Sightseeing in Lisbon

In order to leave the ship, we need to submit our TSS ID cards to the security guards at the exit door. They run the cards through a scanner that projects our photo onto their computer screen. That way, TSS knows who’s left the ship. When we return, we do the same thing in reverse and they know who has returned. While in Lisbon, the ship was open 24 hours a day, so there was no set time to return until the last day, when we had to be onboard by 8:00 pm because the ship was to leave at 10:00 pm.

The Terminal Building Seen from the Ship 5797

Bridge Spanning the Tagus River, taken from the ship 5798

As a first excursion into Lisbon, four of us walked from the harbor through a “subway,” underground passage and across a street to where both a bank with an ATM and a grocery store were. Nikki used the ATM to get some Euros and one of our number left us to seek out an Internet Café. The rest of us started off on foot to see what we could see. Our goal was the Monument to the Discoveries, which sits prominently on the waterfront, welcoming everyone to Lisbon. We ended up walking a long, long way past a warehouse and construction area on our right that was blocked from sight by high fences.

Walk Around Belem Area

Eventually we came to the Lisbon Convention Center, which had flags of many nations flying from flagpoles and a parking lot filled to the brim with shiny black BMWs, Audi’s, Mercedes’, etc. There was also a fighter plane parked on the grounds in front of the building with soldiers moving things into or out of it. There were soldiers on guard. Then we turned right and walked two “blocks,” each of which was about the length of two buildings and came to a typical looking street that had tram tracks running along it. We turned left and started walking. I took pictures all along the route. Eventually we stopped in a little shop where Nancy bought a map of Lisbon and I saw a magazine in Portuguese that included a tribute to Pavarotti, who had died about a week prior. Attached to the front cover was a CD sleeve protecting a CD of Pavarotti singing! I couldn’t believe my eyes. I bought it on the spot. I can’t read a word of the magazine but I have a CD of Pavarotti’s greatest hits for the price less than 3 Euros.

Then we walked on and eventually found our way back to the port terminal and from there to our ship, just in time for lunch.

Flags at Convention Center 5811

View of Plane from across the street 5812

Lovely Old Building (Nikki and Nancy walking toward it) 5813 Coat of Arms Detail on Building 5814 View of Street 5815 Street Scene, Building with Tile Walls, Typical Sidewalk 5820 Street Scene with Trolley Tracks 5825 Wrought Iron Window Decoration 2826
Lace Curtains in Window 2828 Close-up of Door 2932 Close-up of Green Door 2933 Close-up of Curtain across Church Doorway 2934 Close-up of Coat of Arms on Barricaded Entry 2935Street Scene with Shops, Flats with Laundry and Window Boxes on Balconies 3536Lovely Door near Bus Stop 5838Decorative Hand-Laid Stone Sidewalk 5839Back to the Ship (shipment of new cars from another ship are lined up on the left) 5845The next excursion was begun by Tram with Nikki, Nancy and Elisabeth. We rode to a stop near Sao Jeronimo’s Cathedral and strolled through a lovely park with an impressive statue in the center of it.

Entrance to Monument (Nancy and Elszabeth entering) 5938 Close-up of Statue 5924 Statue from Front 2925 Detail on base of Statue 2926 Elephant Detail on Statue 5927 View of Sao Jeronimo’s from across street 5929 We approached the monument from the east. The monument faces the water at the point where many explorers embarked before sailing to all parts of Earth. The monument looks narrow from that direction but is really quite massive. The monument is a tribute to all the Portuguese explorers who sailed to all parts of the world and left their mark on many places including Macau (near Hong Kong) and Brazil. After taking photos, we went inside the monument and attended a video presentation about the achievements of the discoverers and about modern Portugal. Afterwards, we viewed the displays and went to the top to take photos of the view.
There was a fantastic tile map of the world on the plaza in front of the monument.

View of Monument from the Northeast 5931 Detail of Monument 5933 TSS Visitors to Monument (L to R: Buveh, Nikki, Nancy) 5935 Entrance to Monument (Nancy and Elszabeth entering) 5938 View to West from Observation Deck 5939 View to Northwest 5940

View to East 5941 View to North (Sao Jeronimo’s) 5944

to Northeast 5945

View to North, to Stadium beyond Sao Jeronimo’s 5946 Fountain in median between Monument and Sao Jeronimo’s 5947 View of Lisbon 5950
Painting of Old Lisbon in Monument Exhibit 5951
Detail on Plaza Map of World 5959 Detail on Edge of Plaza Map 5961

Portugal on Plaza Map 5958

Sao Jeronimo’s

We walked on toward Sao Jeronimo’s, crossing to the lovely square in the median. The sun was shining but it was not too hot and there was a nice cool breeze. It was a bit humid from being so close to the water but the breeze made it tolerable. On the way, we passed a small restaurant that had interesting planters outside. I took pictures of them and one is of a fort!!

