Our last week in Portugal was spent exploring Lisbon. We always like to walk around a city the first couple days to get our bearings. In the photo below, Diane stands in front of another candidate for narrowest home in Portugal (upper left photo with two doors). Dave is in front of a candidate for lowest door in Portugal (upper right photo). A fun statue we found honors people that sell wildly popular lottery tickets (lower left photo). In the lower right photo is an apartment decorated with bras…why?
Trams
The antique trams are fun to ride and make getting around hilly Lisbon very easy.
Cobble Stone Everywhere
Lisbon has a sculpture dedicated to the craftsmen that build the intricate cobbled streets (photo on left). We saw our first cobble QR code (photo on right).
Castelo de São Jorge
The Castelo de São Jorge is fun to explore and has great views of the city. It’s remarkable to know that fortifications from the 2nd century BC have been discovered here.
Carmo Archaeological Museum
This monastery was destroyed by the infamous 1755 earthquake and was left in ruins as a monument to remember those that died. Unfortunately the devastating quake happened on All Feasts Day at the time when many people were attending church. The lighted candles inside the churches contributed to fires that swept through the city. A tsunami quickly followed. Lisbon was almost completely destroyed as a result. There is a small museum at the back of the cathedral in an area that didn’t collapse.
Tile Tile Everywhere
Tile has been used extensively across Portugal, and we have seen many interesting examples over the past months. We saw an artist in a shop hand painting tiles (top pictures). We also went to the tile museum to learn about how they are made and the different styles that were created over the past few hundred years.
Dolls Hospital
This 5th generation family business is part repair shop and part museum for dolls. They get dolls from all over the world for repair, and as a result, have lots of spare parts. It was fun to wander through the rooms and learn about the history of dolls and see how they repair them.
Belém Tower
This ornate tower was built to defend Lisbon and welcome (tax) ships returning from Portugal’s far flung empire. It includes cannons, a cozy room with a view for royalty, and a damp prison for troublemakers. We can only imagine the thoughts sailors had while passing it to the open ocean and wondering if they would ever return from their months long journeys.
Jerónimos Monastery
Built in the early 1500s, this ornate building highlights how the wealth of Portugal was spent at the peak of its global empire. For over 400 years monks lived here and prayed for the kings and sailors who shaped the country. We really enjoyed wandering around and exploring this massive building that managed to escape damage from the 1755 earthquake.
National Coach Museum
In the early 1900s the Queen of Portugal recognized that the era of horse drawn coaches was coming to an end, so she directed the government to preserve the royal collection. The result is a fascinating look at the history and evolution of royal coaches from the 1700s to the 1900s. They have also gathered other coaches, including one that hauled prisoners (upper right photo) and those used by children (just below).
National Museum of Ancient Art
The National Museum of Ancient Art covers artifacts gathered by the Portuguese during their years as a global empire. One interesting exhibit included Japanese art showing the Japanese view of Portuguese traders and sailors. Portugal was the first European country to contact and establish trade with Japan. Apparently they thought the sailors in the rigging of Portuguese ships were acrobats (upper right photo).
Pleasant Sailing on the Tagus
As our week in Lisbon came to a close we took a motor-sailing tour on the Tagus River at sunset. We had great weather and the sights and sunset were spectacular. The bridge spanning the river (middle left photo) looks similar to the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. They are both suspension bridges and share the same orange/red color. However, the towers are similar to those on the Bay Bridge. We heard a few confusing stories on the history of the bridge, so we did a bit of digging and learned that the company that designed/built the Lisbon bridge is the same company that designed/built the Bay Bridge. Since the Bay Bridge is not as famous as the Golden Gate bridge, the history gets a bit muddled. There is more detail here.
The Journey Concludes
After three months we had to leave Lisbon and fly back to the US since our 90 day tourist visa was running out. We often get the question about what was our favorite part of the trip and we really struggle with an answer. We had a great variety of experiences and met many friendly people everywhere we went. The food and wine were excellent and we learned so much about the amazing history of the country. So we will take the easy way out and recommend Portugal! You know where to find us if you plan to go and want our recommendations.