Our day included a little workshop where we got to paint a tile, which I thought was fun. 
After they are fired, they will be delivered to us on the ship. We are probably the only adults who get to do this.
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