Lisboa

After nearly 20 hours of flying, we arrived in Lisboa (Lisbon, Portugal)... the first stop on our journey. Our morning was spent at leisure, where I photographed from the hotel balcony. 

 

Overlooking Estátua do Marquês de Pombal

Rainbow over Lisbon.

  

In the afternoon, we took a tour of Castelo de São Jorge (St. George's castle).  King Alfonso Henriques erected this royal castle on the site of the Moorish citadel after Lisbon was recaptured in 1147. This castle remained a royal residence until 1511 when King Manuel I moved the court. Castelo de São Jorge was then damaged in the 1755 earthquake, though it has been largely rebuilt since the 1930's. This castle can be seen from almost anywhere in the city, including from our hotel balcony!

The castle boasts wonderful, panoramic views of the city. The castle overlooks the historic center as well as the Tagus River. The 25th of April bridge, named to remember the Portuguese Carnation Revolution of 25 April 1974, connects Lisbon with Almada. If you look at the below photograph very closely, you can see that the bridge closely resembles the Golden Gate Bridge. In fact, the consortium that constructed the American bridge also constructed this bridge.

Walking around the grounds, we saw several "wild" peacocks ("wild" because people throw down food, which they eat).

Wild peacock sitting on the brick wall.

Following the castle we walked through the Alfama, Portugal's oldest and most historic district. On top of the beautiful tile buildings and decorated cobblestone streets inspired by Art Nouveau, Portugal has beautiful grafitti. Apparently, Lisbon is one of the most well-known cities for street art now. After the revolution, political murals were incredibly popular and today artistic graffiti is even sponsored by the City Council.

Street art in Alfama.

Towards the end of the tour, the guide stopped at the oldest ginjinha shop in Lisbon (ginjinha is a liquor obtained from sour cherries).

Ginjinha with sour cherries

 

Another popular food item in Portugal is the pastel de nata, the Portuguese egg tart. Sprinkled with cinnamon, these bite-size custard tarts are to die for!

 

Pastel de nata

Wishing you all a Happy Holidays from Lisbon, where upside down Christmas trees greet you at the hotel...

Upside down Christmas tree in the hotel lobby.

Fun fact: Portuguese is the official language of eight other countries outside of Portugal due to colonization.

Thanks for reading about my adventures... Stay tuned for what's to come and be sure to hit the subscribe button to be notified of new posts! As always, follow my instagram @elissatitle for more pics.