Sometimes life gives you unexpected surprises that both pleasant and dismay at the same time. Our trip to Lisbon was wonderful. The weather was wetter than we anticipated, but still warm and sunny most of the time. Showers never seem to last longer than half and hour and quickly give way to sunshine. Lisbon is a beautiful city with a lot of history and culture. While much of the city was destroyed in fires and earthquakes, many of the original buildings remain. Some of the more historical buildings have been restored and renovated, but many still bear the marks of age and trauma.
What dismayed us was that amount of graffiti that covers much of the city and suburbs. Everywhere we went both new and historical buildings were covered with the words of teen angst and disenfranchised youth. It was everywhere; in tourist areas, the subway, and on the sides of builds in the cities most prestigious shopping streets. Unlike other European cities that have been rebuilt and gentrified, Lisbon has retained much of its an old world charm. It’s ashame that charm is covered in spray paint.
Everything produced in Portugal and sold locally was inexpensive. This included leather goods, food, and wine. Restaurants offered dinner entrees at prices ranging from 7 to 25 Euros. Portions are very large and too much for a single person. We typically ordered one dinner and shared it between the two of us. Even when split in half and served for two, the dinner was too much for us to finish. If we were back in Boston, a quarter of what we ordered would have made it back home in a doggy bag. A portion is twice what is served in an American restaurant. With wine, dessert, and after dinner port, we did not spend more than 45 Euros for a complete meal. On most nights we didn’t spend more than 35 Euros. The food was very good, often grilled and consisted of mostly fresh fish and high quality meats. We tried Portuguese stews and salt cod. Both were delicious.
The subway system was amazing and rivaled the Metro in Washington DC or Paris. Except for Graffiti, it was clean, modern, on time, and quiet. For a country with a weak economy and low wages, they had an excellent infrastructure. I wonder what Boston would be like if our Portuguese decedents ran the city instead of the those from the British isles. We might have a subway system that people actually wanted to use.
I am including pictures many of the sites we visited. Many of these sites are from monuments and plazas in the city’s center. Others are from historic sites such as museums and palaces. I hope you enjoy them.
The following is a picture of an elevator in the Chiado section of Lisbon that is used to move people to the top of a nearby hill. The elevator base is in downtown and top has a ramp walkway that exits at the top of the hill.
Many of the preserved historical buildings in Lisbon are churches. The government did not spend money of perserving sites until the 20th century.
Below is one of the many plazas in downtown Lisbon. All of the plazas have statues, fountains, or historical plaques.
Another well preserved church.
Below is the city as seen from City castle that is built on a hill high above the city.
City viewed from a plaza over looking the Lisbon Harbor
More pictures will follow shortly of some of the palaces and museums.
Just bloghopping when I saw this. I have an 8yo dd and a 5yo ds and I won’t tolerate misbehaviour in a restaurant. We’ve taken them to restaurants all over the world and never once have they been allowed to yell, scream or run around like other children I’ve seen. So no, it’s not you — it’s the parents who were at fault there.
I watched a little boy literally crawl around on the floor of the food court at the mall yesterday under his mother’s obviously dimwitted supervision. She thought it charming that not only was he wallowing on the most disgusting floor in town, people were forced to step over or around him. *shudder* Gives me the heebie-jeebies just thinking about all those germs.