Livin it up in Lisbon

For those of you getting restless with our time in Spain, this update is for you. We're taking the blog international, to the beautiful coastal city of Lisbon. The Portuguese were very welcoming and there culture seems even more laid back than Spain's, as hard as that is to believe. Their food didn't captivate me--lots of cod and other seafood--and the language is a bit rough on the ear but a charming place nonetheless. Lisbon itself is definitely the San Francisco of Europe: from its cable cars to the fog covered hills to the replica Golden Gate Bridge, the White City (Lisbon) is a near spitting image of the City by the Bay. 


 

The Praça do Comércio, where the Royal Palace stood before the famous 1755 earthquake. Now, it's a beautiful big square surrounded by Rua Augusta Arch on one side (on the right, built in 1755 as a symbol of the city's recovery) and the ocean on the opposite. In the middle of the square stands a statue of King José I.

The Atlantic Ocean. Somewhere in the distance the Americas are waiting to be discovered

Sunset on the Golden Gate Bridge. Actually it's called the Ponte 25 de Abril and  was built by the same architect that constructed the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge (and not the Golden Gate).

Turn around and there again is the plaza.

Close up of the side of the statue of King José. Just the first of many strange animal representations that we witnessed in Portugal. Yes, that elephant is apparently crushing that man by stomping on him.

The Lisbon Cathedral, built in 1147, with one of the trolley cars coming around the corner.

Another city, another cathedral. This one was adorned with fewer paintings than others we've seen but the stonework seemed more intricate, in my completely non-architectural opinion.

Me, in Lisbon, wearing a flannel shirt. That about sums it up.

The houses are just stacked up next to one another. It looks like you could just hop from roof to roof, all the way down to the beach.

These next two pictures are dedicated to my extremely mature father. I'm sure he'll get a kick out of the outdoor urinal we found while walking up some of Lisbon's streets.

This baby is still in use. A guy walked out just as we were walking up.

In Portugal if there's a free wall, they'll tile it. 

The Castelo de São Jorge, a large castle overlooking downtown Lisbon. The fortress and the ground on which it stands have a long history of human settlement. Many a battle were waged here.

Me in the castle.

The castle offers some great views of Lisbon.

We then hopped on a metro and headed over to Belém, the launching point for most of the Portuguese explorers' travels. Belem comes from the name Bethlehem in Portuguese, which explains the giant Jerónimos Monastery.

The construction was started to honor Vasco de Gama's return from his exploration of the Americas. The main chapel is quite large and very beautiful.

And whaddaya know, there's Vasco himself, buried at the back of the chapel.

The courtyard of the monastery.

The Treaty of Lisbon, a very important development for the European Union, was signed at the monastery in 2007. And for "very important development," read: Jonathan doesn't actually know what it accomplished but felt as if he should include it.

One of the rooms was tiled with scenes from the life of Joseph This one shows him running away from Potiphar's wife as she grabs his robe.

The monastery from afar.

The Cristo-Rei, a giant Jesus statue that stands 361 feet tall. Actually, Jesus himself is 91 feet tall and the large pedestal makes up the other 269 feet.

The Torre de Belém, built in 1515 as a defense system for the Portuguese kings. The structure sits a little bit out into the water, making it a very interesting viewpoint.

Cross the drawbridge but watch out for the waves!

If the seas get really stormy, you can bring the drawbridge back up.

Site of the world's best pastries. Not an exaggeration.

Pastel de nata, described by Wikipedia as an egg-tart pastry. It's basically a custard with some sugar and cinnamon on top. Heavenly. Oh, and there's this nugget from Wikipedia as well: "[Pastel de nata] has since become available at...Hong Kong and Mainland China branches of the Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant chain." Random much?

The next day we headed on the train to Sintra, a magical land located about an hour outside of Lisbon. Really, this place looks like it came out of a fairy tale.

It was foggy and rainy when we arrived in the morning, which made the place seem even more like Little Red Riding Hood would come striding around the corner.

The Sintra National Palace, home to lots of...well, you'll see.

Animal heads on a chest. Fist sign this place is a little different.

A ceiling covered with birds--magpies to be exact.

A merman. Just doing his thing. swimming around on the ceiling.

Alright, alright, you've gone too far. My Jesus definitely doesn't wear a tank top.

The weather started to turn. It ended up being a beautiful day.

Now, more animals. Deer? Moose?

The kitchen. With, as far as I could tell, no animal paintings in sight.

Sintra's castle. We took quite the hike up to it.

They love their bright colors in Portugal. A lot of the buildings in the newer section of Lisbon are painted violent shades of blue, purple, yellow, red, etc. Plus, it seems like they haven't re-painted anything in about 30 years so they've got the aging neon look going for them.

And, of course, who would have lived in the fairy tale land but the master himself, Hans Christian Andersen. This was his place during his stay in Portugal.

My attempt at a low-angle, artsy shot.

We made it to the top of the hill. But at this point we we're sick of paying for tourist attractions so we rested for a bit and headed back down the hill.

A park filled with large, hollow, brightly colored animals. Alright Sintra, whatever works for you I guess.

Hey, real animals too.

My buddy James and I. He's studying in Lisbon for the semester and he came along with our Madrid group to Sintra for the day.

The Elevador de San Justa. Supposedly a good view of Lisbon from the top.

There's a restaurant up top.

All in all, a great time in Lisbon. It was great to see the ocean and experience a new culture. My one Portuguese word: "Obrigado," which means thank you. Well, that's all for now. Hasta luego.