I got to Lisbon around midday and it was a cloudy day but got warmer as the day went on. I went straight out and walked down past Marques de Pombal to Restaurdores and Rossio Square which is right near the bottom of Lisbon. I then went on to Comercio Square. In all these places there are great monuments and as you go round Lisbon on every roundabout nearly there is a statue or monument. After going to the bottom of Lisbon I went right towards the 25 April Bridge which some would say is an immitation of the Golden Gate bridge in San Francisco. Next to the bridge there is Christ is King (Cristo Rei) Statue which looks like an immitation of the Christ the Redeemer Statue in Rio de Janeiro. Next I went on to the Discovery Monument which shows the great explorers such as Vasco de Gama and it iscelebrating the century of explorers in Portugal. After the Discovery Monument is the Belem Tower which was built to commemorate the expeditions of Vasco de Gama but has become one of the main attrations of Lisbon. After this I crossed the road to have a look around the beautiful grounds of the Jeronimos Monastry which are so clean and tidy. After this I made my way back to the hotel. I thought I would try and take a short cut, not a wise idea. The short cut took me through Campo de Ourique which looked to be the poorest part of Lisbon and didn't look to be the safest part of the city. I was glad when I was back in the centre of the city.
The next day I took the Metro to the Gare do Oriente which is a train station built for the Expo `98 in Lisbon. From there I went on to the Vasco de Gama Tower but couldn't go up it as it is closed on a Sunday. The cable car was open though so I took that past the International Fair Centres, Atlantic Pavilion which hosts concerts and the Oceanarium. I had a look around and then went back to the hotel to catch the bus to the airport and back to Madrid. I had a couple of good days in Lisbon and it was well worth going back.
Next I will be going to Copenhagen, Denmark.
Take care.
Robert
