October 5, 2017
Well, we have spent the last few days wandering around some of the districts in Lisbon as well as taking care of some day-to-day business….food shopping > can’t eat out all the time !!, bus tickets, etc.
Our wandering is taking us to areas outside of Alfama >>> where we “live” and where we can now walk with impunity > nothing to do with safety, but with the severe ups and downs > in fact we are wondering how easy our walks will be when we return to Madeira Park with several weeks of “hill training” under our belts > we have tried to walk a lot as this is the best way of actually seeing the sights up close and personal.
The Baixa district (between Chiada and Alfama) is the heart of Lisbon and comprises magnificent plazas, grand avenues, and boutique shopping boulevards. The area is truly magnificent, it is due both to a disaster: in 1755, one of the world’s strongest recorded earthquakes devastated the district and a massive Tsunami, killing thousands, and great planning, as the Marquis of Pombal, who was assigned the task of rebuilding the center of Lisbon, disregarded the original city layout of narrow streets and created the first city plan that followed a grid pattern >>> the result is truly splendid and it is a pleasure just to wander around these avenues…..
The Praça do Comércio is the largest of Lisbon’s plazas positioned on the edge of the Tagus River. This was where traders would sell their foreign wares and financiers would fund expeditions to the far reaches of the known world. Its current iteration is post-earthquake/tsunami, featuring traditional painted buildings lining the three sides and a magnificent statue of King José I positioned in the center. To the northern edge is the entrance to the Rua Augusta, which is marked by the Arco da Rua Augusta.
Also some pretty fancy restos are located here…
Pass under the Rua de Augusta Archway and onto this major pedestrian thoroughfare…
….some pics of the streets forming the core of Baixa:
….lots of cafes, restaurants and chestnut sellers with charcoal braziers smoking away and of course those pastelarias where you are almost obliged to go in and taste one of the goodies in the window…..there are also beggars and guys selling drugs > but no one has approached us to date…
Both Ella and Steve stayed at this funky Hotel in the heart of Baixa (typically low-key doors hide what is beyond them):
The Elevador Santa Justa originally served as an escalator up the steep Carmo Hill but now is mostly a tourist attraction. Through the school of hard climbs we have learned to use public elevators which are strategically located, thereby easing the incessant climbing and descending !!
….a bit of a wait but the views were great (btw got the 24 hour pass for 6.15 Euros which provides unlimited travel on buses/trams/elevators >> good deal) …
The Praça Dom Pedro IV is the main central square of Lisbon and the true heart of the city. Although in reality it is known as Rossio Square with its nauseating stone paving (yes this pattern keeps repeating itself making it hard on me especially first thing in the morning), grand fountains and statues. Lisbon revolves around the Rossio, it is here that the students come to sing, workers to protest and tourists to drink overpriced everything….it was also here that during the inquisitions it served as a public execution ground >>> so clearly a versatile spot !!
….nearby is the Rossio Train Station, a major transportation hub…
…through a side street there is a bit of an African mini food market as well as some small bars/cafes..
….soon reaching the Praça de Figueira which has the distinction of being the least significant square of central Lisbon….lots of cafes catering to locals and tourists, hence lower priced, souvenir shops and the like…
…..one day when we walked by there was a “market” going on featuring regional products …some nice food and wine products and we stopped for a sandwich and bought some outstanding cheese for home consumption….
…..it also is the site of our favorite supermarket called Mercado de Praça de Figueira which has nicer products/atmosphere than the Pingo Doce but is a bit of a slog back when carrying all the goodies…
As always the debate centers on where to have dinner…..we really wanted to have a nice simple dinner so on the back of rave reviews we went for a pizza at the Casanova Restaurante which sits along the pier where the cruise ships berth….suspicious and thinking it would be full of tourists from the cruise ships we found the place full of Portuguese > kind of an upscale pizza place and although we had to wait (almost more than I could stand) the outcome was GREAT >>> 2 lovely large pizzas, a litre of white (a tad excessive), great service > riverside and a bill of 30 Euros fits the bill …haha !!
Tomorrow another day trip…….so early to bed.