Europe

We decided that we’d sleep in a bit this morning, even though we are driving to Lisbon today, because we wanted to visit the baby clothes shop we found yesterday. So, it wasn’t till about 10:00 am that we got downstairs for breakfast (Vegemite in hand, again).

After breakfast, we headed out for the short stroll to O Patinho Azul, to buy some hand-made, Portuguese baby clothes.

We got back to the hotel around midday, checked out, and headed off in the car for the drive to Lisbon. We drove straight through, and arrived at The Ivens Hotel in Lisbon at about 4:00 pm. The traffic in Lisbon was pretty chaotic, and the streets near our hotel were especially challenging. Still, we managed to find our way to the hotel without incident.

Since it was such a beautiful day and there was still plenty of daylight left, we decided to head out and explore the nearby area of Chiado, a very lively part of Lisbon.

We walked around for a while, before heading down Rua Augusta, the main pedestrian mall in the city. This street had a great atmosphere and was packed with people. We walked down to where the street ends, at the Praça do Comércio, Lisbon’s most important square. This square was built on the site where the old Royal Palace used to be, before it (like much of Lisbon) was destroyed by the earthquake of 1755.

From the square, we walked to Castelo de São Jorge (St. George’s Castle). Castelo de São Jorge is a historic Moorish castle located on top of the highest hill in central Lisbon. The fact that it was built on the highest hill in an already hilly city was not lost on us, as we trekked our way up the steep steps and paths to get there, quite an effort in the very hot Lisbon sun.

Castelo de São Jorge dates back to the 11th century and has served as a fortress and as a royal residence. It is now considered a National Monument of Portugal. The site contains a museum with artefacts dating from Iron Age, Phoenician, Greek, and Carthaginian occupation. It was a very interesting place, which we enjoyed exploring.

It was after 7:00 pm when we departed the castle for the 25-minute walk back to the hotel. On the way back, we stopped at a great restaurant just round the corner from the hotel, where we had a really nice dinner.

Tomorrow, we’re going to the town of Sintra, about an hour’s drive west of Lisbon.