Lisboa - it's only getting older

Lisbon, or Lisboa in the local vernacular, was unintentional. We didn’t exactly stumble upon it by chance, but it was not part of the master plan. However, when a twenty-four hour layover was the cheapest airfare by one hundred USD, the decision was easy. Find lodging in the central district (brief plug for AirBnB.com - the only way to travel, unless you only book four and five start hotels), metro in, crash for the night, spend the next day galavanting around Portugal’s capital, metro back for the connecting flight; easy.

Hitting tarmac at 22:40 and having to navigate into central Lisbon made for a late night; a quick pizza slice from a street cafe’ made do for a 00:30 dinner.

The rising sun saw us up at the early hour of 10:00 and off we were to follow a Rick Steves walking tour of Old Lisboa. 

The overlook, post a true hike, adjacent a funicular, showed a skyline far less interesting than Porto’s.

As the Renaissance birthed classical art, the Recession has birthed more graffiti 

Lisbon's skyline...where IS everything?

We could not resist poking our heads into this establishment, one which Ricky claims has the world’s largest selection of port wines (much of the selection must have been hiding elsewhere).

Mmmmm....port

While a good half of Rick’s guidance proved inaccurate here in Lisbon (a surprise), his recommendation on the 16th century São Roque Church was spot on. The exterior belies the interior’s magnificence.

The "domed" ceiling is perfectly flat, painted wood

Chapel of St. John the Baptist (one of multiple chapels within São Roque Church) 

Fabricated in the Vatican, the site of one papal mass, then disassembled and shipped to Lisbon - it is Lisbon's most costly chapel per square inch (cost undisclosed)

Hiking back down toward the river one encounters, what must have been, a stunning convent. The powers that be decided to not rebuild after the 1755 earthquake that destroyed much of Lisbon.

Convento do Carmo: partially destroyed in the 1755 earthquake

The convent's arches were left standing as a reminder of the 1755 earthquake/tsunami/fire

Down at the river's coast we arrived at Praça do Comércio, the site of royal residence for over 200 years prior to the 1755 earthquake. Immortalized here is King Jośe the First, who gave the task of rebuilding Lisbon to someone named Pombal, who in turn chose a very non-European architectural style of austerity - leading us to dislike a poorly cared for Lisbon (note: we were not drawn to photographing evidence of the ubiquitous shambles that comprise much of Lisbon - hence, this blog, and your guide book of Lisbon, will not disclose this sad reality). This plaza is also a prime place to be offered the chance to buy weed...so romantically European!

Praça do Comércio's statue of King Jośe I

Praça do Comércio Arch = their shot at the Arch de Triumph

Steph's undying love for all castles, from Disney to crumbling ruins, brought us breathless to the top of Lisbon. Here we present São Jorge Castle:

São Jorge Castle: originally a Moors castle of the 11th century

The quaint garden at Sāo Jorge Castle

HAIL!! Overlooking the mighty Rio Tejo

Micah stormed the castle gates

Micah discovered there were no gates to storm

Steph loves castles

This thing seemed to be inoperable at the time...shame

Back down the hill...

Church of São Domingos - Lisbon's most active

All Saints Day of 1755: most of Lisbon was at mass when the earthquake brought the city crumbling down

São Domingos was rebuilt from the rubble; its interior is an intentionally eery reminder

"The black soot on the walls and the charred stonework at the altar recalls the horrible fires that followed the earthquake." - R. Steves

On a lighter note: pastries!!

Casa Brasileira: pastel de nata (at center) i.e., custard tart

Just saddle up to the bar and order/munch away - we visited twice - in one day

So, in conclusion - would we visit Lisbon for more? No (unless we could teleport back to Casa Brasileria for another pastel de nata). Are we glad to have gone? Of course; otherwise it would linger in our minds. But the truth of Portugal is - go to Porto, and wave at Lisbon as you fly past it.