Lisbon
Sunday June 4, 2017
My last stop in Portugal has been in Lisbon. I knew very little about the city driving in, but as we drove over the Ponte 25 de Abril, which looks remarkably like the Golden Gate Bridge, I was taken aback by the sheer beauty of the city - glistening blue water, pristine white houses reflecting in the sun, greenery everywhere, and a Christ the Redeemer-lookalike statue blessing the city from its south bank. As we continued, we saw the massive aqueduct stretching over one of the many valleys in the city.
We checked into the hostel and had lunch nearby, and then got driven to the waterfront to explore the city. We said our goodbyes to Alan and Miguel, our bus drivers, and wandered the streets of downtown Lisbon. Naturally, our first stop was a six pack of pasteis de nata, the Portuguese egg tarts. We got some overpriced sangria (that wasn't even alcoholic!) and met back at the Arco de Rua Augusta for a walking tour of Alfama.
It turns out Lisbon is the second oldest capital in the world after Athens. No wonder then that it has such a rich story to tell. We learned about the castle up on the hill, the earthquake and tsunami that destroyed much of the city, its split from Spain, the rise of the Portuguese empire, and the dictatorships and resulting revolution that made Lisbon - and Portugal - what it is today. Of course, no walking tour is complete without a few pub stops along the way. The month of June is a festive one for Portugal, as many holidays fall in this month, so the party was already beginning as we walked around - and it showed. The streets were alive with decorations and roadside stalls selling delicious barbequed foods. We got ourselves some sangria and beer for the walk, as well as the most delicious pork roll, and we were treated to ginja, very similar to port wine, except Lisbon doesn't like Porto very much, so they made their own.
We finished the tour at the Time Out Market, a massive warehouse of high quality food stalls, then we retired to the hostel, saying our final goodbyes to our Busabout group. I'll miss these guys. I've had such a good time touring the Iberian Coast with them, and couldn't have asked for a better group of people. After travelling for so long by myself, it was refreshing to have friends to dine with and explore with.
The next day, a couple of us headed to Belem, a suburb to the west of the city. We got some good views of the harbour from the tower, and wandering around the monastery for a bit, but for me, the main objective was visiting Pasteis de Belem, the first place to sell the Portuguese egg tart. Such incredible texture and flavour! I will remember this for years to come.
After splitting up, I went to the south bank to visit Cristo Rei, the Lisbon version of the Christ the Redeemer statue. The weather had started to cloud over and become very windy, but the view of the city was stunning. To the west I could see the Torre de Belem, where I had just been a few hours ago; to the east, the Vasco de Gama bridge, a 17km long cable bridge that is the longest bridge in Europe. The statue of Christ itself is something to marvel at, a 30m tall statue sitting at 100m elevation above sea level on an 80m pedestal.
Overnight, I learned of the tragedy that unfolded in London. How weird and unsettling it is to see all these familiar places in the news, except now they're devoid of people and filled with sirens and emergency vehicles. I hope everything calms down when I'm back in the UK. May those affected find peace and comfort.
Posted by Jeremy at 11:21am on Sunday June 4, 2017 :: 0 comments :: 