Saturday 27th June 2009: Parque das Nações

Saturday morning found us on the metro to the Parque das Nações (Park of Nations), with a brief stop off at Baixa-Chaido for the Guardian. Getting off at the Oriente metro station, we found ourselves walking through the giant Vasco da Gama shopping mall to get to the park. We arrived just before the ticket office opened so we had a little rest in the sunshine before buying a ticket each that gave us entry to the various exhibitions as well as a couple of cable car rides.



We rode the cable car down the front to the Oceanarium. I took a lot of photos in there...penguins and sea otters playing in the water, a giant sun fish, sharks, and rays swimming past at eye level. I could have stayed in there all day. Here's just a few of the hundreds of photos I took...



After the Oceanarium, we visited the Water Park and the Science Museum (which is wasted on kids) where I rode a bike on a high wire.



After playing with all the scientific "educational" stuff like the giant bubble maker and hovering ball in a stream of air, we caught the cable car back to the other end of the park to have a look at the Torre Vasco da Gama and Ponte Vasco Da Gama.



Having sated my desire to look at tall buildings and big bridges, we walked back through the different botanical gardens until we ended up at Anthony Gormley's Rhizome II sculpture.



This stands near the Pavilhao de Portugal, an amazing structure with it's swooping curved concrete roof spanning an open space that is used for civic events and concerts.



We then decided it was time to use the bits of our tickets that allowed us a ride on the little train around the site.



This was fun, waving to the kids as we went past and bumping along over the cobbles, it brought out the big kids in us both. After all that excitement, we headed off into the Vasco da Gama shopping mall for some crepes with ice cream and a pint of lemon iced tea each. A wander round the shops and we headed back to the hotel. I was impressed with the coordinated public transport set up. The metro station was linked to the bus and train stations above via a futuristic concourse, and the train station canopies especially caught my eye.



We got back to our room at 7pm, having left the hotel at 9 that morning. A quick freshen up and we were off out again at 8pm for dinner, catching the metro at Parque station and heading out into the streets from Baixa-Chaido. We found the Cervejaria Trindade restaurant up Rua Nova da Trinidade. Set in an old monastery, the food and drink was great. Sonia treated herself to a Mateus Rose while I enjoyed a 50cl glass of black beer (the local stout). Sonia's Portuguese steak came grilled with garlic and a slice of ham/bacon, my Black Pork loin was served with apple sauce. Both came with what the menu described as "old style fried potatoes". These turned out to be freshly made hot crisps. We followed these with a couple of creme custard based desserts, served with sauces - mine was a rich port and caramel sauce and I could have licked my plate clean. Finishing off with a cup of tea for Sonia and a Bica for me (small sweet strong coffee, a bit like Portuguese Espresso), we wended our way back to the hotel through the evening crowds for a well deserved rest.