I woke up at 5:45 Am…so had a very solid 9 hours of sleep…very quiet and a hard bed…cool temps. I went down to see if the breakfast was served after a shower in this “individual” shower..and a blessing for being small, as between the toilet and the shower…anyone much bigger would not fit…but fine for me. Breakfast starts at 7:30 AM but the night guy gave me coffee…some of the best I have ever had…and then I stepped outside. Clear, crisp, and not a soul out. Obviously, this is an evening and night city. So, back to yesterday.
The Hop On Hop Off GreyLine Sightseeing bus is a great deal. There are a number of routes that one can take, but I got on the Red Line, or the Belen Line. Downtown Lisbon is characterized by these big wide multi laned “streets”, which are almost highways due to their size…and probably more like Boulevards to us. The streets all, then, kind of go to these blvd’s, which run from the outskirts towards the River, which is the drawing spot for all of Lisbon.
The main blvd seems to be Liberdade, actually called Avenida Da Liberdade and it starts at one of these huge round Circles, with a big statue in the middle. Looks a lot like Buckingham Palace circle, except no Palace…and equally as busy in a different and much more confusing traffic pattern. Generally all driving is like us, right side, right lanes, etc…but the confusing part is each lane can then go in a different direction, such as a right turn lane, left turn, straight ahead, etc…and this is all governed by direction stop and go signs. So, you really have to know where you are going when you enter one of these circles. The largest of these is Marquis de Pombal Circle, which is about a mile and a half from me, with its huge center statue and then this magnificent huge park up behind it with the Zoo…all looking down Liberdad towards the River. One of the most beautiful city sites I have ever seen, and pictures will back this up.
Liberdade, from that point becomes a divided highway with about 8 lanes to drive in, depending on which side of the road you are on and which one of the Tree lanes you are in…for the trees are big and beautiful due to the moisture being right on the ocean like we are. Along both sides of Liberdade are stores, shops, hotels, apartments, and a little bit of everything. Many, many little tiny shops and restaurants maybe 10 feet wide…with everything from beer and wine to fixing your car to a pension to a luxury hotel or small department style store. Everything one would need, just need to know where to find it. And, this, then, then is a characteristic of Lisbon…thousands of small businesses scattered all over the area…providing jobs for the 3 million in the Lisbon metro area…about 600,000 in the city itself.
As you get down the Liberdade about a mile you come to the Restauradores Square, which is where I am. Again, multi directional streets all going basically in the same direction…but just in separate lanes, so when you cross the street you must watch for your particular “walking man” to cross. Again, this Square has both the Luxury Hotels, the stores and shops, and everything in between, including my Pension, which is 1 block off the Square on a very quiet street…that then goes towards the River and becomes very very busy…kind of restaurant row, where I actually ate. The street comes out at Rossio Square, which is probably the busiest square in the city, in that it has many large hotels, and thousands of shops and then big open areas. Yesterday afternoon probably 10,000 in the Square….it is the “happening place”….with street musicians. This would be the Union Square in SF … in Lisbon. I am about 10 minutes’ walk from there….so a great location for me and my curiosity. Rossio then leads into pedestrian streets that lead down to the River…with all of the Gucci stores, etc…the upscale shopping area…leading right down to another big huge square right on the River…and reminded me in a flashback of St. Petersburg Square in Russia. Weird. People, and buses, and vendors all over, though, brought me back to Lisbon.
Now, back to the Hop On….it covers the entire area…and depending on the route…can pretty much cover all of Lisbon proper. It is really worth it..and I have a 3 day pass…so will do more today after I register and then again on Sunday if time allows.
Now, the people. First, Portugal speaks Portuguese…and are very proud of it. English may be a second language, but their language is very “romantic”, like Italian or Spanish…with lots of similar sounds…so it is relatively easy to get by. They seem to be a very Italian, Spanish, and southern Europe “looking group”…dark complected and very attractive, and very demonstrative, with lots of hands moving. Fun to watch talk…as they get into it. I have seen few Muslims in their attire, although Muslim is considered to be one of the larger religious groups here, as are the Jews, for they have both been in and out of here over the centuries. The country is primarily Roman Catholic, with both the Spanish and Italian backgrounds…but religious toleration is a big thing, it seems, as the Guide illustrated this at several churches and synagogues. Again, like southern Europe….very open and friendly and laid back. I have not seem many Africans, although Angola and parts of Africa were colonies of Portugal. There does seem to be many references to Brazil…kind of like it was the Australia for England to the Portuguese. I have not seen many Middle Easterners…such as from Bosnia and then around to Iran, etc….and very few in the Muslim attire. Maybe more today….but certainly not very visible yesterday. It could be that it is just too Catholic for them, for a church seems to be on every corner…much like the Mosques in Dubai.
I am off to breakfast, and try and send later today when internet is available….
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