After Spending two nights in Funchal Madeira we dropped off our small rental car, then hopped on a plane to Lisbon, the capital city of Portugal.
My wife was super tired from our hike the previous day and worn out from the early wake up and the heat, so she stayed in the hotel to nap, while I explored the city on my own.
To be honest, I wasn't thrilled with Lisbon for the better part of the day, though it did grow on me a little by the time the evening rolled around.
I found the city to be a bit run down and sketchy in several places, to be somewhat dirty and skizy feeling, and I noticed that there was a lot of trash and litter scattered around the streets and gutters.
These things are somewhat expected in any big city, but in Lisbon I just found them to be more than what I'm used to.
This might have been because I was walking alone without a girl with me, but I was asked at least 4 times in different neighborhoods if I wanted to buy drugs as well.
That was the first time that I had experienced that anywhere in Europe and it put me off a little, especially after one man was particularly insistent about it.
Anytime I found myself alone on a side street I would silently hope to myself that I wouldn't run into anymore people trying to sell me shit. Maybe it's just more comforting when you're traveling with another person in a strange city?
Nothing happened and it wasn't all bad. I did a very extensive and comprehensive walk through a lot of the city, so naturally I would end up in a few slightly more sketchy neighborhoods. It happens.
I did see some cool buildings covered with old Azulejos on my walk though, those are the painted porcelain tiles on the outside of churches or buildings.
I also saw some incredible views of the city from a variety of different platforms,
and while peering between buildings and down many side streets.
I think I saw the entire old town from every possible angle and vantage point.
Rua Nova do Carvalho, or more commonly referred to as "Pink Street," was another interesting spot to stumble upon. Apparently, the street was once the city's red light district, though now it just hosts a variety of trendy looking bars.
According to the source above the street got its color makeover fairly recently, in the year 2011 and it took a full two years to complete! Why it would take so long is completely beyond me though?!? It's not that long so I would think that it could have been painted over the course of a long weekend, or maybe a week or two at most. Maybe a single person was doing the work in the dead of night?
The church of Santa Engrácia, now the Pantheon building of the city, was worth checking out to me as well.
It sort of just came into view from one of the streets I was walking down, so naturally I had to walk up and get a closer look.
It was a beautiful, tall building made of white stone and was quite impressive to see from the outside.
I didn't go in but walked around the exterior to admire its architecture - Boroque style by the looks of it.
Continuing my walk alone, I eventually made my way to the main plaza of the old town, Praça do Comércio, or Commerce Square in English.
My wife and I went back to the location in the evening as well.
It's a massive open space surrounded by restaurants, Cafe's and bars.
Its also a spot where a lot of people gather to admire the monument of Dom José I and the Arch of Rua Augusta.
I have no idea who Dom José I is, but it's an impressive bronze statue in the center of the square.
Actually both of the monuments are pretty cool.
The plaza is located right next to the water of the Tagus River.
I don't know if you can swim in the water (or if you would want to), but it's a nice spot with a view the of the water and a cool suspension bridge in the distance.
All over the city, and other cities in Portugal for that matter, are signs and advertisements for this specialty snack of the country. It's essentially a cod cake filled with melted cheese in the middle that kind of looks like a baked potato to me.
I ordered one for lunch to try it out since I had seen a dozen signs for them, but I really wasn't all that thrilled by the experience. It had an odd dry texture reminiscent of eating crushed baked newspapers. Maybe they are better at some places than others or maybe they are just a gimmick to sell to tourists like me but I personally wouldn't recommend it.
Other interesting things to see are the old trolly cars,
and the ruins of the Carmo Monastery (below).
One of the last things that we did in the evening was head up to a mid size park by the name of Jardim António Nobre.
It's a good spot to view the Sao Jorge castle and to just generally look out over the city.
The park was quite bustling in the evening and had several kiosk like huts that were selling drinks and snack foods like pizza.
A lot of people also go there in the evening to watch the sunset.
We showed up about 10-15 minutes too late so the sun had already dipped below the horizon.
Still, it wasn't a bad way to finish off our night in the big city of Lisbon.
