Without being in my home church and with my family, this was about as perfect as an Easter Sunday could be. We started with sunrise service at 6:30 AM on Lido Deck by the pool, which sounded like ocean. The choir sang He Arose and during the singing of He is Lord, the sun came up. Shortly after church, we arrived in Lisbon moving up the River Tagus and passing by the Christ the Redeemer monument, modeled after the famous statue of Christ in Rio de Janeiro. This monument was created to commemorate Portugal’s neutrality during World War II.

During the morning, we visited the National Palace of Queluz, shown in the fourth photo. This was the summer home of Portuguese royalty, modeled after the palace at Versailles with baroque and rococo features in the decor and furnishings. The chapel and the Murano glass chandelier, shown in the fifth and sixth photos, were two of my favorite parts of this beautiful structure.

From the palace we drove by several of Lisbon’s important buildings and monuments. We saw the cathedral and the monastery next door but were not able to enter due to services for Easter. The last photo shows a monument to honor Portuguese explorers, called the Monument to the Discoverers. It shows Prince Henry standing in front with thirty-three others on the steps. The monument features only one woman, Prince Henry’s mother. In the afternoon, while some other Road Scholars walked around the old district, I took a nap, my favorite Sunday afternoon activity. I awoke in time for the scenic sail away in perfect weather, ending the near perfect day. Happy Easter, Christ is risen, indeed.