WE leave South America with some melancholy..An overnight flight to Lisbon goes smoothly and we have just enough time to check into our hotel before going on a “city tour” of the city. Neither of us have been there before so were keen to get a quick look on this one night visit.

We are both immediately struck by the unfriendliness of our guide. A talented woman who with incredible ease fluctuated between, Portuguese, Italian, Spanish, French and English. How I envy her and recognize the hours of study it must have taken to accomplish this. This ability alone to be able to communicate with so many people throughout the world should make “anyone” happy with their life but apparently not her. She behaves like a robot, going through her “routine”, and reluctantly answers any questions directed at her. We stop at an incredible museum of old carriages and thankfully only one church! We then have the opportunity to walk through some of the old town which gives us a real feel for the city. We pass a bridge (I know I should not compare) but it does remind us both of the Golden Gate, not only for its colour but the similar style in which it has been erected. It is wonderful to experience the daylight up to around nine o’clock and we both felt that although such a short visit that we had seen quite a bit.