First Day in Lisboa

After an overnight flight, I arrived at the Lisbon airport early in the morning.  I figured out the bus system on my own and walked outside to the nearest bus stop, of which there are many right outside the airport doors.  The buses or autocarros are run by Carris.  It is a very efficient system.  Each bus stop shows which buses stop there and there is map showing all bus routes.  A digital board shows the estimated arrival time for each bus number.  The system is heavily used, especially from the airport, so it was standing room only that morning.  I took the bus to Parque Eduardo VII where my hotel was.  Traffic was heavy and parts of the trip would have been faster walking, but it was a long way from the airport and it was more interesting to ride the bus than to take a taxi.

  I checked into the SANA Lisboa Park Hotel and went to the bar to get some soda and food for a little energy.  I met up with my boss and his wife and we caught a cab to do some sightseeing.

First we went to the Castelo de Sao Jorge.  This castle is on the highest hill in Lisbon and affords great views of the entire city, Rio Tejo (Tagus River), Ponte 25 de Abril (25th of April Bridge), and Cristo Rei (Christ the King).   Cristo Rei is a statue on the other side of Rio Tejo from Lisbon that was inspired the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro.  Parts of Castelo de Sao Jorge date back to the 6th century, but it's current form is believed to have been built in the 10th or 11th century.

Lisbon is as hilly as San Francisco.  Many of it's streets are a challenge for pedestrians and even for some cars.  In some places, elevators or funiculars are required to get from one street level to another.  After visiting Castelo de Sao Jorge, we walked downhill (thankfully) to the cathedral known as Se de Lisboa.  This a beautiful romanesque temple has high arching, painted ceilings and circular, flower-like stained glass windows.  From here we walked to lunch at a tiny outdoor cafe called A Tasquinha, which means little tavern.  When we got back to the hotel, jet lag had finally caught up to me.  Sleep was irresistible even after a shower, and napping just seemed to be a higher priority than socializing with committee members at the welcoming cocktail hour.  So that was the end of my first day in Portugal.