Day 27 Lisbon

The weather gods just keep smiling on us.  If anything we are going to have to start complaining about the weather being boring, or it being too hot to sightsee.  Not a cloud in the sky yet again.

Today was a washing day, so before heading into Lisboa, we did two loads of washing and Kristie created a very intricate clothes line inside the van, so we could hang washing out without fear of losing it.  I did journal and photo catchup while the washing was on, and the kids even managed to squeeze in a swim before heading out into the heat of the day in Lisboa.  As it turned out we even had lunch before heading into town.

We taxi'ed it into town, as we were advised that we'd just missed a bus, and even though it was a Friday, it was a public holiday - Portugal's national day.  The campground staff told us that for about the same price as the bus for four people, they'd call us a taxi.  Kids in Spain and Portugal seem to pay the same price on public transport as an adult.  About 10€ later and we were dropped at the beautiful river front's, Commerce Square - Praça do Comércio.  It is a massive square - one of the largest in Europe, and in the middle is an equestrian statue of King José I - the then ruler of Portugal.  Apparently the square use to be the site of the Royal Palace before it was destroyed in 1755 by an earthquake, subsequent fire and tsunami.  As the name implies, this was the centre of commerce for all of Portugal in ancient times, and was the arrival point for anyone landing by ship.  Today it is simply a tourist attraction.

The square is bordered by the Targus river (Rio Tejo) on one side, and buildings on the other three.  On the opposite side of the plaza to the river is the Arco da Rua Augusta - a commemorative arch/building over Rua Augusta.  Rua Augusta is Lisboa's largest pedestrian mall/street and arch above (for 2.50€ each) was a great view point over the plaza and city.  The top of the arch also has sculptures depicting Glory rewarding Valour and Genius.  

Back down on the ground it was time to venture out into the city streets.  The eye catching castle on the top of the hill was going to be our first destination, but as it turned out, it was one of our last because we wanted to wait for an english guided walking tour at 7:00pm.  So instead we spent the afternoon walking the streets of Lisboa and taking in more beautiful monuments, vistas and streetscapes.

Our first stop after the plaza was an important one for the girls. Gelato!  With gelato in hand and our first postcards of the trip posted, it was off to another church - Sé de Lisboa or the Lisbon Cathedral, "Se" in short to the locals.  It's the oldest church in the city and is the Roman Catholic archdiocese of Lisbon.  Construction started in 1147 and it's a bit of a mixed architectural style due to the many additions and repairs over the centuries.  It did survive the earthquake of 1755.

After Se, and dodging the Lisboa trams, we bought the girls some much needed  sunglasses and then stumbled upon the Museu do Teatro Romano - or at least the archeological dig site.  The dig is in the middle of what was once a Lisbon street.  We didn't realise at the time there was an actual (indoor) museum, but we were fascinated to see the dig the what's left of the 1st century Olisipo Roman Theatre.  Olisipo was the ancient name of the modern-day Lisbon/Lisboa.  That's the cobblestone road in the foreground of the picture below, and you can see the cities water main still running through the site.  They have even built a roof over the dig - I assume to protect it from further erosion and ruin.

Eventually we arrived at the Castelo de S. Jorge for the first time to get our tickets. This is when we decided to return later in the day, so we went looking for some tourist information to establish our afternoon priorities - given we didn't have a guidebook to Lisbon.  Oh, and to also find a public toilet which we were told do not exist in Lisboa.  You have to buy something at a cafe or restaurant and then use their facilities.


Our first recommendation and stop of the afternoon wander, was a playground around the corner from the castle and visitor information.  Parque Infantil e de Lazer do Recolhimento = happy children, and parents - as there was shade for some respite from the sun together with good views up river and out over Lisboa.  It was a good place to just stop, chill for a while, and take some photos.  

⌦ Playground ✔  ⌦ Toilet (after having to buy a slushy) ✔  ⌦ Rested ✔, and then it was time to explore again.  Our next stop was Torre da Igreja do Castelo de São Jorge, which translates to the church tower of the Castle d Saint George.  Left to ruin for many years, the tower has been refurbished and reopened to the public, and makes for great views to the east, out over the river.  The bells still actually ring and are very loud, but this did not stop the kids ringing the church bells, much to the annoyance of their mother.  

Our afternoon wander then took us into the small beautiful streets of the Alfama district.  We hadn't read the Lonely Planet before visiting, but what I have read online since, could not describe what we experienced more eloquently and succinctly.  

