Packed and ready to go to the city, off to Lisbon we go! If there is time we hope to make a couple of stops along the way. On our way out of The Algarve we decided to take the scenic route and stay off of the main highway. So we passed through a town called Tunes and in this small town there was a bloodhound dog just laying in the middle of the street, with no intentions of moving. We drove around him and then made our turn to head north. The countryside was simply beautiful with the groves of olive trees, cork oak trees and fields full of grapes. We drove to a town called Evora and we stopped to see the Megaliths. The Megaliths were a strange circle of rocks, they are older than Stonehenge, a marker at the site said that it is believed the assembly represents a calendar based on the solstice.
After we were done in Evora we headed straight to Lisbon and we decided to come in from the south on our way in so we could cross the Ponte de 25 Abril bridge. The bridge is the twin sister bridge of the Golden Gate bridge in San Francisco. It looks exactly like it with one exception in 1999 a railway carriage was added beneath the car lanes to help the flow of traffic in and out of the city. From atop the bridge we could see into the harbor and of all things the Queen Mary II cruise ship was in port and it is massive and impressive, what luck to see the boat that my Aunt and Uncle had just traveled on.
Once in the city we headed for our hotel. The plan was to check in and drop off our bags then head to the airport to turn the car back in and then catch a taxi back into the city. Unfortunately we were staying in a part of the city that was not destroyed by the earthquake and access was limited to taxi's and cable cars. So we just went straight to the airport and dropped off the car and caught a taxi back to the hotel. Our hotel was wonderful. Once we checked in and got into our room waiting for us on the bed was a robe and slipper set each to wear during our stay. I have never been in a hotel that nice. Once we were settled we decided to check out our surroundings and get something to eat. We found a nice cafe and I had yet another prawn cocktail and pork Portuguese and Hubby had vegetable soup and grilled pork. After dinner we walked about and found out we are staying on the highest hill in Lisbon and our Hotel is actually built into the castle walls of the castle Sao Jorge's that was above us on the top of the hill. The views are simply stunning and all the streets are cobblestone and all the curbs are marble. such a beautiful city. The roads on the hill were very narrow and we had to dodge traffic. Back at the hotel we checked out our view and we had a wonderful view of a church lit up in the nights sky. Its time for bed and a full day of sightseeing and tourist activities tomorrow!!!!
til next post...
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