For the first time since Singapore, Pam & I had an entire day to set our own agenda.
After sleeping in a little later than usual, a look out the window promised a nice day although the indoor/outdoor thermometer I bring on trips indicated it was a bit cool.
Rationalizing that we'd give the day a while to warm up we had a large, leisurely breakfast, then puttered around the room for a while. Eventually we galvanized ourselves into action.
Our first stop was the roof of our hotel, from which we had a good view of the city, particularly since the hotel is situated on a hillside.
We took a taxi from the hotel to the Fort of St. Jorge. Having toured the fort on Saturday, we used it simply to give our taxi driver a specific destination. The fort being on high ground, we started walking the narrow streets down toward the waterfront.
Along the way we saw examples of the tile covering that at one time adored many houses in Lisbon.
We arrived at Praça do Comércio (a/k/a Black Horse Square), the statue (of the black horse) and the gate to the old city being swathed in scaffolding without even the image of what we couldn't see painted on the netting.
Entering the gate, we were in the central part of the old city. In the 16th century the city was destroyed by an earthquake that started major fires that were put out by a tsunami. The need to rebuild being acute and the financial coffers less than full, to achieve speed while controlling cost streets were laid out in a grid pattern and all the buildings constructed using one design. With twisting streets and oddly shaped buildings on all sides, the symmetry of these streets and the generally common shape of the buildings in this part of the city seemed out of place.
We had a light lunch at one of the numerous sidewalk cafes, then walked (uphill!) all the way back to our hotel taking in sights along the way.
We are now packing our bags for the final time. Dinner will be in the hotel this evening. After hopefully a good night's sleep, we leave for the airport tomorrow at 0845. We will be in transit home all day tomorrow, if all goes according to schedule arriving home about 2200.
After sleeping in a little later than usual, a look out the window promised a nice day although the indoor/outdoor thermometer I bring on trips indicated it was a bit cool.
Our first stop was the roof of our hotel, from which we had a good view of the city, particularly since the hotel is situated on a hillside.
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