"Unfurling like a magic carpet at the foot of Castelo de Sao Jorge, Alfama is Lisbon's Moorish time capsule: a medina-like district of tangled alleys, palm-shaded squares and skinny terracotta-roofed houses that tumble down to the glittering [Rio] Tejo.  These cobbles have been worn smooth by theatre-going Romans, bath-loving Moors who called it al-hamma (Arabic for 'springs'), and stampeding Crusaders.  Here life is literally inside out: women dish the latest mexericos (gossip) over the strings of freshly washed laundry, men gut sardines on the street then fry them on open grills, plump matrons spontaneously erupt into wailful fado, kids use chapel entrances as football goals, babies cry, budgies twitter, trams rattle and in the midday heat the web of steep lanes fall into its siesta slumber" - Portugal Lonely Planet 9th Ed.

We didn't see sardines being cooked outside, but we certainly witnessed cooking and living in the laneways.  Some of the houses seem tiny and looking through the windows in stable-like doors, you can see that the hallway to the front door is actually the living room.  It was all so poetically beautiful.  In one of the squares at the bottom of Alfama, I tried a local delicacy called ginja em copo de chocolate - cherry liqueur in a chocolate cup.  Sierra was also keen to try it, but the liqueur was pretty strong, and it wasn't Cadbury Diary Milk chocolate - but nice enough.  

Then it was time to head back uphill toward the castle for our walking tour.  On the way up we experience our first street art of the trip.  There was a tunnel/arched walkway and on the inside was a brief history of Lisboa in pictures.  Of course, we had trouble interpreting the art as the writing was in Portuguese, but we were about to get an overview of Portuguese history on our castle walking tour.  Lisbon is apparently known for its street art.

Finally inside the grounds Castelo de S. Jorge with some time to spare before the walking tour, we walked around the grounds and took in the Miradouro do Castelo de São Jorge.  The vista over Lisboa in the setting sun was gorgeous, and we even found a very innovative business called 'Wine with a View".  A business selling local wines from the back of a motorcycle and cart.  They even provided a few deck chairs for us to sit in and soak up this special place in the setting sun.

As the sun was setting, at 7:00pm we met our guide and the tour started with (or should I say, 80% of the tour consisted of) a brief talk on the 29 century history of Portugal.  The castle itself was built by the Moors in the mid 11th century, saw the transition from the Moors to Christians in the 12th century, and was used as royal residences from the 13th to the 17th centuries.  In 1580 under Spanish rule, it became military establishment functioning as barracks until the 20th century.  In the earthquake of 1755 the castle underwent its biggest renovation/restoration and the entire site that is the Castelo de S. Jorge today was again turned into a military garrison.  After a period of being abandoned during which materials were taken and used in other constructions, between 1938 and 1940 the castle and former royal palace ruins were rediscovered and restored (as much as possible) to the original Moorish design.

After half an hour on the history of Portugal and the castle, we were guided through the defences of the castle walls into the central courtyards. The guide quizzing everyone at each turn about which way they would go if they were trying to get into the castle under attack.  The kids picked the correct way in, and I the wrong way - into a dummy courtyard where invaders would be killed from above.  It was very entertaining, especially given the time of day and twilight all but gone.  Once we were inside the castle's defences, the tour ended and we were left to investigate the castle and its walls by ourselves in the dark of night.  It was actually quite risky climbing and descending large high staircases, often without handrails to hold onto and with little to no lighting.  All the lights were on the outside being shined at the walls.  We all had a lot of fun walking on top of the perimeter walls and towers.

With the castle and archaeological dig site fully explored (mostly) in the dark, it was time to say goodbye and find some dinner.  Walking down hill from the castle, we stumbled upon a restaurant called Chapito - which only now with a little research, we understand is 7th best terrace in the world according to the Conde Nest Traveller magazine.  Nice accolade, and we did get the feeling that there was a great view out there in the dark, but we didn't really get to see it and our focus was purely on feeding our very very hungry stomachs.  

Chapito was very busy, but we only had to wait about 15 minutes for a table.  The queue got significantly longer after we joined it, and it was worth the wait.  The food was good, and service fairly average actually, but the restaurant has a great atmosphere.  Big but intimate, indoor/outdoor dining.  In fact from looking at photos on TripAdvisor, we were even seated in the area close to the view, but we didn't notice at the time.  That's the view behind my back.

With full bellies and very tired children, it was time to head back to the campground.  We continued walking down hill and passed through Praça da Figueira, the beautiful Praça D. Pedro IV with its fountains, and then onto Praça dos Restauradores with Lisboa Rossio (the central train station).  Here we gave up walking and booked an Uber to collect us.  Lots of walking today, and lots of Lisbon covered, but we still feel like we've only seen less than half of this beautiful city.