The City with an Identity Crisis

View of the Bridge and statue from the Castle

Next stop... Lisbon, Portugal!  This city is great... now I understand why it is one of my brother's favorite cities in Europe!  I do think that it has an identity crisis though.  It has a bridge that is identical to the Golden Gate Bridge, it is a very hilly city, it has cable cars, and an exact replica of the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio.  When I first arrived I didn't know where I was because all of these important monuments.  Again the weather was perfect even though it was supposed to rain the whole time.  It is a very tropical city with millions of palm trees and it is the only European capital located so close to the beach!  I was only here for 2 full days so I was a busy little bee trying to see everything.  I think that 3 full days would have been better but you gotta take what you can get right?

daddy?

My first full day I woke up later than usual but I was gone the whole day exploring the city.  I started my day in a nice park... it gave my local park, Retiro, a run for it's money but I still prefer my park!  I stumbled upon a church while waiting for the cable car so I went inside and explored a little bit.  I took a cable car ride from the Bairro Alto down to the Alfama district.   Here I visited the Castelo de Sao Jorge (Saint George Castle) which was well worth the 4 euros I spent.  It is one of the higher points in the city and it overlooks the center and out over the ocean.  You get a great view of the 25th of April bridge (Golden Gate Bridge) and the Christ the Redeemer statue (actually what it is called) and a view of the Vasco de Gama bridge which is the longest bridge in Europe.  The castle also had some beautiful peacocks which would actually let you get pretty close to them.  Outside of the castle I found my next car... daddy?  Then I walked over to the Baixa district and saw the Santa Justa elevator.  Sadly I didn't ride to the top, instead I walked the stairs.  After here I stopped in a plaza and enjoyed a pasteis de nata (an egg yolk custard little pie) and some big fluffy pastry filled with nutella and topped with powdered sugar (i can't remember the name). Yummm!! Afterwards I visited the Sao Roque church which is one of the most boring churches I have ever seen from the outside but pretty much plated in gold on every square inch on the inside.  It was free and breathtaking. 

View of Lisbon from the Castle window

Day 2 started a little further away at the Belem district which is right on the water.  I visited the Jeronimos Monastery which was very pretty on the outside and had some great stained glass windows.  After this I walked over to the Discoveries Monument which was built in memory of Henry the Navigator but as you can see from my photos that there are a lot of people on the monument which include famous explorers such as Vasco de Gama and Magellan.  I climbed the 267 steps to the top which also provided some great views, especially of the monastery and the soccer stadium in Lisbon.  From here I walked along the water front to the Belem Tower and also climbed to the top.  It was built as a fortress to guard the entrance of the harbor.  From here I hopped on a bus and rode over to the very large aqueduct which is pretty much in the middle of nowhere and not nearly as impressive as the aqueduct of Segovia.   From here I took a bus to the Solar do Vinho Porto (the Port Wine House) where I did a wine tasting.  Forewarning port wine has a very high alcohol content.  I planned on tasting 4 different ones which quickly turned into 2.  They have everything from reds, aged reds, rose, and whites.  I only tried a 10 year red and a white and I preferred the white.  I must say that I am partial to white wines in general though.  From here I went to the other side of Lisbon and saw the Oceanarium.  I didn't go in but everyone told me I should have.  Apparently it has five tanks: a circular in the  middle and then four surrounding this with four distinct habitats with native species.  Apparently this is one of the first places to have an environment like this.  And apparently the way it is designed makes it look like it is one big tank.  Sounded pretty cool and kinda disappointed that I didn't go.  Then I walked along the water to the Vasco de Gama tower and the Vasco de Gama bridge.  The bridge did look very long but it was kinda boring.  Nothing special.

Discoveries Monument

Belem Tower

This finished up my time in Lisbon.  As you can see I was very busy and running around the whole city.  It was a very beautiful city and I got very lucky with weather.  Most of the buildings are covered in decorated tile and reminded me a lot of Andalusian style.  But it was really pretty and made the city a little bit more aesthetically pleasing.  It is a big party town so if you don't like parties or noise be cautious of where you stay when you go.  If you do like partying they have some great dock bars (thanks to some information from my brother) that are a lot of fun.  I love the beach and palm trees but I think I am a mountain girl at heart.  I'm in Madrid for a little bit and then it's travel travel travel.  I bought my plane ticket today... wouldn't you like to know when I'm coming home... too bad!!! Maybe next time!