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| Monument of Discovery |
Another new city and country awaited us today. We docked in
Lisbon (or Lisboa), Portugal. There are some interesting monuments on the way
in to the harbor where we docked for the day.
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| Ponte 25 de Abril |
The other main feature coming in is the Ponte 25 de Abril bridge
over the river, a suspension bridge that looks like a smaller version of the
Golden Gate in San Francisco. That is because it was designed and built by the
same engineer and builder. It's even painted about the same color. It has two
decks with trains traveling on the lower deck.
We took the train from the dock area to the central city and
began walking up the hill into the Bairro Alto area. Many buildings in Lisbon
have tile façades which are
quite beautiful. That is true of both homes and businesses. Tile is, therefore,
a prominent feature of the
architecture.
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| John baptizing Christ |
In the first church we visited tile walls play a significant
role in the decorations. Another interesting feature of Igreja de Sao Roque, a
renaissance church completed in 1574, is the Chapel of St John the Baptist. A
large painting of John baptizing Christ serves as the altar piece for the
chapel. Most interestingly, the
chapel was built in Rome with rare mosaics which resemble oil paintings,
dismantled, shipped to Lisbon and reassembled in the church.
We continued our
walk around the city going to Praça
Alegria View Point, a park at the top of a hill with good views over the city.
There is a funicular, but we walked both up and down. It is a beautiful area
from which one can see many of the main features of the city. A prominent
structure is the Castelo de Sao Jorge on another hill of the city, an area we
visited later in the day.
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| Se Cathedral |
One goal was to buy some port wine in its home country, and
something that is not available at home. We went into the first wine shop we
came on and accomplished that goal. (Then we had to carry it around the rest of
the day.)
Heading back down the hill we continued our wandering around the
Bairro Alto through many narrow streets and alleys. We then headed across the
city through the Chiado area into the Baixa. This area is filled with many
stores. The streets are wide and straight. This area was rebuilt after the
earthquake of 1755.
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| Rose Window of Se Cathedral |
We walked into the Alfama area to the Se Cathedral. Reaching the
Cathedral we stepped inside. Literally, as the doors did not open, but had a
small door in them which one had to step high through. The cathedral had a
beautiful rose window behind the altar, mostly of blues, which, unfortunately
did not photograph well. Across the street was the smaller church, Igresia de
Santo Antonio.
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| Cathedral doorway |
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| Funicular |
We then climbed the hill and wandered the area around Castelo de
Sao Jorge. This area is filled with homes, shops, and restaurants. For lunch we
found a small café on an
alley, Mercearia Castello, that was mostly filled with locals. Once again, it
was a good choice off the tourist path.
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| Hilltop View |
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| Lunch stop |
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| Sidewalk Mosaic |
We continued our wandering after lunch and headed down the hill
to the huge square known a Praça
do Comercio. This is at the water's edge and the gateway to the Baixo area.
From there we walked back to the Cais do Sodre train station to head back to
the ship.
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| Parça do Comercio |
We went on an upper deck to watch as we left Lisbon. It was a great experience going under
the bridge and seeing the Christo-Rei statue on the opposite shore (similar and
inspired by the Rio de Janeiro statue). We also passed the Padrao dos
Descobrimentos (Monument of Discoveries) as we passed Belam. The Mosteiro do
Jeronimos in Belam was also visible. We had not had time to visit this area.
There was also a Portuguese submarine leaving port as we were. At one point
some of the crew were on the conning tower watching our ship just as we were
watching them.
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| Portugese Sub |
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| Cristo-Rey |
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