Unfortunately, we were directed to the Meseu Militair
instead of the Mesue de Marinha. They
are in opposite directions from the ship. We didn’t know we were in the wrong
place until we got there. We probably needed a taxi to visit the good one. Most
people could have walked it in a half hour but we are not most people. The
curbs and the cobblestones are murder here.
In this museum, we saw knights on horseback in full armor. There were helmets and chain mail. There were
many cannons, a huge wagon and also a very old fancy carriage that looked like
it came out of the Three Musketeers. Adding to the ambience, there were
Portuguese re-enactors practicing sword fighting in and amongst the cannons.
Unfortunately, no photos were allowed and not much signage in English,
either. I have discovered that my meager
French skills allow me to translate some of the signs.
Bill only saw the main level but I walked through the whole
top floor. There was a large section devoted to WWI, and eleven smaller rooms
that were very ornate. Some had models and some old furniture but mostly old
war implements. One room was all old hats.
We suffered a minor disaster on the way home from the museum.
The front steering section on Bill’s scooter broke. He borrowed some tools and
took it all apart. He discovered that he needs to replace a part. I got a
wooden pencil from the main desk. Bill fashioned a shim from the pencil and
jammed it into the gap. He is the MacGyver of the Eurodam. I am making it sound it easier than it was.
We borrowed a vise grip from the main desk and he worked on it for two hours and
it works. But he doesn’t think the repair will hold up for very long
We have no ship tours until Saturday so it looks like our
wings have been clipped. It’s just too difficult without the scooter. We won’t
risk breaking the scooter completely by venturing out on the cobblestones
again. So we are going to be stuck on the ship until we head home on Tuesday,
except for the one trip.
