When we decided to winter over in Lisbon I must admit to having reservations....we are not really city people if that thing exists at all. Both Lynne and I find cities too noisy, busy and generally intimidating. I think its something to do with the dense complexity of cities as opposed to the simple and open landscapes of the ocean. Lisbon is however in parts undeniably beautiful. It is also shabby and run down in more than equal measure. There is a great sense of history and in an unusual way it seems to still be unfolding. It is in short a city I think we can enjoy. It benefits from my profound ignorance, as it is constantly able to surprise and engage me. There is simply too much to see and do so I will attempt to give a flavour of Lisbon as we have skimmed its surface.
This is the Rossio (Praca Dom Pedro IV ) As is common to most of Lisbon it was completely rebuilt after the earthquake of 1775.The busiest part of the city it was based on a grid system of streets that link to the Praca de Commercio down the hill by the river Tagus. It is a hive of bars shops and restaurants. It is known as the Baixa (lower town)
One of the more eccentric ways to climb the steep streets is the Elevador de Santa Justa. Built by an apprentice of Gustav Eiffel I think you will agree its a wonderful piece of Neo-Gothic, late 19th or early 20th century engineering. I look forward to seeing the view from the top!
I suppose that if asked some people may recall that Lisbon is famous for its trams, the historic ones are now largely for tourists but they share the system with working trams that serve the transport needs of a large city.
As we walked around we were entertained by a great many "living statues" the ones above were depicting "Fado"
Fado, what's that then? Put simply its a traditional musical style unique to Portugal, more specifically there are two traditional styles, the Lisbon and the Coimbra, Coimbra is sung almost exclusively by males whereas the Lisbon style has been sung and changed by females most notably by Amália Rodrigues. There's no getting away from women in Fado!
It is a sad song style, supposedly to express "longing". The vocal style is counterpointed by a guitarra, a double stringed instrument which itself is complemented by a classical guitar.
There should be some opportunities to enjoy this music in the months to come.
In the Biaxa the streets are often referred to by the trades that inhabit them, thus street of booksellers.
this was an open air market of books, just to the side of the church of our lady of Incarnation.
The church inside was fabulous as we have come to expect but there was a hidden treasure, in the photo above the small door lit up on the right led to this corridor with the most extraordinary frescos. Simple and crude yet very powerful. We have yet to discover who painted them as they are not deemed worthy of inclusion on the tourist trail. Another hint at Lisbon's rich cultural history.
They seem to represent verses from the Bible as the chapter and verse are depicted within. You do need to look closely and Lynne was the one who solved the puzzle...she does love puzzles though.
I felt a little like coming across cave paintings, simple but pure and powerful and the more one looked the more one saw, that surely is what art should be?
Later we wandered to the Praca de Commercio where there seemed to be a protest occurring. It was a demonstration against the perceived bad handling of wildfires by the government which had resulted in a large number of deaths and it had recently come to light that some fires had been started deliberately.
It was all very civilised. you could even say good natured. I myself was remembering because I had only recently become aware that democracy was a relatively new freedom in Portugal.
A reminder in some respects of the Salazar regime was the famous Monument to the Discovery's built in 1960 at the height of the fascist regime. It looks out over the Tagus and depicts Henry the Navigator and a host of sailors cartographer's and even poets. However if you turn away for a second its possible to discover this.
Like the bridge of locks we had discovered in Belfast this was a host of padlocks and hearts making a simple message of collective unity and humanity.
As we walked towards the tower of Belem there was an unusual reminder of Portugal's exploration history in this full size replica in bronze of the first seaplane to cross the south Atlantic.
The tower of Belem was built in1515-21. We had sailed past it a week ago. Its a distinctive symbol of Lisbon and had protected the Royal family from harm during the 1775 earthquake. it used to be far more out in the main channel of the river but land reclamation meant it was now close to shore.
A little further on is a military museum and war memorial,
There is an eternal flame and a wall of remembrance, the dates are mainly recent and reflect on Portugal's troubled colonial history. There is also a tomb of the unknown soldier deep within the fortress chapel of remembrance.
we walked back towards the leafy parkland of Belem and had a drink in the Centro Cultural de Belem, A very modern events centre and art gallery (also the only free public toilet around ) The roof was strewn with bean bags to sit on making an extremely pleasant spot to sit and contemplate your navel....
I am sitting under an olive tree on top of the roof of an art gallery.
The gardens have a beautiful fountain..
Its also home to the Maritime museum.
But by now we were tired and the prospect of spending some time in Lisbon seemed quite appealing.
We truly had just scratched the surface of what was becoming a very interesting city indeed.
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