Michael:
I had a wonderful day in Lisbon, this most charming city. Lisbon was founded 3,000 years ago by the Phoenicians (who came from the area that is now Lebanon), and then was periodically conquered by most everybody, including the Greeks, the Romans, the Muslims, the Spanish, etc. The republic of Portugal was actually founded 100 years ago this October, and so you can see preparations for its centennial going on all over town. The city is losing population because it is very expensive to live in so people are moving to the much more affordable suburbs.
Today, I actually had two separate outings. This morning I escorted a tour of the highlights of the city.
Our first stop was at the “Belvedere” in Edward VII Park for a panoramic overview of the city and the River Tagus. We then stopped for refreshments at Pasteis de Belem, for the best little custard cakes I have ever tasted. They call them Belem Cakes. This huge café, with a line around the block to get in, has been awarded Europe-wide accolades for its pastries. We then took a long tour of various parts of the city and viewed a number of monuments, parks, museums, and so forth.
Highlights included the “25th of April Bridge,” one of the longest suspension bridges in Europe, which is a virtual duplicate of the Golden Gate bridge. No surprise since it was designed and built by the same people using the same plans. Even the color is the same. We stopped at the beautiful Monument of the Discoveries, which was built in 1960 to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the renowned explorer Henry the Navigator. We also saw the grand Tower of Belem, and the colonial war memorial. There is no WWII memorial here as Portugal was neutral.
After lunch at the ship, I ventured back into town on the Crystal shuttle bus for a self guided walking tour. Highlights included the tree-lined Avenida da Liberdade with its many open-air cafes and a mixture of ornate 19th century architecture and Art Deco buildings from the 1930’s; the beautiful Rossio Square, Lisbon’s principal square; and best of all, a ride on the Elevador Sta Justa, a tower designed and erected by an engineer and apprentice of Gustave Eiffel. Finished in 1902, it was originally powered by steam. This was my first visit to Lisbon, and I had a terrific time.
***
Beverly:
My post regarding Lisbon is a day late due to rough seas. I took a seasick pill just in case and it really made me lethargic. This has been a really smooth sailing trip, and the few bumps for a day was not that impressive, but annoying nevertheless.
I am glad to be in the cooler weather again. It felt so refreshing and with rain threatening, I felt at home. Got to wear jeans and a sweater today! I was surprised in Tangier at my ”non-stressful walking tour” that was quite taxing. Today, ahh some relief as I got to escort on a tour via bus and trolley car. We crisscrossed Lisbon and saw so many monuments and plazas that I gave up taking pictures as they all started to look the same. Lisbon is a very old city as Michael described, but most of it was destroyed by an earthquake in 1755, hence most of the city has been rebuilt. The streets are narrow and winding, and there are seven steep hills in the city proper. The little trolley chugged its way up the hills, with gears grinding away at a top speed of maybe one mile per hour. While on the trolley, we were served port wine and Belem custard pastries. Yum, yum.
The stops I liked best were a tour of the Jeronimos Monastery and the Tower of Belem. Both these structures were built in the early 1500s and survived the earthquake. The construction of the monastery was incredible and we did get off the bus and tour inside. Our guide told us the whole history of Lisbon, and maybe of the whole ancient world. She never stopped giving us information and it is hard to remember who did what to whom. There was more intrigue regarding royal survivorship and succession. What fun it must have been in the olden days. ManuaI the First versus his cousin/brother/uncle (can’t remember which) fought and the loser got Brazil; I guess that is why they speak Portuguese there. The Tower looked like a giant sand castle (it was originally a lookout/fortress).
Our new dining table mates are an interesting group. We played a game of you tell two true things about yourself and one lie. We had to guess which one was the lie. My lie was that I was an English junior high teacher and everyone missed it! I’m getting better and better at telling tall tales! However, rest assured that everything I have written in this blog is the truth (as I see it). I edit or add to Michael’s contribution, but don’t change it. So you can be sure you are getting the real deal.
