Lisbon, Portugal


I'm happy to say that by the time I got to Lisbon my knee was so much better. I found this city much more to my liking; its just felt more friendly, vibrant, and walkable. I decided to stick with the tourist bus until my knee was back to 100%. In Lisbon some of the places that I wanted to see we're pretty far away from City Center so the bus worked out even better here.  
One of the must-see places is called Belem Tower, which, according to Wikipedia, is a 16th century fortification that served both as a fortress and as a ceremonial gateway to Lisbon. It’s on the northern bank of the Togas river and a bit far away from the city center, but well worth the visit.  There are a few cafes and restaurants nearby and the walk along the river is very nice. 
Also on the northern side of the river is the Padrão dos Descobrimentos or Monument of the Discoveries. This impressive monument is said to celebrate the Portuguese adventurers who departed Lisbon to explore and trade with India and the Orient in the 15th and 16th centuries.  It is a massive white slab that is 52 meters high (171ft).  The design is meant to be the prow of a caravel (a Portuguese ship used in exploration).  On the sides of the monument are ramps with 33 statues representing prominent Portuguese from the Age of Discovery, including monarchs, artists, scientist, missionaries, explorers, and cartographers.  You can go up into the monument for great views of the city.
On the other side of the Togas river stands the towering Christ the King (Almeda).  It is a Catholic monument and shrine, inspired by the Christ the Redeemer in Rio. The giant statue was erected to express gratitude because the Portuguese were spared the effects of World War II. You can take the train or bus out to these three sites, which are close together, or you can take a boat ride, which certainly gives a better view.

I went to the Time Out Market, which is a huge trendy food court with many different varieties of food, plus more than a few wine bars. I made the mistake of going around lunch time and it was way too crowded for me.  No worries, there were plenty of other great places to eat nearby.
I was able to do a lot more walking in Lisbon and I spent quite a bit of time just wandering around the area near the giant public square called Praca do Comercio. There were lots of shops to poke around in and almost all had a wide variety of products made out of cork, which is the national tree in Portugal.  The cork oak trees preserve the region's thin soils and scarce groundwater. Without them, the area would quickly become a desert and virtually uninhabitable for humans. It would also spell the end for the Iberian Lynx, which lives in many of Spain and Portugal's cork forests, and which has been declared the world's most endangered big cat.  Too bad I didn't have time to take a trip to the forest, I would love to have seen the cork trees. The harvesting of the cork is very sustainable, as the tree isn’t cut down, rather the outer layer of bark is simply pealed off.  I bought a few purses for myself and my niece and they are surprisingly soft and durable. 
Like most big city centers, there were plenty of street performers or buskers.  I saw a few who were very good; including a guy dressed like John Lennon miming old Beatles songs or the guy playing tunes using a saw as his instrument.
Lisbon is famous for its trams, specifically Tram 28.  The Hop on Hop off bus has its own streetcar, that basically follows the same route.  The tram take you up the steep and narrow streets of downtown, past numerous pretty squares, interesting neighborhoods, and lots of other points of interest.   

I really did like Lisbon and I wouldn't have minded spending more time there. I was thinking about staying someplace for the winter like Portugal or Spain. The problem with Portugal is that I don't speak Portuguese, obviously. I do want to learn enough of a language to be able to live in the city, but Portuguese would be far less used around the world, than for example Spanish. I will say that most everyone I dealt with spoke at least some English, so I didn’t have much trouble.  I stayed in a small rooming house and the young woman there didn’t speak English at all, but we had some nice conversations using Google Translate.   So, I have high hopes for my next few weeks while I check out a couple of Spanish cities.
 
Link to Photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/PJio8aMq8VzLk9v56
 
Photography web site:  https://throughlisaslens.zenfolio.com
 
 
 




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