Planter 1 Fort and Crusaders 5962

Planter 2 – the Fort! 5963
Sidewalk Design in Park 5964
Elisabeth, Nancy and Nikki in front of fountain 5966
Fountain with Sao Jeronimo’s in the background 5967
Horse Statue and Reflecting Pool with Water Lilies 5968
Tree in Square 5971

When we got to Sao Jeronimo’s, Nancy and Elisabeth decided not to go inside but to walk around the area instead. Nikki and I paid our money and went in. I was busy taking pictures again because the architecture was wonderful inside as outside. Most of the pictures turned out blurry because I underestimated how long it would take to process the picture in the dim interior of the church. The best ones are below.

Vaulted Ceiling 5979

Beautiful Arcades, seen from Courtyard 5986
Ceiling in Arcade 5987
Detail 5988
Juxtaposition of Centuries 5992
View across Courtyard 5993

Detail on Archways 5994

Fountain and Corner of Courtyard 5995

Detail 5997

Arch Details 5999
Miscellaneous Items in Arcade 6000

Eating Out

When Nikki and I came out, we couldn’t find Nancy or Elisabeth anywhere (chapel, garden, grounds) and it was after lunchtime. We thought they had gone to lunch somewhere, either back to the ship or to a nearby café so we decided to find somewhere to eat, eventually deciding on a small café. We were shown to an inside room that had a glass wall overlooking the street. As we were eating and I sat facing the glass wall, I saw Elisabeth and Nancy walking past. Nikki dashed outside and brought them back. They had thought they had missed us and had been walking around looking for us but had stopped and eaten. They decided they wanted to go back to the ship and Nikki and I said we wanted to go to the last place on our planned itinerary, Belem Tower, so we parted ways. After we finished lunch, Nikki and I headed out on foot for that distant point of town.

Belem Tower

Belem is a section or area of Lisbon. It means “Bethlehem.” The Tower was originally built on a bit of land that was out in the Tagus River but as the water has receded over time, the tower has come to be part of the land. At high “tide,” it has a little water on the three sides nearest land but is never completely surrounded by it as before. It is mainly a tourist attraction now. There is nothing inside and no tours are offered. There are battlements and lookout areas, though, so one can climb to the top – seven stories! We went inside and admired the construction and overall plan. The views from each floor and rampart were great. When we got to the second or third level, Nikki decided she’d had enough and said she’d wait for me if I wanted to continue on. Actually, I didn’t realize how many more floors there were or I’d have stopped long before I got to the top. The stairways were small, narrow and winding, with wedge-shaped stone steps. The entire structure was of stone. I made it to the top and took photos to prove it then somehow managed to get down to where Nikki was, in my weakened condition – I am simply no good on going up hill or up stairs; give me level ground anytime! After I’d recovered, we went down the rest of the way. I’m glad I did it but wouldn’t ever do it again.

View of Tower as We Approached 6004

Close-up 6005

View of Grounds 6006

Close-up of Ramparts 6008

Close-up of Tower 6011
Close-up of Statue 6012

Sign about Rhino and Rhino Gargoyle 6015

Rhino Gargoyle 6014

Balcony Detail 6016

Balcony Detail 6016

View Across Tagus River 6022

Watchtower 6018
Stone Benches at Window 6023

Perimeter on Next Level 6024

View of Lisbon 6025

Souvenir Shopping and Back to the Ship

When we left the tower, we started walking east, across the grounds to some buildings and vendor stalls. There we bought some souvenirs for ourselves and others. It was fun browsing through all the things available there: kitchen towels embroidered with Portugal’s symbol, the rooster; glazed tiles of various degrees of quality; postcards; woven items; embroidered tablecloths; holy symbols, etc. Then I bought a huge bottle of cold water and we sat at an outdoor café table under an umbrella and watched the world go by for a while. Once rested and watered, we headed toward the iron foot bridge over the busy road and headed east again to get to Sao Jeronimo’s and the trolley stop. We rode the trolley back to the stop nearest the ship and walked back “home.” It had been a full day in lovely Lisbon, but well worth it.