A Little Stop in Lisbon, Portugal
As I’ve said many times, even on an adventure of a lifetime sometimes things just don’t all fall into place. We planned a very short stop in Lisbon, which turned out to be one of those not so great days. It’s a beautiful, vibrant city, but on the day we were there it was very crowded, too much to do in just an afternoon and I had picked a terrible hotel. Nevertheless, I am glad we stopped.
The first thing you notice about the old town in Lisbon is the tiled streets. They, are in themselves works of art. Like Porto, there are many tiled buildings as well as the streets. The origan is hard to find, but the description that seems to make the most sense, is that Portugal was once a very wealthy country. This was due to their location which allowed Portuguese ships to explore, like no other country. To show their wealth, great houses were tiled throughout the country.
This is a case where it would have made sense to hire a private tour guide. There is so much history in this city! I’m sure these tiles tell a story.
We made our way to the Santa Justa lift. This is a famous lift that takes you from the lower streets in the Baixa to the Largo do Carmo. Going up seven stories it avoids one of the steepest streets in the city. The secret, however is that you can make it to the top for the views without waiting in line or paying the 4 euros you just have to hike. Sadly, the line was terribly long and we were starved, so lunch was the first priority.
A look at the bridge of the Santa Justa lift from below. The lift is 120 years old!
Well the day was not getting any better. The first place we tried for lunch was a popular food hall. It was absolutely packed, to the point we felt uncomfortable being in there. We then started wandering, but it was a beautiful Sunday and everyone was out, so it was difficult to find a spot. We finally found a restaurant that was not crowded. There was a reason why….it was horrible! But at this point, we were so hungry we ate a small lunch.
As I said, even adventure days have their bumps sometime. All these great outdoor cafes and we picked a bad one. Oh well.
We made our way around town, ultimately making it to the Praça do Comércio or the Commercial Plaza. This is one of the largest plazas in Portugal. The original plaza was destroyed by an earthquake in 1755. This large plaza was rebuilt in 1777. The naming comes from the fact that the plaza sits along the Tagus river, making it accessible for commerce.
We entered the plaza through the grand Arco Triunfal da Rua Augusta. It was a beautiful work of architecture at the end of a very busy street.
There was a free concert going on in the plaza. We stopped and enjoyed the beautiful music for a few minutes.
We made our way to the Tagus River. The is the longest river on the Iberian peninsula starting in Spain and making it’s way here in Lisbon to empty out to the Atlantic ocean. If his bridge looks strangely familiar it is. It was designed after the Golden Gate Bridge and the Oakland-Bay Bridge in San Francisco. The Golden Gate, however, was built in the 1930’s and this one in the 1960’s. It is called Ponte 25 de Abril (25th of April Bridge) It was built by the same company that built the Oakland-Bay Bridge. A very cool site to see so far away.
And just like San Francisco, as we got closer to the water, it became foggy, windy and a bit cooler.
Look off to the left and notice the large statue on the hill. It is the Sanctuary of Christ the King a large statue inspired by a similar statue in Rio. Both of these sites would have been great to visit had we more time. We do not recommend a one night stay, as there is so much to see in this city!
We came upon the next familiar site, a trolly, that looked very similar to a cable car found in San Francisco. Of course, Steve had to have a little fun. It really is an exciting city.
The end of the day was salvaged, as we had texted our friends who had been in Lisbon the week before, for a restaurant recommendation. Fortunately they recommended a great place within walking distance of our hotel. We were so happy to find this restaurant. We had a great dinner and ended this day on a high note.
Not all adventure days are perfect, but they are still adventures! (To top off our crazy stay in Lisbon our hotel had no hot water!)
