3 December ’05 Saturday.
Another big city to learn the bus, tram, and train routes. Another big city to learn our way around the streets and back alleyways… Lisbon Portugal is like Seattle in a couple of ways, with the most common element being the city is built on hills. It is also divided up into 4 different areas with something new and exciting to see in each of them. On a Sunday morning in 1755, when most of the populous was in one of the many candle lit churches, Lisbon was hit with a huge earthquake that was felt as far away as Ireland. Two-thirds of Lisbon was immediately leveled. Fires spread throughout the city from the candles, and to top all this off, a huge tidal wave blasted the waterfront, pushing a huge wave up the river and changing Lisbon forever. Over 30,000 of the 270,000 people lost their lives in a quick few minutes. Now Lisbon is a mix of then and now, with some of the older areas dating back to the time of the earthquake. Of those, there are many that are going through a rebuilding and maintaining their original caricature. We rode vintage trolleys up and down it’s hill, small buses that you would swear wouldn’t make it through the corners and narrow passages, and of course we rode the open-toped tour bus to see the city in a 1 ½ hour journey. In riding the bus from the campground into downtown Lisbon, I made the “incorrect” call to getting off too early…it wasn’t much, but maybe 3 stops. As it was, we had no problem orientating ourselves and making our first stop at the TI. It is always good to get their input. Lisbon is laid out with one section running from the river straight back, with the streets in a grid system. This section is called Baixa. On the side hill to the left is Bairro Alto, and the side to the right, Alfama. Further down the river is the fourth and it’s called Belem. We got off the bus at the Plaza Comercio, where they have just finished putting up a huge Christmas tree. In back of the tree, are the main entrance gates to the city. As we passed through the gate, it was a straight, wide, and long pedestrian shopping and strolling area. The city was busy with everyone there to do their Christmas shopping and stroll the city on a nice day. We did the same for a while, and then caught the tour bus. Back at the plaza again, we caught the little bus up the hill to Alfama. Now this was a “bus combo sports car” ride… The drivers have talent !!! At the top of the hill, is the Castelo São Jorge (St George Castle), and right across from the entrance is a small Indian “Goa” restaurant that Rick Steves recommends in his book. Lunch was great, with Louise having Chicken Curry and I had Shrimp Curry with a little added “heat”…it was really great. This was the oldest parts of Lisbon, and the streets were just wide enough to squeeze 3 people side by side as we walked through. You find all the little markets, restaurants, real small pubs, and if we were lucky, we had a chance to look into their little home. This is also the hot musical area for “Fabo” (How fate deals with Portugal’s adventures and the women they leave behind). We did a lot today, and I could just write a book on this day alone, so I will only add a couple more things… we caught a vintage tram from the top of a hill, that would take about 20 of us down the rails to the bottom…as we were getting on, there was a commotion in front of us with 4 men. It seems that 3 of them were a team of pickpockets and they had just tried to hit a “tourist” of his wallet. They missed, but it just goes to show that it is something to watch out for because next time it could be us and they might get what they are looking for. The next thing of interest…we just happened to be back at that first plaza with the tree about 6:30 pm and they were having the “Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony”. A little nostalgia set in …
Another big city to learn the bus, tram, and train routes. Another big city to learn our way around the streets and back alleyways… Lisbon Portugal is like Seattle in a couple of ways, with the most common element being the city is built on hills. It is also divided up into 4 different areas with something new and exciting to see in each of them. On a Sunday morning in 1755, when most of the populous was in one of the many candle lit churches, Lisbon was hit with a huge earthquake that was felt as far away as Ireland. Two-thirds of Lisbon was immediately leveled. Fires spread throughout the city from the candles, and to top all this off, a huge tidal wave blasted the waterfront, pushing a huge wave up the river and changing Lisbon forever. Over 30,000 of the 270,000 people lost their lives in a quick few minutes. Now Lisbon is a mix of then and now, with some of the older areas dating back to the time of the earthquake. Of those, there are many that are going through a rebuilding and maintaining their original caricature. We rode vintage trolleys up and down it’s hill, small buses that you would swear wouldn’t make it through the corners and narrow passages, and of course we rode the open-toped tour bus to see the city in a 1 ½ hour journey. In riding the bus from the campground into downtown Lisbon, I made the “incorrect” call to getting off too early…it wasn’t much, but maybe 3 stops. As it was, we had no problem orientating ourselves and making our first stop at the TI. It is always good to get their input. Lisbon is laid out with one section running from the river straight back, with the streets in a grid system. This section is called Baixa. On the side hill to the left is Bairro Alto, and the side to the right, Alfama. Further down the river is the fourth and it’s called Belem. We got off the bus at the Plaza Comercio, where they have just finished putting up a huge Christmas tree. In back of the tree, are the main entrance gates to the city. As we passed through the gate, it was a straight, wide, and long pedestrian shopping and strolling area. The city was busy with everyone there to do their Christmas shopping and stroll the city on a nice day. We did the same for a while, and then caught the tour bus. Back at the plaza again, we caught the little bus up the hill to Alfama. Now this was a “bus combo sports car” ride… The drivers have talent !!! At the top of the hill, is the Castelo São Jorge (St George Castle), and right across from the entrance is a small Indian “Goa” restaurant that Rick Steves recommends in his book. Lunch was great, with Louise having Chicken Curry and I had Shrimp Curry with a little added “heat”…it was really great. This was the oldest parts of Lisbon, and the streets were just wide enough to squeeze 3 people side by side as we walked through. You find all the little markets, restaurants, real small pubs, and if we were lucky, we had a chance to look into their little home. This is also the hot musical area for “Fabo” (How fate deals with Portugal’s adventures and the women they leave behind). We did a lot today, and I could just write a book on this day alone, so I will only add a couple more things… we caught a vintage tram from the top of a hill, that would take about 20 of us down the rails to the bottom…as we were getting on, there was a commotion in front of us with 4 men. It seems that 3 of them were a team of pickpockets and they had just tried to hit a “tourist” of his wallet. They missed, but it just goes to show that it is something to watch out for because next time it could be us and they might get what they are looking for. The next thing of interest…we just happened to be back at that first plaza with the tree about 6:30 pm and they were having the “Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony”. A little nostalgia set in …