A trolley, a red bridge and rolling hills leading to the water - what city does this remind you of? Probably San Francisco, but there's another city it could be.Lisbon is an uncanny lookalike to the beauty of the Golden Gate city. One thing I didn't know was that Lisbon is also the oldest city in Western Europe. We had two days of exploring Portugal's capital and the top sites to see.
Before Aaron arrived, I did a sightseeing tour bus where I visited the Belém Tower and the Docks area just below the 25 de Abril Bridge (25th of April Bridge), which was named after the date of Portugal's revolution to overthrow a dictatorship.I rode the yellow trolley up one of the hills to the Castle of São Jorge, a Moorish castle likely dating back to 48 BC. Here I climbed the castle paths and stumbled upon a peacock spreading it's feathers and "shaking it's tail feather" to try and attract the females (yes, that's a scientific term). If you're curious, see the video below!
Afterwards, I wandered around the tiny, winding streets that surround the castle. I stopped in to have lunch at a wine bar and ended up listening to traditional Fado music described as mournful, traditional urban folk music.
Finally, my husband arrived! Aaron got in late Friday night and we had a Portuguese meal. The traditional food there is grilled fish and shrimp, but they also have a lot of Pork too. We tasted Ginja, a liqueur made from sour cherries, which was very delicious!Saturday morning we wandered around by the river and then found the Santa Justa Lift, an odd-shaped, lookout in the middle of the city. It really does stick out because it is sandwiched between buildings so you don't see it until you look down the one street that it's on! Originally it was built to connect the top of a hill to the lower street, but has become a tourist attraction for it's Neo-Gothic style and panoramic views of the city.
...our adventure in Portugal was only just beginning.
Love the pics!! Love you too!!
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