The Castelo de San Jorge is in the Santa Cruz district of Lisbon, a charming area of cobbled streets and alleyways packed tightly within the walls of the old castle.
if you can see beyond the obvious tourist trappings it is a fascinating area and one we didn't really have time to explore properly. It is becoming a bit of a mental exercise to add things to the "must return " list, but return we will.
There was a small music shop specialising in Fado records. I bought a couple of postcards, 50cents each and the lady who owned the shop carefully wrapped them for me. I must go back and buy a cd or two!
Like a lot of Lisbon the buildings have a slightly run down feel, after a while I began to think that it added to their charm in a way, almost like they were organic and grew in this crowded hodge podge, spilling over and under each other.
Some of the squares are very elegant with tiled facades and cool cafes. After deciphering the security guys map we discovered the best free view in Lisbon, just as he had said, on the terrace of the Miradouro de Santa Luzia, This is a fantastic spot to have a coffee and sit under the shade of the Bourganvillia by the church of the same name.
The views over the Tagus and the Alfama district are breathtaking, The gardens extend out from the south wall of the church .
The gardens have two tiled panels, one depicting the Praca de Commercio before the earthquake and the one that Lynne is looking at , which shows the Christians attacking the Castelo de San Jorge.
The Church of Santa Luzia is also on the route of the famous number 28 tram. This is a great way of seeing the city, and to be honest I still cant quite believe that it gets up the steep hills! it does.
The terraces and gardens Just below the church are home to artists and musicians and we enjoyed a free guitar recital (Fado of course ) as we had a drink by the pool.
The Alfama district is a steep maze of bars, shops and restaurants. It is quite a trendy place and we popped in to visit some of the quirky shops on our way down towards the cathedral. Walking down from the top to the bottom is by far the best way to explore the area by the way!
The Cathedral is known as Sé, which is short for Sedes Episcopalis, or see of the Bishop. The fascade is solid and square Romanesque.
The interior is to be honest a bit gloomy.
As it was late in the day and you had to pay to see some of the Cathedral ( the cloisters and treasury) we decided to put it on the return list.
I don't know if Lynne was trying to overcome the gloomy interior but she decided to light a candle. I think possibly it was because you could light an actual candle and not just a wee electric light,
it could also have been the particular saint I'm afraid I cant remember who it was.
The dark interior is however enlightened a little by stained glass.
There is a side chapel which displays Bishops robes and mitres and in contrast to the rather plain body of the Cathedral is richly decorated in typical Portuguese style.
However if you walk just around the corner from the Cathedral in a small square lies the Church of Santo António a Sé.
This allegedly stands on the site of the house where St Antony was born and after admiring the knave and altar,
Its possible to walk through a side passage leading to a beautiful tiled sacristy, past many silver representations of various saints to a stairwell which descends to the crypt.
On the way down you pass a modern azulejo panel which depicts and commemorates Pope John Pauls visit in 1982 and shows him praying in the crypt below.
This is obviously still a place of some reverence and is apparently popular with newly weds who visit the church on their wedding day and leave flowers for St Antony which will bring good luck to the marriage. As Saint Antony has helped to find several lost things for me I have no reason to disbelieve this.
It is very small however and somewhat claustrophobic as seems to be the case for these things. The crypt is supposedly on the very spot of St Antony's birth.
St Antony is a patron saint of Portugal and being born and raised in Lisbon is very popular here. The 13th June sees major celebrations in the city, the date of his death in Padua Italy.
It had been a very full day and we decided it was time to get the bus back to Dark tarn and plan our next outing into this fascinating city.
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