Lisbon

Our visit to Portugal and Spain has been at least four years in the making. When Alex and I got married, we decided that we wanted to spend our honeymoon (whenever that would be) in Portugal and Spain. Moving to Manitoba put a hold on these plans for three years. Part of the reason we decided to move the England was so that this trip could become a reality. As UK teachers we had two weeks vacation at the end of the second term of school and as soon as we knew the dates we started planning our very belated honeymoon.

Despite the build up, the trip didn't begin as planned. We arrived without anywhere to stay (I had booked accommodations every night for the trip except for the first one!) and we found ourselves wandering around at 10pm on Easter weekend, in a very Christian country, looking for a hotel room. Luckily, we didn't end up sleeping on the street and the remainder of the trip was all we wanted and more. I have tried to break up our photos by either region or city, but Portugal and Spain are so darn photogenic that it was still difficult deciding what to leave out. So apologies in advance for the size of these posts.

We stayed in Lisbon the entire time we were in Portugal, taking day trips to Sintra and Obidos. We spent our first day in Lisbon exploring and finding our bearings, seeing stunning graffiti, tiled buildings and panoramic views. I commented to Alex that buildings seemed 'newer' than they did in some of the other European cities we had visited. He explained that Lisbon has a significant earthquake history, the most devastating being in 1755, which reduced half the city to rubble. Tsunami waves wiped out much of the cost and unchecked fires caused by oil lamps destroyed many the buildings that remained standing after the earthquake. Thousands of people died and it took years to rebuild. The result is a city where you can clearly mark the architecture as being either pre or post 1755. one. Thousands more died in other areas. The quake was felt throughout Western Europe and Northwestern Africa.

While the city has modern public transportation, a number of of these small yellow trams from the 1920s still operate. The one pictured above only goes up and down this very steep hill. The trams in general remain important because there are sections of the city's topography that can only be crossed by small trams.

Gorgeous graffiti was everywhere in Lisbon. This open air gallery has boards installed for artists, so that they don't need to paint directly on the walls.

  

Ceramic tiles (called azulejos) adorn the interior and exterior of buildings. Almost every building we saw had at least some tiling.

Lisbon was at it's peak in the 15th and 16th centuries, when explorers opened new trade routes to India and Asia. As a colonial power, Portugal exploitation of Brazil and Africa boosted Lisbon's wealth until the devastation of the 1755 earthquake. Rua Agusta Arch, the triumphal arch gateway to the city, was built to commemorate the city's reconstruction after the 1755 earthquake.

Our evenings were spent exploring outdoor markets, sampling wines and port while trying to stay out of the rain. We lined up for a shot of Ginjinha, a traditional liqueur, before heading inside to enjoy craft beers and coffee.

 

Climbing up to São Jorge Castle provided a 360 degree view of the historic centre of Lisbon. Visitors can walk along the medieval castle's ramparts, visit the garden and view the city from the large terrance square which overlooks the coast. 

A short tram ride away is the Belém District of Lisbon, home ofJerónimos Monastery, the Belém tower and Pastéis de Belém.

Our last night in Lisbon we booked a table at Clube de Fado, one of the best locations for Fado in the city. Fado is traditional folk music, melancholy in nature and perfectly suited for dark rooms and late night drinks. Alex studied Fado in university and this was a pretty perfect cap to an already wonderful stay in Lisbon.