The streets are very up and down and nothing in the old city, before 1755 made much sense. The new city is on the grid and the streets were made very wide which works well today with all the cars. Millenium Bank has this map of what used to be-
The tour started in Camões Square-
Not too far away from the Camões Square is the Largo Do Chiado Square a.k.a. Squeaky Square. Antonio Ribeiro Chiado sat on a stool and recited poetry, not his own work but that of others. He had a really squeaky voice and that's how the square got it's name-
In the same square was another man who used to drink coffee, smoke opium, get drunk everyday and write poetry-
Coffee came from Brazil, and it was awful. Shops put signs on the walls that read "BICA", which meant the only way to drink their coffee was to add sugar because it was so acidic. Today if you ask for a BICA, you are sure to get a smile from the waiter!
Portugal had some great explorers who brought back many riches: porcelain from China, gold from Brazil and pieces from India and Malaysia. One ship filled with spices could pay for 600 voyages of 20 ships. An ounce of spice was worth more than an ounce of gold.
The earthquake of 1755 registered 9.1 on the Richter scale. It lasted for 8 minutes and just happened to occur on November 1 - All Saint's Day at 9:30 a.m. when most people were in church. The roofs fell into the buildings and 65,000+ were killed. Shortly after, there was a tsunami and then all the candles burning in the churches started fires that lasted for 5 days. Another 65,000+ died. Some saw it as God's punishment for all the sins of Lisbon: the wealth, the brothels, the pillaging, the drugs and alcohol. Reconstruction started immediately and building went crazy because the king had so much gold from Brazil he could pay for anything he wanted. A rich merchant built this beautifully tiled building-
Tram 28 went by and it wasn't packed like when I rode it yesterday-
Lisbon is a city for shoppers and eaters. Grilled sardines are on every menu and this shop sells them canned-
Every square has a huge monument to recognize someone who did something-
The tiles in this square made me dizzy
The Elevador de Santa Justa was designed by Ponsard, a student of Gustave Eiffel. You can take an elevator up to the top for a view of the city-
The Portuguese are not very tall people. Here's a typical entrance to a home along the street-
The Rua Augusta Arch in the sunshine-
Praça do Comércio also in the sunshine-
Today's guide had a different take on this monument. The snakes under the feet of someone mean that person was very 'treacherous'. This King was apparently also useless-
They have found dishes, brooches, pots and fishing net weights dating from the 5th to 3rd Century B.C., all underneath the bank-
These archeological findings are 4 meters below the streets of today's Lisbon.
They also used wood beams to support the stone foundations because there are a lot of underground rivers running through the city.
The skeleton dates from the 5th century A.D. and was probably a Roman-
The guide was very knowledgeable but she spoke English is such a convoluted way that not much of what she said made sense to me. She gave us a nice brochure at the end but its English translation isn't much better.
My last stop this visit was to Belém. Walking to the train station, I saw this menu-
I took the train to Belém to see the Monument to the Discoveries which was built in 1958 to commemorate the Portuguese Age of Discovery during the 15th and 16th centuries. It's 171 feet high and on the edge of the Tagus River-
Nearby is the Tower of Belém which was built in the early 16th century in Manueline style. It's made from limestone and is 98.4 feet high. It was built as a fortress to protect Lisbon at the mouth of the Tagus-
The higher the ceiling, the closer to God-
I also had to stop at Pasteis de Belém. It's a pastry shop that has been in operation since 1837. Their claim to fame is the custard tart and the recipe is from the Jeronimo Monastery. It has a pleasantly sweet filling but the flaky crust is crunchy. It's the best one I've had so far and they sprinkle it with icing sugar and cinnamon-
That was plenty for one day and walking home in the dark, the arch was lit up-
Tomorrow, I'm leaving Lisbon and the crazy traffic for Evora, a nearby village, for a couple of days of rest, wine and relaxation!
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