Sabbatical 9/06 - Lisbon by Boat and Bus
I woke up in Lisbon. After breakfast I walked one block over was the Avenue de Liberdade, which is a wide park-like boulevard heading down to the Praça do Comércio on the Tagus River. And I do mean down. Lisbon is quite hilly. It quickly became apparent that randomly wandering around was going to be very tiring. I decided to reuse the Barcelona playbook and take some tourist tours around the city to explore my options.
As it happens, while I was wandering the spacious Praça do Comércio and admiring the surroundings, I noticed that there was a boat tour leaving in a few minutes. It was a hot day, so getting out on the water seemed reasonable to me. The tour boat went to the south bank of the Tagus, then west under the 25 de Abril bridge toward the Atlantic. We went by the gigantic Monument to the Discoveries which highlights some of the famous Portuguese explorers who roamed the New World. Then we saw the Belem Tower, which was built to defend the city from seaborn attack back in the 1500s. I would return to the Belem neighborhood later in the day.
The boat returned to its launch point near Praça do Comércio. My boat ticket gave me a discount on a bus tour and there was a stop nearby, so I hopped on. The bus took me up some very steep hills and assorted scenery. I got off to admire the architecture of Estrela Basilica. There was a lovely park with fountains and ice cream across the street, as well as a statue of Pedro Álvares Cabral, who gets the credit for discovering Brazil. Since nobody apparently knows what Cabral looked like, one may assume that the sculptor just gave it his best shot.
My next stop was the Belem neighborhood, and my top priority was not the famous Jerónimos Monastery. I walked past that on my way to Pastéis de Belém, which has been open since 1837. Their number one best selling item is Pastel de Nata, a egg tart pastry that was supposedly invited by the monks in Jerónimos years ago. Pastel de Natais the most famous dessert in the country, and Pastéis de Belém is the most famous bakery in Portugal. Thankfully, they've clearly learned a few things in the last 180 years. The lines were long but moved quite briskly. I got three of the tarts and ate them quite happily on a nearby park bench. They were very good, but the breakfast at my hotel features ones that were almost as good and required far less effort to pick up.
My sweet tooth thus assuaged, I wandered by the Monument to the Discoveries. I considered entering Belem Tower but on a gorgeous Sunday afternoon the line was out the door. I also opted not to enter the war museum, but did pay my respects at the public memorial to Portugal's war dead.
One bus ride later, I was back at my hotel. I wandered back to the old quarter near the waterfront. Lisbon has a much smaller old quarter than the other cities I visited because a big chunk of it was leveled along with the rest of the city in the great earthquake of 1755. This let the Marquis of Pombai rebuilt the city to a more modern design, this earning his title. Monuments and references to the earthquake were everywhere. Despite its reduced size, the old quarter had many restaurants and shops. Many of the buildings were covered in tile, a fashion introduced when the country was ruled by various Muslim dynasties.
From there I went to the Pombaline Lower Town, which is the main neighborhood near the Praça do Comércio and is so named after the Marquis of Pombia, who headed the rebuilding. I had a locally popular cod dish at an outdoor restaurant. In a touch of home, the Black Keys were playing over the sound system. I walked back uphill to my hotel and slept very well.
Photos one through forty in this set are from September 6.
As it happens, while I was wandering the spacious Praça do Comércio and admiring the surroundings, I noticed that there was a boat tour leaving in a few minutes. It was a hot day, so getting out on the water seemed reasonable to me. The tour boat went to the south bank of the Tagus, then west under the 25 de Abril bridge toward the Atlantic. We went by the gigantic Monument to the Discoveries which highlights some of the famous Portuguese explorers who roamed the New World. Then we saw the Belem Tower, which was built to defend the city from seaborn attack back in the 1500s. I would return to the Belem neighborhood later in the day.
The boat returned to its launch point near Praça do Comércio. My boat ticket gave me a discount on a bus tour and there was a stop nearby, so I hopped on. The bus took me up some very steep hills and assorted scenery. I got off to admire the architecture of Estrela Basilica. There was a lovely park with fountains and ice cream across the street, as well as a statue of Pedro Álvares Cabral, who gets the credit for discovering Brazil. Since nobody apparently knows what Cabral looked like, one may assume that the sculptor just gave it his best shot.
My next stop was the Belem neighborhood, and my top priority was not the famous Jerónimos Monastery. I walked past that on my way to Pastéis de Belém, which has been open since 1837. Their number one best selling item is Pastel de Nata, a egg tart pastry that was supposedly invited by the monks in Jerónimos years ago. Pastel de Natais the most famous dessert in the country, and Pastéis de Belém is the most famous bakery in Portugal. Thankfully, they've clearly learned a few things in the last 180 years. The lines were long but moved quite briskly. I got three of the tarts and ate them quite happily on a nearby park bench. They were very good, but the breakfast at my hotel features ones that were almost as good and required far less effort to pick up.
My sweet tooth thus assuaged, I wandered by the Monument to the Discoveries. I considered entering Belem Tower but on a gorgeous Sunday afternoon the line was out the door. I also opted not to enter the war museum, but did pay my respects at the public memorial to Portugal's war dead.
One bus ride later, I was back at my hotel. I wandered back to the old quarter near the waterfront. Lisbon has a much smaller old quarter than the other cities I visited because a big chunk of it was leveled along with the rest of the city in the great earthquake of 1755. This let the Marquis of Pombai rebuilt the city to a more modern design, this earning his title. Monuments and references to the earthquake were everywhere. Despite its reduced size, the old quarter had many restaurants and shops. Many of the buildings were covered in tile, a fashion introduced when the country was ruled by various Muslim dynasties.
From there I went to the Pombaline Lower Town, which is the main neighborhood near the Praça do Comércio and is so named after the Marquis of Pombia, who headed the rebuilding. I had a locally popular cod dish at an outdoor restaurant. In a touch of home, the Black Keys were playing over the sound system. I walked back uphill to my hotel and slept very well.
Photos one through forty in this set are from September 6.