One of the issues with traveling in a
strange city is finding the "right" things to see and
do. Normally, one would purchase a guide book to get
hints. For me, I used ChatGPT to give me
suggestions. It did a great job, but I think the
reason is that it had read the contents of all the guide
books. The initial suggestion was to take "Tram 28"
(an old street car line that went to the highest hills in
Lisbon). Lisbon is known for its Seven Hills, and some
are quite steep. We did some research and found out that we
should get tickets at the Metro station to skip the
ticketing line at the tram. We did indeed do that as
were was a Metro station right across the street from the
5-star hotel that Kathleen selected for our stay in
Lisbon. The ticketing would have been easy had I been
fluent in Portuguese (which I am not), so it took several
tries to succeed. What we actually purchased was
somewhat of a mystery given the language barrier, but we
were undeterred and headed out on foot to do Tram 28.
The photos below are what we saw.
We
started walking through the narrow streets and spotted this odd
vehicle. This is a single-person "car" called Twizy and
built by Renault. At least the Smart car seats 2 folks;
this seats only one.
The
entry stairs to this apartment were noteworthy in their steep
pitch and small tread size.
The
famed Tram 28. As it turns out, that is the name of the
line, not a specific car. Being the most popular line in
the city, they had a bunch of street cars in service, all old,
all very short wheelbase.
We
loaded up into the small electric sedan and followed the trolley
tracks up the highest hill in Lisbon. From the top, we got
a commanding view of the city to the south and the large bridge
that crosses the Tagus River. We drove into town over that
bridge the previous day. Our tour started at the left side
of the plaza in the foreground.
From the
top of the hill we could see the castle, but the guide advised
us that only the walls remain; the inner structures were damaged
in a large earthquake and the material was repurposed for other
structures.
To the
southeast, we got a view of one of the many cathedrals in the
area. Note the steep approach stairs on the lower right of
the photo above.
At the
top was also a small chapel that had been tagged multiple
times. Death penalty for tagging.
To the
north we could see more of central Lisbon. The buildings
are packed tightly with little or no room between adjacent
structures.
To the
west we could see some of the newer areas of town. I never
did get an id on the large squarish building on the skyline, but
clearly much newer than the surrounding buildings.
The
guide was nice enough to take a photo of us. The white car
is our vehicle and is Chinese FWIW. It was electric and
quiet, but the ride was very harsh.
On the
way down the hill we passed some nice murals.
Next
stop was another large cathedral. Note the carvings over
the entrance and on its flanks.
The
inside was ornate, but not as detailed as some Spanish
cathedrals we have visited. We found out that most of the
really old structures were damaged during the large earthquake
that happened in 1755. That event, in addition to being a
large quake was followed by both a tsunami and a large
fire. Sadly for Lisbon and its residents, the quake
happened on All Saints Day when most of the town was in
church. The churches crumbled and about 60K lives were
lost. The tsunami produced a 20 foot wave in Lisbon
crushing the waterfront of the city. Cadiz, Spain suffered
a 65 foot wave and the tsunami went all the way to the Caribbean
Basin in North America. Most of the buildings in the
city were damaged.
The
Catholics are big into iconography, so every cathedral has some
sort of icons.
No
attribution or subject was given for this nice carving.
Next
stop was the Pantheon - burial place of Portugal's famous
heroes.
The
Pantheon was a re-purposed church, complete with the religious
iconography.
Our tour
guide told us that "back in the day" the rich covered the
outside of their residences with tile to show their wealth and
to provide thermal insulation.
This
mural was constructed of hand-painted tile drawn elsewhere and
re-assembled on site. A giant jigsaw puzzle of sorts.
From
one of the view points we could see that there were several
cruise ships in port.
Both
of these ships were huge and they were the likely cause of the
extreme congestion at our various stops.
The
overlook point also gave us a nice view of yet another
cathedral visible across a sea of tile roofs.
This
cathedral was flanked by several tall construction cranes.
The
apartments close to the overlook were all occupied: note the
laundry drying in the sun.
Another
intricate tile mural.
The
folks in this tram were packed like sardines in a can.
The
towers of this church collapsed during the 1755
earthquake. During the rebuilding process, the stones
were mixed up resulting in the variations of color in the
walls.
Inside
the cathedral we could see the variations in the colors of the
stone.
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Photos and Text Copyright Bill Caid 2024, all rights
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