Portugal

Portugal is truly a beautiful country!

We enjoyed the friendly, outgoing, attitude of the Portuguese. Located on the western most edge of continental Europe, it borders the Atlantic Ocean... and was the gateway to many discovery ships of long ago.

Our first stop was the capital city of Lisbon. (Lisboa)

After a long night of driving and not finding our way to our hotel... (we had to pay a taxi driver to show us...and even he had trouble). We enjoyed a quiet morning and huge European style breakfast at our hotel while my husband attended meetings for work... He then arrived back to the hotel mid day and surprised us with a free afternoon to explore !

Sarah chasing the pigeons in Rossio, Pedro IV square in Lisbon

After a subway ride to the center of the old town, we caught an old tram, which was filled with local color.

This tram made it's way, filled to the brim, up the very steep hill to our first destination, the Castelo De Sao Jorge, a large 10th -11th century Muslim Castle ruin.

View of the Castle from below

The children enjoyed playing with the large cannons and chasing the feral cats around the old castle walls while we enjoyed the amazing 360 degree view of Lisbon. Simply breathtaking!

Sir Thomas shooting his cannon in defense of the Castle

Maiden Sarah defending her Castle!

Thomas and Sarah against the Castle wall....

Views from the Castle

The Rio Tejo (Tangus River)

View of the City from the Tower

More Views...

We spent some time exploring and were able to walk up along parts of the castle wall and into a few of the towers... while we explored, a man was playing a guitar in the center of the complex... it echoed the lovely sounds of classical music as we imagined life in the 13th century.

The Flag of Portugal

Me, looking down upon my Prince from the Tower!


Walking along the wall...

We then made our way down the hill on foot through the Alfama area filled with shops dug out into the hillside in what appeared to be ancient Roman ruins... one shop was actually an old stable for the local Cathedral... it had the old cobblestone floors and feeding troughs for the horses worn from years of use. Very cool!

We then stopped to take a look at the local Cathedral.

After a short break we made our way back into the heart of town... we happened upon a unique and inventive way to get to the top of a very steep hill. An elevator! The Elevador de Santa Justa, took us up to another older area known as Chiado. We enjoyed a great view of the city by night from the Convento do Carmo and then found a lovely tea shop to sit and relax for a few minutes. The children enjoyed a warm cup of hot chocolate and my husband and I indulged in a glass of Port.

We then found the old Bairro Alto neighborhood which houses the famous Fado folk music and dancing. We did find a few interesting restaurants, but as it was getting a little late and the music would not begin until at least 9:00 pm. We decided to call it a night...