Lovely Lisbon
A Living and Breathing Museum City
Lovely Lisbon Series 21
Day 1
After almost a week in Paris, we
A Living and Breathing Museum City
Lovely Lisbon Series 21
Day 1
After almost a week in Paris, we
took a 2 hour flight by Air France,
…and arrived late in the
…and arrived late in the
afternoon in Lisbon,
…and took a taxi to Radisson Blu Lisbon.
Our suite, a De Luxe Family Room
was very spacious and
very beautiful,
…and were all happy,
..as the hotel had five star room
and service at three
star price.
This would be our home in Lisbon
This would be our home in Lisbon
for the next seven days or the second
stop of our European spring vacation.
We were all hungry so we went
down to look for a place to eat.
We were lucky as we had
Hao Hua
a Chinese restaurant for a neighbor.
It had an awesome interiors designed
that would make diners feel like they
are in China,
rather of being is Lisbon.
They served excellent dishes,
… and it is probably one of the best
Chinese restaurants that we have dined.
we had a busy schedule the next day.
Day 2
It was our second day in Lisbon, we had
…and we all headed to Centrode Congressos de Lisboa,
where the European Congress of Endocrinology would be held
…to pick up my convention kit in advance
as the meetings would still start the next day.
The convention center offered us a
panoramic view of 25 de Abril Bridge,
It was a very clear day and the huge Christ the Redeemer
statue was visible at
the other side of the suspension bridge.
Dubbed as Golden Gate's
twin sister,
this enormous bridge is a sight to behold
Underneath is an attractive marina, lined by
lovely green pocket parks, restaurants and bars.
From the Lisbon
Congress Center
we took a metro and
…and enjoyed the breezy park sipping ice- cold
lemonade we bought from the park’s street vendor.
We walked our way to central Belem and passed
.
…then proceeded to the Mosteiro dos Jerónimos,
one of the most ornate religious buildings of Portugal.
The Mosteiro dos Jerónimos is one of the
most popular tourist attractions of Lisbon and
should not be missed by anyone visiting the city
It was already almost noontime so we decided to
...where we feasted of Nestle ice- cream and
was a refreshing relief from the very hot sun.
We later explored the Jardim Praça do Imperio,
...then visited the Padrão dos Descobrimentos
or the very popular Monument to the Discoveries,
located at the embankment of the Targus River.
The Padrão dos Descobrimentos is one
of the most iconic monuments of Lisbon,
…and symbolizes Portugal’s
great Golden Age of
Discovery.
…the scenic riverside space between
The Tejo Estuary is
lined
with bards and restaurants,
…and stalls selling souvenirs to tourists.
When we finished our long walk at
the estuary, we had a late lunch at
…where we feasted on traditional
Portuguese dishes like Sardines,
I later
queued at the Antiga Confeitaria deBelém,
....for a box of the original,
We then enjoyed the sweet loot
at the beautiful Jardim de Belém.
Jardim de Belém’s numerous Jacaranda trees
were in full bloom and the bright purple blossoms
served as a colorful contrast to the greenery.
We lingered a little bet more and returned to
our hotel at Campo
Grande late in the afternoon.
Day 3
It was the first day of the European Congress of
Endocrinlogy
and I attended the medical convention the whole morning,
…and later joined my family by noontime
at the Praça do
Comércio where we would
begin our visit to the Lisbon’s
old town district.
It is the largest of Lisbon’s
plazas located at
the banks of the Tagus
estuary. We admired the
neo- classical buildings that surrounds the plaza.
We exited ornate
Arco da Rua Augusta,
…and strolled leisurely at the Rua Augusta,
…where we chanced upon Fabrica
Das Enguias.
housed in an ancient building, canned eel delicacy.
The bite sized bread topped with the canned
eel offered for free tasting of and it tasted very
good, so we were tempted to buy several cans.
We then walked uphill ob our way to
Lisbon Cathedral but
we mistook the
Igreja da
Magdalena for the Lisbon Se.
I was armed with a guidebook, but we began suspecting
that we were in the wrong place as the book description
does not match of what we are seeing on real time,
…and we leared later the it was.
the Mary Magdalene
Church.
It was an awesome church nevertheless.
We were fortunate for this visit when we
mistook it for the more popular Lisbon Se.
From the Igreja da
Magdalena
we hopped at the crowded Tram 28,
…and got down at the Miraduro
de Sta Luzia,
the
Elevador de Sta Luzia at Alfama district.
.
It was another case of mistaken identity.
