Lisbon - Silver Dawn

 I had a great sleep for the first half of the night. The second half quite wakeful. I got up just after 7am and went for a short walk before Colleen woke up. A nice morning, with a bit of high cloud and about 17C. A fair number of people out starting their day, both tourist and local. We had a lovely breakfast at the hotel in another very ornate room and met up with several of the other people in the group. After breakfast we had time for a walk up Avenue des Liberdade, and checked out a market on the way. We both ended up making purchases!

At noon we checked out of the hotel and got the transfer to the Silver Dawn. A fairly short check-in process, then on to the ship to one of the lounges for a champagne and caviar reception. The rooms were going to be ready at 2pm, so we toured the ship to check it out. I must say it all looks lovely! About 600 passengers, and very spacious. Then to our room to unpack. A very large suite with balcony and walk-in closet. Bathroom with separate bath and shower. It's such a lovely day that I decided to put on my bathing suit and head to the pool. It's a lovely temperature, and not many people around. I spent a couple of hours swimming and relaxing in the sun, then attended the safety drill and signed up for some cooking classes later in the week. Colleen texted me from the Arts Cafe which is like a coffee bar, so I joined her for some light appies and cucumber water. 

At 6:45 there was a welcome reception in the Panorama Lounge to give us some information about different activities on the cruise. Afterwards 6 of us went to dinner in Atlantide. I had an Artichoke timble, fried hake with a lemon sauce and an incredible hazelnut dessert. It was so good that even though I was full I had to keep eating! It will be another full day tomorrow, and today is catching up with me, so time for bed!