Our last
port of call before Southampton – and we loved it. Lisbon
is an ancient town on the banks of the River Tagus and has been a settlement
for over 3000 years – some legends state that it was founded by Ulysses. The Romans were there, and the Moors ruled
for 300 years until 1147 when it was recovered and named Lisboa. The route to Lisbon up the River Tagus is
very picturesque – they have the second longest suspension bridge in Europe,
modelled on the Golden Gate Bridge and their own Christ the King statue
resembling the one in Rio de Janeiro.
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| City from River - St George's Castle in background |
The city is
built on a series of hills – the central part (the Baixa), which is in a
valley, was destroyed by earthquake in 1755 and has been rebuilt on a grid
system with many stunning unspoilt buildings and a large central boulevard, whilst the neighbourhoods to either side are up
steep hills. To the west is a
fashionable shopping area known as
Chiada and the Bairro Alto district of cobbled streets with lots of small bars
and restaurants. The area on the eastern
side houses the original citadel containing St. Georges Castle as well as some
very old houses, some of which are rather dilapidated. However, the overall impression is of a city
in a good state of repair that is virtually unspoilt by modern developments. We found one small modern shopping centre but
the streets are crammed with small shops with original frontages. They look expensive, but on closer inspection
we found there were bargains to be had.
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| Lift from Bairro Alto to town centre |
We took the
ship’s shuttle into the centre of town and started the day in a historic coffee
house with coffee and a local speciality of custard tart – these come in
melt-in-the-mouth puff pastry cases – absolutely delicious! For 5 euros we bought a one-day transport
pass and took the tiny ancient one-car tram up to the castle. This was an adventure in itself as the tram
had just enough room to squeeze past parked cars up the winding hill, and in
places we had to stop for delivery vans to carry out their business – this was
great for us as we could look in all the shops without the trouble of
walking. The castle has been restored
and is fantastic - there are no safety
rails and it would be quite easy to fall off the ramparts, but that adds to the
charm.
We managed
to find another tram which took us back
across the centre of town up to the Chiada on the other side. This houses some of the more well-known shop
names plus lots of tourist-oriented cafes and bars with umbrellas outside. A short stroll away is the much older
night-life area with small bars, cafes and traditional shops. We opted for a small café for lunch and
weren’t disappointed – particularly at the price of the excellent red wine
(3,60 euros for 50cl). I had seen a lift
marked on the map and was fascinated at the idea of taking a lift from one part
of the town the other. It turned out to
be a rather splendid structure, recently restored, which must date back to at
least the early 20th Century.
We took the
lift to the central part of town and finished the day with a walk down to the
waterfront and around the theatre area and main shopping streets. There is much more to explore further afield
(not least the many seaside resorts which are a short train ride away) but this
was a good first-time taster. Another
place we want to come back to!
We have two
days at sea before arriving at Southampton. We will have travelled 38,000 miles since
setting out on 10th January.
p.s. be careful what you wish for. I have been saying it is a pity we have had
no rough weather since the Tasman sea because
a lot of people on the ship have no idea what it is like. Well, we woke up this morning (Wednesday) to
huge seas - 8 metre waves – and I have
not been feeling too healthy, despite not having been affected previously –
probably depends on the roll of the ship.
The captain promises it will get calmer by tonight.
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