I had a wonderful day in Lisbon, this most charming city. Lisbon was founded 3,000 years ago by the Phoenicians (who came from the area that is now Lebanon), and then was periodically conquered by most everybody, including the Greeks, the Romans, the Muslims, the Spanish, etc. The republic of Portugal was actually founded 100 years ago this October, and so you can see preparations for its centennial going on all over town. The city is losing population because it is very expensive to live in so people are moving to the much more affordable suburbs.
Today, I actually had two separate outings. This morning I escorted a tour of the highlights of the city.Our first stop was at the “Belvedere” in Edward VII Park for a panoramic overview of the city and the River Tagus. We then stopped for refreshments at Pasteis de Belem, for the best little custard cakes I have ever tasted. They call them Belem Cakes. This huge café, with a line around the block to get in, has been awarded Europe-wide accolades for its pastries. We then took a long tour of various parts of the city and viewed a number of monuments, parks, museums, and so forth.
Highlights included the “25th of April Bridge,” one of the longest suspension bridges in Europe, which is a virtual duplicate of the Golden Gate bridge. No surprise since it was designed and built by the same people using the same plans. Even the color is the same. We stopped at the beautiful Monument of the Discoveries, which was built in 1960 to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the renowned explorer Henry the Navigator. We also saw the grand Tower of Belem, and the colonial war memorial. There is no WWII memorial here as Portugal was neutral.
After lunch at the ship, I ventured back into town on the Crystal shuttle bus for a self guided walking tour. Highlights included the tree-lined Avenida da Liberdade with its many open-air cafes and a mixture of ornate 19th century architecture and Art Deco buildings from the 1930’s; the beautiful Rossio Square, Lisbon’s principal square; and best of all, a ride on the Elevador Sta Justa, a tower designed and erected by an engineer and apprentice of Gustave Eiffel. Finished in 1902, it was originally powered by steam. This was my first visit to Lisbon, and I had a terrific time.***
Beverly:
My post regarding Lisbon is a day late due to rough seas. I took a seasick pill just in case and it really made me lethargic. This has been a really smooth sailing trip, and the few bumps for a day was not that impressive, but annoying nevertheless.
I am glad to be in the cooler weather again. It felt so refreshing and with rain threatening, I felt at home. Got to wear jeans and a sweater today! I was surprised in Tangier at my ”non-stressful walking tour” that was quite taxing. Today, ahh some relief as I got to escort on a tour via bus and trolley car. We crisscrossed Lisbon and saw so many monuments and plazas that I gave up taking pictures as they all started to look the same. Lisbon is a very old city as Michael described, but most of it was destroyed by an earthquake in 1755, hence most of the city has been rebuilt. The streets are narrow and winding, and there are seven steep hills in the city proper. The little trolley chugged its way up the hills, with gears grinding away at a top speed of maybe one mile per hour. While on the trolley, we were served port wine and Belem custard pastries. Yum, yum. 
The stops I liked best were a tour of the Jeronimos Monastery and the Tower of Belem. Both these structures were built in the early 1500s and survived the earthquake. The construction of the monastery was incredible and we did get off the bus and tour inside. Our guide told us the whole history of Lisbon, and maybe of the whole ancient world. She never stopped giving us information and it is hard to remember who did what to whom. There was more intrigue regarding royal survivorship and succession. What fun it must have been in the olden days. ManuaI the First versus his cousin/brother/uncle (can’t remember which) fought and the loser got Brazil; I guess that is why they speak Portuguese there. The Tower looked like a giant sand castle (it was originally a lookout/fortress).Our new dining table mates are an interesting group. We played a game of you tell two true things about yourself and one lie. We had to guess which one was the lie. My lie was that I was an English junior high teacher and everyone missed it! I’m getting better and better at telling tall tales! However, rest assured that everything I have written in this blog is the truth (as I see it). I edit or add to Michael’s contribution, but don’t change it. So you can be sure you are getting the real deal.
i must say, i dont think you would have made a good teacher of kids. knitting, yes. children, no. with the exception of ibabelle of course! how is your foot?
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