Papa and I returned to Lisbon this morning, our first visit since 1994. It feels like an old friend that we haven't seen in some time. Lisbon and all of Portugal was very wealthy, from the 1100's into the early 1800's. A lot of the country's wealth was spent in Lisbon over several centuries. The country and particularly the old city suffered a devastating earthquake in 1755, with many buildings rebuilt and much of the center reconfigured after the earthquake, around large plazas with statuary. Lisbon is located at the mouth of the Tagus River on the Atlantic Ocean, so the city has to constantly deal with the consequences of humidity. Its a little gritty around the edges, but colorful and charming.
We walked for hours this afternoon, after a delicious lunch in a fish restaurant with a primary clientele of locals. We rode streetcar #28, over much of its route, then got off and hiked up to Castelo de Sao Jorge, then back down the hill, through Alfama, and back to our hotel. We stopped for pastel do natal (custard tarts) twice, then had more at our hotel this evening, with glasses of port. We're having fun in Lisbon!
