We wanted to see some of the highlights of the country while we were in Portugal, so after we
recovered from the wedding and
enjoyed Aveiro with family and friends, we set off for
Lisbon.
Fatima
On our way there, we stopped to visit the villiage of
Fatima, where the Virgin Mary is said to have appeared before 3 shepherd children in 1917.
We were happy that Ania's mother, a devout Catholic, had the opportunity to visit a place so important to her faith.
We had a delicious lunch of grilled pork chops and rabbit (Ania's dad Roman, ordered this, and I tried it for the first time; it was really good!) at the nearby "Tasquinha Fatima", then got back on the road to Lisbon.
Hotel Eden
After a fair amount of frustration, we finally succeding in finding our way to the Hotel Eden, a stunning art deco theater building that was renovated to create the hotel.
It sits on the historic Praça dos Restauradores, which as Frommer's says "was named for the men who, in 1640, revolted against the Spanish reign. The event led to the re-establishment of Portugal's independence."
Thanks for the help, Frommer's!
I have to give credit and thanks to Frommer's for really good, accurate hotel information, as well as very useful information about Portugal in general. I took our "let's just go and we'll figure it out attitude" a bit too far and didn't buy the guide before we left, but we were fortunately able to get online while we were there, so we printed a lot of great info. Next time we go somewhere we've never been, though, I'm definitely going to support Frommer's and buy the book!
We checked into our rooms and were not disappointed. The staff were very helpful, and the rooms were clean, modern (and had air conditioning!), well-maintained, and in fact, more than we needed; they even came with a kitchenette! We learned that hotel rooms in Portugal typically don't have power until you insert your keycard.
Anniversary evening: Lisbon by night!
Although it had already been quite a long day of travelling, we decided to relax for half an hour, then set out and explore the city by night. After all, it was the evening of our 4th anniversary, and we were in Lisbon!
I'd gotten a restaurant recommendation from one of the front desk staff, but in terms of romantic ambience, it was hard to beat a late dinner outside at a sidewalk cafe. We were even serenaded by street musicians playing the accordion!
We could not have asked for a more romantic, lovely, or memorable anniversary evening than strolling around beautiful Lisbon on vacation with our family.