I felt far from great as we awoke to the British roommates, still seemingly intoxicated, laughing uproariously as they shared their evenings’ blunders with one another. We readied ourselves for the day promptly, wanting out from the throws of debauchery. We had a lovely breakfast at The Brasileira Cafe in The Chiado, the chic shopping district, where Greg enjoyed what was acclaimed to be the “best cup of coffee in Lisbon.” He confirmed that it lived up to its hype.     

  After an hour or so of piddling about the hostel room, and me trying to remedy my nausea, we finally headed out for Belem, the historic town that boasts impressive and ancient monuments about 10 minutes from Lisbon. When we arrived, we popped into the monastery, which was stunning and unique because the choir was singing as we entered. However, this site was rather packed and we were more interested in the Tower of Belem and the monument dedicated to the discoveries, Padrão dos Descobrimentos. The monument built in 1960 to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the death of Prince Henry the Navigator, was quite, well, monumental for lack of a better word. It is this enormous ship that appears narrow and tall from the front and then when you move to each side of it, you see that it’s a vessel and various explorers and the king and poets are all depicted at the mast of the ship looking out onto the river, literally, the river is just beyond the monument. We walked along the river walk for a bit until our bladders forced us to locate a water closet. To our delight, we stumbled upon a swanky waterfront boutique hotel called Altis. After using the facilities, we decided we had to at least have a drink on the terrace of their bar called 38 degrees 41 feet. One glass of wine turned into a late lunch of one of the best shrimp Caesar salads we’ve ever had. At long last I felt fully remedied. 

  After lunch we walked to the Belem Tower (Torre de Belem), built in the 16th century. The tower served as a fortification to help protect the entire city, and it served an important role of defense during The Age of Discoveries. It’s surrounded by water and you can actually wade up to the bottom of it. Locals collected barnacles within the rocks of this small pool beneath the tower, while a street musician played a xylophone on the broad stairs toward the tower. The tower reminded me of King Louie’s, the orangutan, ruin castle from Jungle Book. We snapped some lovely photos and then walked toward the entrance only to sadly discover that it had closed about 30 minutes prior.

 We walked a bit more and mulled over what we could do for dinner. I had listened to quite a few podcasts on all of my destinations leading up to the trip and there was a restaurant off the beaten path near Lisbon that I had been eager to try, per the recommendation of a knowledgable Lisbon native I had listened to on Amateur Traveler. The restaurant was located in Cacilhas which can be accessed via ferry across the river. The restaurant was called Punto Final, meaning final point, and it’s perched at the very end of a wharf wall lining the opposite side of the river, rather closely situated next to the iconic, 24 de Abril bridge. It was supposedly a hidden gem with unbeatable views of the entire city and best enjoyed with a long, leisurely sunset. Greg was not too enthused about the prospect of venturing further off the Lisbon path, but he quickly warmed up to the idea and decided he was going to go with my instincts which I greatly appreciated… though now the pressure was on! Unsure of where the ferry was, we decided to be a bit lazy and take a cab. Our cab driver had never heard of the restaurant, which gave me nervous now that the fate of the evening rested in my sweaty little hands. However, he was an incredibly friendly and kind person, of course, and he stopped another incredibly kind and friendly gentleman in the street to ask him about how to get to this perhaps fictitious eatery by the river. At long last we arrived at our destination. This area of Cacilhas was a bit seedier than the glittering streets of Lisbon, but maybe seedy is too harsh, we’ll call it slightly more bohemian if you will. We walked to the wharf wall that was covered in graffiti and somewhat in shambles and ruins to the left, but to the right was nothing but shimmering water, a soon to be setting sun, and the bridge gluing us together with the city we came to love ever so quickly. We walked, and walked, and walked, my nerves growing stronger with each step. Did this place exist? How disappointed and frustrated would Greg be with me if this was a total bust? And then, it appeared! Bright yellow chairs and tables, a cacophony of clinking wine glasses and Portuguese chatter came into view and range at the very end of the wharf walk. The final point it most certainly was, and now we were about to find out if it was worth the trek. We got one of the very last available tables outside, and as soon as we were seated, the sun started smearing down below the bridge, creating an unforgettable image branded into my memory. We ordered octopus salad and grilled sea bass and shared a bottle of vino blanco. Though the entree selection remained to be mono-food-grouped, I think this may have been one of my favorite meals. The ambiance was perfection. Greg and I enjoyed a very leisurely dinner and stayed there laughing and chatting for hours. All in all, it was worth the trek and the worry! Thank you Amateur Traveler for highlighting this Portuguese treasure. 

        
The ferry station was just at the beginning of the wharf wall, and to our delight, as soon as we boarded, for free mind you, it sailed off in the direction of Lisbon. To our heightened delight, we didn’t pay a thing upon our departure from the ferry either! It was the smoothest and most seamless return by ferry we’ve both ever experienced. We continued the laughs at an Irish pub near to our hostel before turning in on yet another day that brimmed with admiration and wonder.