We had the ancient Elevador
de Sta Justa
but ended at Elevador
de Sta Luzia instead.
It was perfectly alright as the lovely view deck
provided an awesome
view of the city downhill.
We also got to peek at the
and a tall winding staircase.
From the ancient Viana do Costelo,
…but we had a slow
and leisurely
stroll in an ancient
neighborhood,
…with centuries old buildings
of quaint Moorish architecture.
That lead us to the majestic Castelo de Sao Jorge.
where much of the present structures are in ruins,
but there is continues restoration being undertaken.
Also known as the Lisbon
castle, it was built at the top the hill
and had an awesome view of the ancient city of Lisbon below.
Some parts of the ruins of the former
Royal Palace of the
Alcáçova has been
restored and converted to a museum,
…called Nucleo
Museologico.
The massive 11th century
Moorish Castle
has been restored to its original glory
Castelo de Sao Jorge is
the fortress
to Lisbon’s history, it is Portugal’s
top tourist attraction, and not to be
missed by anyone visiting this city.
On our way down from the castle, we caught
the sight of a lovely rustic- looking roadside
restaurant called Comidas de Santiago.
Comidas de Santiago
servings are huge,
good enough to be shared by a family of
four in our case, two
adults and two kids.
and everything tasted very good.
and everything tasted very good.
After a sumptuous dinner, we admired the
paper money collection coming from different
countries, displayed on the restaurant’s wall,
…and I fished out a twenty peso bill from my
wallet and gave it to the waiter when we noticed
that they had no Philippine money on display.
We then walked down a steep cobbled alley
and ended
at the Largo das Portas do Sol,
…a street in named from the old Puerta del Sol,
a part the Moorish fence thatonce existed here
but was destroyed by the 1755 earthquake.
The statue of the city's patron saint, St.
Vincent,
holding the symbols of Lisbon,
a boat with two
ravens serves as a centerpiece of a small square.
Largo das Portas do Sol is surrounded
by beautiful earth-toned ancient buildings ,
…and on one side of the street is
the Miraduro das Portas do Sol
offers a s stunning view of Lisbon’s
ancient brick- roofed houses and
the historic Tagus
River at a distance.
From the Miraduro das Portas do Sol we again took the
over- crowded Tram 28,to the Lisbon Cathedral located
downhill. We earlier mistook the Igreja da Magdalena for
the Se de Lisboa, but this time we finally got it right. The
monolithic façade of this ancient church with two imposing
bell towers looked more of a fortification than that of a church.
over- crowded Tram 28,to the Lisbon Cathedral located
downhill. We earlier mistook the Igreja da Magdalena for
the Se de Lisboa, but this time we finally got it right. The
monolithic façade of this ancient church with two imposing
bell towers looked more of a fortification than that of a church.
Sé de Lisboa or the Santa
Maria Maior de Lisboa
and simply called the Lisbon
Cathedral in English,
…is the oldest church in the city and
the see of the Archdiocese of Lisbon,
and classified as a National Monument.
The Se de Lisboa is steeped in history
as it is the city’s ancient center of faith,
…and no holiday in Lisbon
is complete
without visiting this religious monument.
From the Lisbon
Cathedral,
we leisurely walked downhill,
…bought ice cream and popsicles
from a roadside ice cream parlor,
…and walked our way back
to thethe Praça do
Comércio,
before heading back to the hotel.
When we returned to Campo Grande, there was a football
match at the nearby stadium and the park near our hotel
was transformed into a massive temporary food park,
....where w e enjoyed gobbling giant burgers
and drinking sodas for our dinner.
When we returned to Campo Grande, there was a football
match at the nearby stadium and the park near our hotel
was transformed into a massive temporary food park,
....where w e enjoyed gobbling giant burgers
and drinking sodas for our dinner.
Day 4
We all woke early in the morning
and had an breakfast and the hotel,
…and took at Metro to the Sete Rios bus station,
…where we booked an 8 AM Alsa Bus
to the
popular Pilgrim City of Fatima.
The two hour bus ride from Lisbon
to Fatima
was smooth and comfortable.
We arrived at exactly 10 AM
at the Fatima Bus Station,
…where we decided to buy gift items from
the nearby souvenir shops to take back home,
…before having a leisurely
walk to the Fatima Shrine.
We entered the shrine thru
the
Paul VI Pastoral
Center,
…and as we stood at the threshold, we can not
help but admire the massiveness of the shrine.
We headed to the Capelinha das Aparições
or the Chapel of the Apparitions in English,
…to attend a mass.
