| 1999 |
Amsterdam - Barcelona Journal |
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Lisbon, Portugal |
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September 3
Friday
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Lisbon is a lovely blend of very old and very new with much variation in architecture, monuments, parks. We started with a shuttle from ship and caught a tram (obvious pickpockets aboard) to Figuera Square. We walked around past Mary's Church then to Rossio Square (remarkable Art Nouveau style Virgin Record Store) where we caught the funicular to Barrio Alta (to check the opening time of the Port Institute), then caught a quick (and cheap) taxi to the Alfama area. We walked up to Castel St. Jorgio - interesting tile facades on residential and public buildings - great views - cool Sagres beer at a small restaurant. The Castel is 5th century Visigoth and being refurbished. There we met American expatriate with 14 cats to feed, listened to a guitarist in the center of the castel, and found cork trees! It was a fine place to view the city. We taxied back to the Port Institute where we tried young white and red ports (3-6 years), a 20 year and a 40 year blended, then 1958 and 1985 single vineyard vintages. Salvador's favorite was the Taylor 40 while I preferred the more forthright fruit in the 20. All were tasty and we left feeling much better educated about the various port designations. It was a fine way to wrap up our visit. We had high tea as we left port, ate a good dinner, did some hand laundry, and got to bed early (just past midnight). |
There are wonderful tile decorations on buildings in the Alfama area |
