The SECOND Oldest Capital in Europe ... Athens, Greece is older.
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Pron. [lee-sj-bo-ah]
Here's the view from the juliette balcony of our hotel in Lisboa, we overlook Rossio Square.
We drove 150 kms from Evora, dropped the rental car off and booked a shuttle to the Internacional Design Hotel. They will also return us to the airport when we fly out. We have a three night stay. Several friends have spent time in Lisboa and they've passed on some tips and recommendations for things to do during the short time we have here.
Our hotel from the street ... we arrived too early, then walked a lot, saw street mimes and a shoreline sculptor, an unusual viewing elevator, the Rua Augusto Arch, some statues of Navigators on Horses and ... I found that elusive periwinkle scarf I'd been looking for, 2.50 Euro in a shop, right next to our periwinkle painted hotel, just down the street from a street mime in a periwinkle dress ... what are the chances?!
Drank some wine at a cafe, enjoyed a nice lunch, room not ready, complimentary hotel drinks, room still not ready, more complimentary hotel drinks, room ready by 4:00 pm, staff apologized with more complimentary drinks for later, room upgraded to a suite, nap-time, light dinner out, found a late night wine store still open!
Castelo De S. Jorge
We took the Hills Tramcar Tour, which included a stop at Castelo De S. Jorge and a driving loop through the Madragoa, Mouraria and Alfama boroughs of the city. We had a soup and salad lunch, found a nice Portuguese mask to add to our collection, visited the Dr. Wine wine & tapas bar for a light dinner and ... retired early.
Bus Tour on a Rainy Day
We had hoped to do a walking tour of the Belem area of Lisboa, but a very rainy day changed our plans. Instead we boarded a bus for the Tagus Tour which winds through Belem and along the Tagus River on it's return to the city core.
' Lisbon's most monumental and historical area is Belem. It was from here that many of the great Portuguese explorers embarked on their voyages of discovery: Prince Henry the Navigator and the first overseas expedition to conquer Ceuta in Morocco, Bartholomeu Dias to round the Cape of Good Hope, the first voyages of Ferdinand Magellan, Vasco da Gama to discover the sea route to India, and Christopher Columbus stopped here on his way back to Europe after discovering the New World. During this time Lisbon flourished with riches pouring into Portugal and saw the construction of great monuments like the Belem Tower and Jeronimos Monastery. '
We only had two full days in Lisboa and unfortunately, got rained out on our last one. Could have used more. Next stop ... Dubai, UAE, see you there.
Click on any photo (some stock) in this post to launch a slideshow gallery of all the photos.
Wikipedia provides some content.
Crusty ...
So, you're "castled-out"? Well, that's Europe for you! Now you know,why our Canadian kids preferred summer camp in Ontario over yer another cultural trip with their parents at home.Hope you fell in love with this part of the world (our home and heritage). C.
ReplyDeleteHi Christa - yes we did fall in love with this part of the world. So much history, great food, wine and very clean. Have fun in Ecuador - stay safe H
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