Lisboa, Lissabon, Lisbon

I arrived in Lisbon yesterday after many, many hours of traveling... once I returned to SFO from Honolulu, I went to the lovely Travelodge in Millbrae to sleep for 6 hours, and then went right back to SFO at 5AM. I flew to Charlotte, and then to Frankfurt, and then finally to Lisbon.

From SFO to Charlotte, I had triple the leg room as I was seated in an exit row with no one in front of me -- I was loving it until people started using my extra space to do yoga poses. A few hours later, after I sat down on my plane to Frankfurt, the yoga poses didn’t sound like such a bad idea, so I went looking for a similar open space. No success... unfortunately, after all those hours crammed into a little seat, I experienced the dreaded long-flight-cankles. Luckily, the swelling is finally going down ;) During the flight to Frankfurt, I watched Made of Honor (sorry, Beckmann!), and also part of 21 -- the rest of the time I spent in and out of consciousness, mostly with my mouth open.

Once I arrived in Frankfurt, I passed through customs and found that my flight to Lisbon was delayed one hour. By the time I sat down on that plane, I was so tired I could barely see straight. I passed out immediately and woke up only when the German man next to me gave me a "gentle" elbow to my ribs, letting me know that der breakfast was about to be serven-ed. After eating, I fell back asleep and woke just as we were descending into Lisbon. The city is beautiful from above, so I knew I was in for a huge treat.

After clearing customs in Lisbon, if you can call it that (no one looked at my passport), I exited to ground transportation to meet my driver, Joseph. He loaded my bags into his car, and laughed at me when I had already seated myself up front with him. I'm sure he thought I was an amateur, but I had to sit down! Joseph proceeded to give me a mini-tour of Lisbon before taking me to my hotel, mostly so he could show me some park (I looked up the name -- it was the Parque Eduardo VII). Even though I could hardly see the park due to delusion, I was grateful for his hospitality.

After I checked in to my hotel, I went straight to the shower, and then went for a walk around town. I went to the Praco do Comercio, walked through Baixa, and along the Rua Augusta. I also saw the Elevador de Santa Justa and the Praca de Figueroa. Around 6PM, I headed back to the hotel, and immediately collapsed on the bed -- I woke up a few hours later with my bag still across my shoulder, all the lights on, and the BBC blaring something about John McCain and Barack Obama. I felt like I was home.

Today, I got up around 9AM (14 hours of sleep!) and had breakfast at Terraco Restaurant in my hotel. The restaurant is on the top floor, with a gorgeous view of Lisbon and the Tagus River. It's easy to see across town because the tallest building in Lisbon is the Sheraton hotel, and it ain't that tall. For breakfast, I had the scrambled eggs with herbs, which were lovely, but the coffee was better. I also took a piece off every roll and pastry in my bread basket, because I couldn't choose between the 27 things in there. Each was delicious.

Once I was full of bread and coffee, I walked through the residential section of Alfama. Amongst the thousands of houses tightly packed into this kasbah-style neighborhood, I saw a movie being filmed, lots of dogs, and lots of laundry hanging out to dry. There were also many little markets and taverns and cafes, with doors no taller than I am. I loved the cobblestone roads and the steep staircases that ascend into more cobblestone roads and more tightly packed-in houses. I just don't know how anyone finds their friends' homes around here... Google Maps? I’m also baffled at how Portuguese women move so quickly down cobblestone roads, in stilettos. Anyone?

Later in the afternoon I took a tour to Sintra, which also included the Palacio de Queluz, Cabo da Roca, and Cascais. I know, I know – a tour? But this proved to be worth my time and money… I learned a lot and saw a lot that I probably wouldn’t have otherwise.

The tour started in Lisbon, of course, where we learned first about the great earthquake of 1755. On November 1, 1755, which also happens to be All Saint’s Day, a huge earthquake occurred in Lisbon around 9.30 AM. With most of Lisbon’s residents attending church and lighting candles for the dead, you can imagine the catastrophe that ensued. Churches collapsed due to the quake, and then caught fire from all the burning candles. People fled for the Tagus River for relief, but shortly after the earthquake, a tsunami struck, with a 6 meter wave engulfing the city. Bad luck. 85% of Lisbon was destroyed, and 100,000 people (half the population) died. This earthquake is a big reason many things are the way they are in Lisbon today – the style of architecture, the layout of the city, the miniature Golden Gate Bridge... it's also the reason many people left Lisbon for areas further inland, including King Pedro.

The first stop on our tour was the Palacio de Queluz. This palace was once the hunting lodge of King Pedro, but it was remodeled to resemble the Palace of Versailles in the 1700s. King Pedro moved permanently to Queluz after the earthquake since it was further from the coast-- rumor has it he was terrified of another earthquake hitting Lisbon. In 1760, Pedro married his darling niece Maria I, and extended the palace. Today, the prime minister of Portugal uses the Palacio de Queluz for receptions and whatnot.

Next up, Sintra: what a lovely little town! Sintra is built into the north slopes of the granite Serra, which makes for a thrilling drive via tour bus. I saw the Palacio Nacional de Sintra and then walked around the narrow cobblestone roads for about an hour. This is somewhere I would definitely like to visit again – Sintra was a favorite summer spot amongst the kings of Portugal, so you know it’s gotta be good.

After Sintra, Cabo da Roca: “Here is where the land ends, and the sea begins.” Cabo da Roca is the westernmost point of continental Europe. According to my tour guide, New York is 5,000 km across the Atlantic.

Finally, Cascais: Cascais is a small resort town about 30 minutes from Lisbon, with lots of beaches and fabulous-looking resorts. We passed a beach that looked like one big sand dune because it is always so windy – as you can imagine, it was covered with surfers and windsurfers and is apparently the site of many world-class surfing competitions. Also in town is the largest casino in Europe!

My tour ended around 7PM, so I headed for my hotel after returning to the city center. I was pleased to find a plate of cookies and a pot of tea when I arrived in my room… what a greeting. Tomorrow I plan to visit the Belem area of Lisbon, which is Portuguese for Bethlehem. Until then…

Portugal photos are here.