Tues 9/3/19 – Had a little delay on the flight over so I didn’t get in until about 11:30 AM. Took the Airport bus and it dropped me off right around the corner from my hotel.
I love my hotel (another Rick Steves’ recommendations!). It’s right in the heart of the old historic district but a block off the main drag so it’s really quiet.
I got checked into my hotel and went out to get my bearings and learn the city. But of course, first a little history! (For you poor new people to my blog, I try to throw some history in to help give perspective and help us all learn and grow. And who knows, it may win you a few bucks on a trivia game sometime down the road!). Lol
Lisbon is Portugal’s capital and is the banking and manufacturing center. Residents call their city Lisboa, which comes from the Phoenician Alis Ubbo, meaning “calm port”. A port city on the mouth of the Tagus River, it has recently become a popular stop with cruise ships.
The Romans (2nd century BC) and Moors (8th century) were the earliest settlers of Lisbon, but the city’s glory days were in the 15th and 16th centuries, when explorers like Vasco da Gama opened new trade routes around Africa to India, making Lisbon one of Europe’s richest cities.
However that all changed on the morning of All Saints’ Day (Nov 1) in 1755 when a tremendous offshore earth quake rocked Lisbon, followed by a devastating tsunami and days of fire. While they rebuilt the city, it was never quite the same.
OK, that’s enough history! I decided to take a walking tour around the city with a tour group. After having flown over night and after walking all the hills, I was exhausted. I know I will sleep good tonight!
So I’ll just walk thru each of the pics to give you a flavor of the city. Pic 1 is the view from my hotel balcony. (Dang I wish I would have splurged for the place across the street with the pool!). Pic 2 is the nice quiet street my hotel is on.
Pic 3 is a funky trolley car (they call it an elavador, other parts of Europe call it a funicular, and the people in Pittsburgh call it an incline.) Whatever you call it, it beats climbing up that steep hill!
Pic 4 is a view towards the castle on the right (Sao Jorge Castle). Pic 5 is a statue of a lottery ticket salesman. The Portuguese love their lottery tickets and say if you rub the ticket, you’ll get good luck. I did so let’s see what happens! Right near there in Pic 6 is the “oldest beer hall in Lisbon” called Cervejaria da Trindade. Since they’re not really known for their beer, these places are big seafood restaurants as you can see by what’s in the glass case.
Pic 7 and 8 are their fun forms of getting around town. Pic 7 is called a Tuk Tuk and is just like an open air taxi and Pic 8 is the old style trolley car. With all the trolley cars, the steep hills, the fog that rolls in during the morning, it really has a San Francisco feel to it.
I loved Pic 9 where people took old pairs of jeans and had plants coming out of them. Pic 10 is a nice view over the harbor. Pic 11 is looking over towards the monastery of St Vincent.
Finally Pic 12 was my dinner which was a traditional Portuguese dish called bacala. It is grilled cod fish with potatoes, olive oil and garlic. Yummy! (My Italian grandmother used to make that at Christmas time!).
Between all the walking and the heat (it was close to 90 today), I’m going to call it a day. Happy Tuesday all!
The Wandering Italian 