1. Lisbon has 7 hills. T/F
2. 85% of Lisbon (people/buildings) were lost in the 1755 earthquake. T/F
3. Pastel de Belem, the iconic pastry of Lisbon is A) chocolate or B) cream
4. Rome is older than Lisbon. T/F
5. The photo below is from a famous music shop. T/F
Some of the incredible views from hills in Portugal:
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| Looking down on Praca de Rossio |
Looking over to Sao Jorge Castle
A glimpse of the Tagus River
Then there are the street views and the expansive squares (pracas).
Looking towards Praca do Comercio
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| Lounging around the Commerce Plaza was so relaxing: a water view, sun warning you, musicians playing and sipping a beverage |
We try to get into the Sao Roque church in beautiful Praca de Luis Camoes to see the world's most expensive chapel (even more than in the Vatican), but this is Palm Sunday and there are extra worship services.
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| A National Republican Guard on duty |
The Portuguese people suffered 48 years of dictatorship. Following the Carnation Revolution of 1974 when the dictator was driven out of the country, the people created messages of hope and welcome on this wall for the world to see:
A lottery ticket seller
The myth goes: buy your lottery ticket, rub the statue's golden ticket and get lucky.
Lisbon has some incredible street art and we may run out of time to check it out. Here is a link to a blog of a street art aficionado who did have the time to see Lisbon's street art:
BLOCAL
BLOCAL
There is little art deco art in Lisbon. Here is one piece in a small street on a building that houses Peep Shows:
We found one more art deco, riding the tram ... didn't get all of this building, but its worth clicking on it to see details:
We put so many miles on our feet every day exploring all Lisbon has to offer that we are too tired to make the half-hour trek back to Bario Alto to sample the nightlife. This lovely quote gives us a sense of what we've missed:
" By day Lisbon has a naive theatrical quality that enchants and captivates, but by night it is a fairy-tale city, descending over lighted terraces to the sea, like a woman in festive garments going down to meet her dark lover".
Erich Maria Remarques, The Night in Lisbon
Tomorrow we get up early to try for a ride on Tram 28 which will take us through the entire city. The tourist line ups for this experience have been ridiculously long. Hopefully, we will beat the crowds, then it's time to move across the river for a couple of days.
Our strategy works and we ride Tram 28 through the barrios. TIP: Do it on a day when you will be taking other metro or bus rides so you can get a day pass, or a round trip will cost you 12 Euro... or walk one way.
Random photos through tram windows:
Random photos from Lisbon:
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| Making cheese balls surrounded by pastry & deep-fried |
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| We saw a few wooden bicycles in stores, none on the street |
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| Always the best kind |
Times for hard decisions come in every travels. We were excited about planning a visit to what many claim to be the most beautiful city in Portugal ... Sintra. But today we crossed the river from Lisbon to Costa da Caparica. What an amazing beach and boardwalk here and great town. We have decided to just hang out and skip Sintra. Some world surfing games are going on: short, long and body surfing...so the town is a-buzz. Just feel in need of some restful beach time.
Here is an overhead photo of the Costa da Caparica beach. This is where the mouth of the Tagus River meets the Atlantic Ocean You can't see it in the photo, but there are a paved path and some boardwalk the length of the beach, not to mention beach bars and restaurants:
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| Photo Credit Wikipedia. No copyright infringement intended. |
ANSWERS to Lisbon's Myths/Mysteries:
1. F 2. T 3. B) 4. F 5. F
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