Four days in Portugal's capital, Lisbon, to get a feel for life here and, of course, visit some of the 'must see' places in this historic city...
We make the short journey from Guincho without any problems, er, until we actually pass the site entrance.... We get off the A5 and its complex exits without trouble, follow the helpful signs and satnavs but after the great direction signs there is no sign, yes NO sign outside the campsite, so we drive past. So does a guy in a motorhome behind us... but we're in a 14m long outfit and this is just outside Lisbon. Still, I find a little road (with pretty ⛔ signs on it) to reverse into and we're back around and in!
Only 20 mins by Uber from the city; who would have thought it...
After a quick lunch, we Uber into the city and have the afternoon in to breathe in the atmosphere and sort out what we're doing; it's a great start, helped by Alex (daughter) WhatsApping us a suggested starting point. It's difficult to believe that this vibrant place was a dictatorship just 50 years ago; in April there was a major countrywide celebration of 50 years of democracy since the revolution.
We decide to purchase a 48hr hop-on, hop-off bus, tram, funicular combi ticket to make life easier for our explorations.
So, up early, armed with our Uber App and aforementioned inclusive tickets we explore, eat, tick off our 'must sees' and add some more over the next couple of days.... and it really is a wonderful city with great bars, restaurants and, of course, all that culture and history.
Highlights of our explorations?.....
..The famous tram route 28..
Have a look HERE (our vid)
..The Basilica Estrela from the Estrela park..
..View from the top of the 1902 lift..
...An unbelievably large book fair at the top of the city, with scores of robust, but temporary, book shops and small conference areas for book launches and 'meet the author' events...
...The national tile museum has great displays and history of this craft, so important to Portugal...
The museum's home was previously a monastery; here's a glimpse of the church in which the devoted could pray for support for the poor and disadvantaged in society.
...The Fado Museum was really well done - we could have spent so much more time here..
It takes the visitor gently through the origins of Fado though its development, commercialisation, censorship and use as a promotional tool by the dictator Salazar. The information on rafts of Fado singers and players is immense.
Censorship...
In the early evening we see a short Fado show in a small theatre..
So much done.... and still to do but perhaps the most impactful experience so far is the cool Lisbon life, with hundreds of inhabitants chatting, meeting, eating and drinking.
Tomorrow will be our last here; we're spending the evening with Alex and Jake before moving on to spend a couple of days nearer to their temporary home which has moved from the city to the nearby coast..... So a little more to come..
Last day in Lisbon then.... First visit takes a lot longer than expected as we join a very slow moving queue for one and a half hours to see the Torre de Belém, a decorated river fortification built to protect the vast Mosteiro dos Jerónimos, constructed around 1498 (when Vasco de Gama set sail for India to extend the Portuguese Empire).
Here's the tower with the end of the queue visible..
The cruise liners are in town - just look at the queue for the nearby monastery...
Near to the tower, there's a momento to the old seaplane port in the days when long distance flying was all about seaplanes.
Filled with more culture we head for the narrow streets of the Alfama district with its shops and buzz; it's easy to image this in Arabic times and reflect on the origins of parts of this city. We lunch here, visiting the City's Cathedral before heading to a meeting point with Alex & Jake at a bar on the Miradouro da Graça.
...Alfama trams
Obviously it's brilliant meeting up with A&J for drinks and a lively meal. 'nuff said.
Just 90 km south tomorrow at the beach campsite at Costa da Caprica..
No comments:
Post a Comment