Lisbon highlights

As I mentioned, Lisbon was hard to wrap our minds around, so we sought out their local hop-on, hop-off tourist bus. We really found these a great way to get an overview of a city, with facts and lore via their recorded commentaries. On the day we took the bus we elected to hop off at the Gulbenkian Art Museum for a couple hours. This museum is really wonderful, with a great progression of art through the ages, in a beautiful, modern building. The collection is very manageable and doesn't just kill you getting through it. ( I love the Prado, but I'm telling you, you have to really figure out what you want to see. You could never manage the whole thing in one go.) The Gulbenkian has, however, some real treasures—Rembrandt and Rubens, Manet and Monet and a dazzling little collection of Lalique ornaments.

 

Back on the bus, we viewed more of the city and hopped off again in the historic Belem area at the Monastery of San Jeronimo, and the tomb of Vasco de Gama.

 

Back on the bus, we passed by the Belem tower, the Monument to the Age of Discovery, the Tagus River and the 25th of April bridge and nearby Corpus Christi statue.

 

Later we walked through the Baixa area, downtown, down to the river and back, enjoying street performers and lovely shops.

Lisbon is a very mixed bag of memories...

Incredible graffiti,

 

Whimsical details,

 

Chestnut vendors

Neighborhood churches with beautiful details,

 

Incredible food.

I think there is a lot to discover in Lisbon. We probably barely scratched the surface. I guess that means we need to go back someday...

 

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