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Stop #1 - Geneva,
Switzerland
Stop #2 -
Barcelona, Spain
Stop #3 - Day 1 in Lisbon, Portugal
Stop #4 - Zurich, Switzerland
First day in Lisbon was spent at
the east side of the city and the central commercial area. For the
second day, I went around the remaining central and western areas of the
city.
Took the hop-on/off bus and got off at
Se Cathedral.
Nothing spectacular about it but it was one of the tourist destinations in
Lisbon. One interesting part though, from the bus drop off point, the
walk was very hilly, worse than San Francisco or Seattle. Passing by
Se Cathedral was only half-way of my journey towards
Castle of St. George
(Castelo de Sao Jorge). The castle was on top of one of the hills
at Lisbon and was an icon of the city, aside from the
Belem
Tower. Entrance at St. George Castle was EUR7.50 and it was a very
interesting landmark that overlooked the city.
On the way down towards the hop on/off pick
up point, was the Alfama
district which was famous for its cafe's and Arab inspired architecture.
Aside from the hilly landscape of Lisbon, the walkways and streets were
mostly made of cobblestone. Walking on cobblestone with a wound at the
center of my sole due to a large blister was very difficult but I had to be
the "usual tourist" and made the most out of it. During my exploration
of Alfama, I also noticed that a significant number of building walls were
made of tiles which was a trend during the 15th and 16th centuries.
The stroll from Se Cathedral, St.
George Castle and Alfama was already a good 3 hours. Famished, I
re-energized with a nice lunch of grilled swordfish and half a liter of
Portugese wine. The combination was an excellent break after the long
walk on the hilly side of the city. The service of the restaurant was
good and I had to explain to Antonio that I wanted to give him some tip.
For some reason, the credit card machine in Barcelona and Lisbon did not
give the option for tip. Unlike in North America where servers
expected tips, I was not sure if tipping at Barcelona and Lisbon were
customary.
I proceeded to the Vasco da Gama Center where
the following landmarks were located -
Vasco da Gama
Tower, Vasco
da Gama Bridge,
Atlantic Pavilion,
Lisbon Oceanarium
and the Vasco
da Gama Shopping Center. Everything in the Vasco da Gama area was
named after the famous explorer.
From the western side of Lisbon, I got on the
bus and went back to the city. It was a very warm day and when went to
the balcony of the hotel, I saw "green wine" in the menu. First time I
saw green wine which tasted like white wine which was refreshing.
As soon as dusk fell, restaurants started to open up along the inner streets
of Lisbon. These restaurants were usually closed on daytime but
offered a variety of Portugese menu for dinner. In one of these
streets, I actually found a Portugese buffet restaurant for EUR7.80/person.
The restaurant offered some thick bean soup, stewed Turkey, Portugese
grilled chicken, pork and beef; and seafood pasta.
After dinner, I went around the
Bairro Alto district
and I was fascinated with the number of bars and restaurants that sprouted
at night. Bairro Alto was known as the social center of Lisbon.
Next stop, early flight to Zurich,
Switzerland the following day.
Stop #3 - Day 1 in Lisbon, Portugal
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