Friday, September 12, 2014

11 September - Lisbon, Portugal




When we got to breakfast this morning the Constellation was parked on the edge of Lisbon, the capital of Portugal. After breakfast we wandered ashore and found a drive Joao (John) who offered us a 3 hour tour for 25 Euros each.
Portugal is a city spread out over seven steep hills so a guided tour sounded very attractive. John spoke good English and seemed to know the way to and the history of all the great spots in Lisbon.
One of our first stops was to the highest hill to get a great panoramic view.
One of the most interesting sights was a bridge which is virtually a carbon copy of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, which is not surprising as it was designed by the same designer. The other feature Lisbon shares with San Francisco are the fascinating trams.
These amazing vehicles manage the steep hills and the narrow winding streets with out any issues and add a colourful aspect to the city.
We visited many spectacular churches and monasteries. Portugal was at one time an important seafaring nation and Portuguese explorers such as Vasco Da Gama were responsible for my discoveries in Asia and the Americas. Most of the old sailing ships when departing from Libon passed by Belem tower where a priest would be standing by to bless the ship and its voyage. This fascinating monument still stands today.

We set sail this evening at 7:00 pm and spend to morrow at sea. Our next port of call is Almeria in Spain.

1 comment:

  1. Wow! Nice post! I have already bookmarked your blog! Your blog helped me a lot in planning an itinerary for my travel to Portugal.

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