| We wanted a few days in Lissabon before heading
home. We packed our gear and got on the train. Arriving in
Lissabon, we headed straight for the boat in Barreiro and
ended up in the center of town.
The Elevador do Santa Justa contructed by Eiffel's
student Raul Mesnier du Ponsard in 1902 is worth a trip. The
view on the top is magnificent. The access on top to the
Bairro and the church of Sâo Roque is closed now, due to
rennovations.
The Elevador do Gloria, running up to Bairro Alto.
Saves you many hot steps.
The tower of Belem is an impressive sight
|
City Life
Standing there with our luggage, we looked for
taxi-stations. None to be seen. We saw plenty of
taxies roaring through the streets at breakneck
speed, but none for us. We intended to find a
place to sleep up around Rossio Station, so we
walked through the Baixa area, full of not very
interesting shops. Up around Rossio we sent out a
searh-party for a suitable hotel or pensione. We
found one after half an hour. Pensao Monumental.
Not living up to it's grand name, but it was
"cheapish" (3000 esc. pr. person pr. night).
Situated just at the start of Elevador do Gloria,
the old tram creaking it's way up to Bairro Alto,
the old living-quarters for the working-class.
Lissabon is a noisy city. Wide avenues, lot's
of breakneck treffic and rather sweaty on warm
days. They could learn a lot from Sevilla in
Spain, were shade really is an asset. What does
Lissabon have to offer?
Basically, for
tourists,- four things:
It has the Bairro Alto
area, which is very charming with it's small
walk-about alleys and numerous restaurants. The
houses are impressive with their tumbledown
mixture of powerty and wealth. The trams go there,
winding up and down the narrow steep streets. A
nice way to go to get an overview of the area.
It has the Alfama area on the eastern side of
the centre. Much of the same as Bairro Alto. The
houses perhaps not as impressive. Even if the
portugese people are normally very nice and
helpful, up there it might be wise to keep an
extra eye on your belongings.
Then there is the
huge castle overlooking the Alfama and the rest og
the city. The Castillo do Sâo Jorge.
Finally
there are som nice and truly monumental museums
portaying Portugals magnificent past. Mainly as a
seafaring and conquering nation.
There are many people selling stuff on the
sreets. This man had an impressing ability to let
the world go by at his small book-stand. His
siesta-nod-off in the heat this day was a work of
art. I have never seen anyone being able to sleep
standing up. He did!
| |
|