The chapel is the most important site
in the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Fátima,
in the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Fátima,
..where the original image of the miraculous
Lady of Fatima is displayed is a vaulted
altar.
My wife and son had a communion,
…and stayed a little bit longer at the chapel after the
mass, to have some more private time at the chapel.
mass, to have some more private time at the chapel.
From the apparition chapel, we went to refill
our bottled water with the blessed holy
water,
flowing free from several drinking fountains.
flowing free from several drinking fountains.
We then visited the shrine’s centerpiece,
the Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary.
The basilica has 213 ft tall central bell-tower,
with an illuminated cross mounted on top.
Inside the cathedral are the burial sites,
…of the three children,
…who witnessed the apparition of the Lady of
Fatima.
At the other side of the Basilica of
Our Lady of the Rosary,
fronting the Chapel of the Apparitions, monolithic building
which we failed to visit and we didn’t know what it was for.
We walked across to the Paul VI Pastoral Center,
…a center for study and reflection
on the message of Fátima inaugurated
Pope John Paul II in, May 13, 1982
It can seat over two thousand people,
..and appeared like a modern auditorium.
I was already past three in the afternoon
when we went out of the pastoral
center,
…and we leisurely strolled the tree lined
Avenida D. Jose Alves Correia da Salva,
…where we stumbled upon Lebre.
It a self service restaurant. where we
enjoyed some of the most delicious dishes,
enjoyed some of the most delicious dishes,
…and heavenly desserts,
…yet very affordable.
We again shopped for some more
gifts and souvenirs to take home,
…before heading back to the bus
station for our 5 PM Alsa bus ride
that would take us back to Lisbon.
that would take us back to Lisbon.
We again had a scenic
drive back to the city,
…and enjoyed ice creamat the Sete
Rios bus station,
before taking a tram back to Campo Grande.
before taking a tram back to Campo Grande.
We were tempted to buy
Farturas at a roadside stall,
Day 5
It was our penultimate day in Lisbon and I was
at the convention center the whole morning.
I met up with my family at lunchtime
at the Jardim Zoologico de Lisboa,
where we treated the kids for a day in the zoo.
where we treated the kids for a day in the zoo.
Also known as Lisbon Zoo inEnglish was founded
in 1884, and one of the oldest zoos in Europe.
Dr. Van Der Laan,
whose statue stands by the
entrance to honor him as the founder of the zoo.
A statue of Bento de Sousa sitting on a bench
also considered as one of the pillars in founding
the Lisbon
zoo is also found near the entrance.
According to brochures, the zoo has about
2,000 animals of more than 300 species…
…and could be explored by train,
…by foot up- close,
… and up- high on board a cable car.
We initially explored the zoo by joining a large
group of pre school children by train.
group of pre school children by train.
It was a relaxed and easy
way of exploring the zoo.
After the leisurely train ride, we decided to have a
snack in one of the zoo’s numerous ice cream stall,
…we were ready to explore the zoo
on foot to see the animal up- close-
…on foot.
Aside from the wide array of wild
and exotic animals on
display.
…also a must visit in the zoo
is the Enchanted
Forest,
…and the huge Pet Cemetery.
The open cable car ride,
…made it possible to view
the animals from above.
It only did not give us a chance to
have a bird’s eye view of the animals,
…but it also provided and breathtaking
panoramic view of the city of Lisbon,
…on the horizon.
We concluded our day in the zoo
by visit the Children's Farm,
…where guests could interact
and even pet domestic
animals.
With an abundance of restaurants,
…souvenir shops,
…and even kiddie rides at the Lisbon Zoo,
... an awesome day is guaranteed
to anyone visiting the Lisbon Zoo.
We took the Metro back to Campo Grandel, and had
a heavy dinner of tasty Chinese dishes in in Hao Hua,
...before returning to Radisson Blu to rest.
... an awesome day is guaranteed
to anyone visiting the Lisbon Zoo.
We took the Metro back to Campo Grandel, and had
a heavy dinner of tasty Chinese dishes in in Hao Hua,
...before returning to Radisson Blu to rest.
Day 6
It was our last day in Lisbon, we had an early
breakfast at the hotel, and spent the whole
morning packing our luggage at the hotel.
breakfast at the hotel, and spent the whole
morning packing our luggage at the hotel.
We took a taxi to the Gare do Oriente,
…or the Lisbon’s
East Central Terminal,
…where we took a noontime Avanza Bus,
....to Caceres, Spain,
…the third stop for our
European Spring vacation.
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Lovely Lisbon Series
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