Day 61 Lisbon

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At 12pm the 50% mark of our trip ticked over. We celebrated in a park with a large, cold glass of StrongBow Cider. Later, Jane added to the celebrations with a wine from a vendor, “Wine with a View”.

Today was about exploring Lisbon by using the Hop On Off bus which we did numerous times so as to walk to see the places of interest for us. We definitely put the kilometres into our legs today. Again, the sun shone strong and with the light coloured cobblestones, predominantly white walls of buildings the heat was definitely felt.

The numerous parks with their large foliaged trees are many and not only do they add beauty to the city but give relief from the sun. From the “Parque Eduarde VII” we had a superb view to the Tagus River. It is here that the huge Portuguese flag fly’s high, strong and proud. It was here that we had morning tea too as well as strolling to the most romantic spot in Lisbon (so we were told by the audio).

We moved on and attended mass for a short while in the “Basilica da Estrela” where we fortunate enough to hear the choir sing. I noticed that Jane shed a tear or two here, such was the emotion and quality of the singing. A walk around the gardens across from the cathedral was needed as was the celebratory drink of cider.

From there it was onto the 25 de Abril Bridge (25th of April Bridge). It is a suspension bridge connecting Lisbon to the municipality of Almada on the south bank of the Tagus River. It was the bridge we came our train travelled over on our arrival yesterday. It is often compared to the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco and is the 32^nd largest suspension bridge in the world with a length of 2,277m. I absolutely loved it and spent time just standing and sitting under it marveling at its construction. The cooling breeze was a welcome relief too.

We next hopped off at the Torre de Belem, a castle built mostly in the river but very close to shore. However, upon seeing the long line of people waiting to enter we decided that purchasing a wine from the vendor, “Wine with a View” was more relaxing. Sitting in the sun drinking wine is not my sense of prolonged fun (Jane is missing Tom’s wife Pip) so I was glad when the last drop disappeared and we headed back into the city centre for a … bite to eat. By this time it was 4pm and we had been on the go since 9 so a little snack was in order. A cold shower followed and with a little R&R we’ll head out this evening to see what’s on offer.

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