Lissabon

Time to visit the center of Lissabon. I parked the car in a nearby parking (Praça dos Restauradores) and walked about 2km towards the city center. In the end I paid about €10 for parking my car 4hours, so quite expensive.

First stop was a delicious brunch bar “Augustino Lisboa” for a latte coffee and avocado toast. I walked along steep hills and tiny streets, somewhat scary parts with drug-dealing people. So I decided to stay more along the main roads with tram rails, you never know as a tourist in a new big city. I was also looking like a tourist with way to many cloths: I was carrying a warm jacket and woolen pull in case I would be too cold. That’s because Granada was cold in the evening (“only” 19 degrees) and I thought Lissabon would be similar as it’s closeby waterfront and the ocean. However it was super warm with 29 degrees during the day and 23 in the evening.

Next stop was the Praça do Comércio. A beautiful big square with restaurants closeby the waterfront (the famous river called “Taag”) with a tiny beach (cais das colunas). In 1755 the square was destroyed by a big earthquake, but now it looks like new again. There’s a statue if Jozef I of Portugal in the middle, . The square is symbol of the Carnation Revolution (« Anjerrevolutie » or « The 25 of April »), making and end to the 40y during military war against the Estado Novo (The Second Republic, the conservative and traditional Catholicism regime) and resulting in the democratic Portugal we have today.

I ended my walk in the rooftop bar “Madame Petisca” for a Muscatel wine. What a view ! The prices are clearly more expensive than Granada, where I paid only half of the price (2.5€) for a glass of wine.Read more