Lisbon - 16th January - Part two

Our tour of the city, escorted by Katerina, started with a journey past the town square and then a park where we learnt that Prince Henry's mother had been Phillippa of Lancaster. We also learnt that most of Lisbon was destroyed in a single night in 1755 (?) after an earthquake and tsunami was followed by a fire. The new city was laid out in a grid pattern with, for those days, wide streets. They have a tram system which has been operating since 1901, partially as a result of Portugese being neutral during WWII. They also have an old metal lift and three funicular railways operating from the centre of the city. It's a lovely city with 35 % of the area being parkland, and an aquaduct dating from the 1600s (?), crossing the ravine which cuts through the city.

We crossed the 14 April bridge, built by the same company as the Golden Gate Bridge, and named for the date the dictatorship was overthrown in 1973, and visited the site of the King Christ statute on the other side of the river Tigres. From there we drove to the St Jerome monastery, and visited the church there, and the naval ship museum. Lots of model ships showing how the Portugese fleet developed, and a display of the royal barges used by the royal family. After the Age of Discovery Lsibon enjoyed the Gilt Age, a reference to the period when they grew very wealthy on the gold they exported from Brazil.

After the museum we drove closer to the riverside, and saw the Belin Tower close up, and then the modern monument celebrating Lisbon's navigators and others influential in the start of the Age of Discovery.

Back to the ship just in time to board before we set sail from Lisbon back to Southampton, with the now traditional leaving party on the aft deck. During the day I bought a few souvenirs: two varieties of pepper and two of salt plus a Portugese cookbook, a fridge magnet, and a bottle of port. Very happy with my purchases, especially the cookbook which is written by a Portugese chef who has a very successful restaurant in New York.

I think I'd like to return to Lisbon one day. It's a beautiful city with a lot of rich history, many fine museums and it looked like it had some good restaurants too!

 

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