ODYSSEY ON LISBON

Some destinations are chosen to be visited and there undergoes lot of planning and preparation while there are some that just spring up unannounced and throw open a bouquet of sights and sounds that in retrospection give a feel of satisfaction and contentment …this is one of those destinations that thrust itself upon me and now when I sit back I feel immensely glad that I got to savour the sights and sounds of the capital of Portugal - Lisboa.

1.       This is an account of a two day stay at the Port city of Portugal – Lisbon aka Lisboa

25 DE APRIL BRIDGE

ARCHITECTURE

GRAND SQUARE

AT GRAND SQUARE

BELLEM TOWER

EURO RAIL INTERNATIONAL STATION

MONUMENT TO DISCOVERIES

sboa.Colourful old quarters  café line squares and quaint old trams , Lisbon has it all for those who visit her but for the likes of me who had arrived with absolutely no literature of any sort , the question was where to begin and how to make the most of the short time in hand.

2.       Well I began with the most prominent of all ,the25 De April Bridge  which is one of the world’s longest suspension bridge all red in colour against the blue Lisbon harbor front having a length of a mile and a half while connecting the city to the municipality of Almada . However there are hardly any spots where one can stand and click this piece of spectacular architectural heritage. I did enquire from some of the locals as to why is it named after a specific day of a month .It later emerged that this day holds specific significance to the Portuguese for it commemorates the Carnation Revolution. I guess the Godavari Bridge and the Pamban Bridge probably are equally scenic as the one that I saw but then maybe I might be prejudiced , so I leave it up to the readers to make their own assessment

3.       The next stop for me was a parish known as Belem which celebrates the discoveries that Portugal led during the great age of exploration, situated at the mouth of the Tagus River very near to the city centre and houses some of the most prominent landmarks in Lisbon namely the Belem Tower which was a monument built during the era of Portuguese exploration to guard entrance to the port of Lisbon and provided the last sight to the great sea fearers as they set upon perilous journeys in sail ships  while the other is the Monument To The Discoveries which celebrates the most famous individuals who heralded Portuguese domination in the high seas and ear marked them as great explorers led himself by Henry The Navigator. It was a rain swept morning that I explored both these monuments however the rain did not dampen my spirits as I hopped from one spectacle to the other delighted to be able to lay my eyes on such iconic structures as I had previously on some other occasions read about the prowess of the Portuguese as great explorers and it was a good feeling to see that the citizens even in this age remembered their heroes and not  only that but also maintained all those monuments erected in their glory in a very pristine manner.

4.       The next stop on the agenda was Jeroniomos Monastry , which I gave a quick slip as I wanted to visit something far more interesting than that – The Maritime Museum which was dedicated to the History Of Navigation In Portugal. I must admit that I am not that great a fan of museums but believe me when I say that I was bowled over by the way the museum had arranged historical paintings , archeological artifacts and the crowning glory was large scale models of ships used by Portugal since the 15^TH century. The centre piece is the majestic 18^TH century barge which was used by Queen Elizabeth herself. The best part of all the above was that all these places are situated very close to each other , so exploring them was a very easy task.

5.       Post this I was done with the Belem district and then headed to the city centre which was in the Baisha District which consisted of the Grand Square and a  buzzing boulevard the Rua Augusta which had cafes lined up in the streets with  shops on both sides wherein one could sit underneath huge umbrellas and sip wine and savour the sea platter being served as the temperature dropped steadily as the afternoon went by  reminding one that Christmas was round the corner not that the visual display of lights and arcades did not catch one’s attention in reminding the same.

6.       I had an amazing lunch of sea food and downed it with a bottle of  house wine recommended  as I soaked in the moment of just being in Lisbon , Portugal amidst all the hullabullah of people moving here n there. Next up for me the Santa Justa Lift which is an elevator which connected the lower streets of the Baixa District with the higher Carmo Square, built in the 1900s , it has since acquired an iconic reputation as a must see .

7.       After spending some time in the Grand Square, I was ready to discover the cosmopolitan side of the city as I ventured in the shopping district in order to see if I could pick something up to remember my visit to this place.

8.       The next day I had only a few hours to spare so I used the most of it to see The Sanctuary Of Christ built to commemorate the safety of the city during the World Wars and thereafter I spent my time in a tourist coach as I visited the Benfica Stadium, the International Rail Terminal.

9.       Soon it was time to call it a day as my odyssey in this port city had come to an end. Hope you like the visual delights that I have attached. This has been a short trip and i have tried to give an account of what to see in case someone just has a couple of days or includes Lisbon as a part of a greater itineary and btw it has a great night life too