We spent 2 weeks in Dakar/ Senegal to visit our daughter and her family. We took TAP Air Portugal from Frankfurt to Dakar. On both ways, we stopped in Lisbon.
Going there, we had a lay-over of 7 hours in Lisbon and used the time to tour Lisbon.
Coming back, we stayed over-night in Lisbon. Our stay there coincided with a #winelover dinner in Lisbon, which we attended. The #winelover community was on its way to Madera to celebrate the 7th anniversary there.
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital and the largest city of Portugal. About 3 million people live in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area. Lisbon lies in the western Iberian Peninsula on the Atlantic Ocean and the River Tagus.
Lisbon is one of the oldest cities in the world, and one of the oldest in Western Europe, predating other modern European capitals such as London, Paris, and Rome by centuries. Julius Caesar made it a municipium called Felicitas Julia, adding to the name Olissipo. Ruled by a series of Germanic tribes from the 5th century, it was captured by the Moors in the 8th century. In 1147, the Crusaders under Afonso Henriques reconquered the city and since then it has been a major political, economic and cultural centre of Portugal.
Most of the Portuguese expeditions of the Age of Discovery left Lisbon during the period from the end of the 15th century to the beginning of the 17th century, including Vasco da Gama's expedition to India in 1498.
After the 1755 earthquake, the city was rebuilt largely according to the plans of Prime Minister Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo, the 1st Marquess of Pombal; the lower town began to be known as the Baixa Pombalina (Pombaline central district). Instead of rebuilding the medieval town, Pombal decided to demolish what remained after the earthquake and rebuild the city centre in accordance with principles of modern urban design. It was reconstructed in an open rectangular plan with two great squares: the Praça do Rossio and the Praça do Comércio. The first, the central commercial district, is the traditional gathering place of the city and the location of the older cafés, theatres and restaurants; the second became the city's main access to the River Tagus and point of departure and arrival for seagoing vessels, adorned by a triumphal arch (1873) and monument to King Joseph I.
Bairros: Locally, Lisbon's inhabitants may commonly refer to the spaces of Lisbon in terms of historic Bairros de Lisboa (neighbourhoods).
Alfama: The oldest district of Lisbon, it spreads down the southern slope from the Castle of São Jorge to the River Tagus. It is an historical quarter of mixed-use buildings occupied by Fado bars, restaurants, and homes with small shops downstairs. Modernising trends have invigorated the district: old houses have been re-purposed or remodelled, while new buildings have been constructed. Fado, the typically Portuguese style of melancholy music, is common (but not obligatory) in the restaurants of the district.
Baixa: The heart of the city is the Baixa or city centre; the Pombaline Baixa is an elegant district, primarily constructed after the 1755 Lisbon earthquake.
Belém: Belém is famous as the place from which many of the great Portuguese explorers set off on their voyages of discovery. In particular, it is the place from which Vasco da Gama departed for India in 1497. Perhaps Belém's most famous feature is its tower, Torre de Belém.
A traditional form of public transport in Lisbon is the tram. Introduced in the 19th century, the trams were originally imported from the US, and called the americanos. Other than on the modern Line 15, the Lisbon tramway system still employs small (four wheel) vehicles of a design dating from the early twentieth century. These distinctive yellow trams are one of the tourist icons of modern Lisbon, and their size is well suited to the steep hills and narrow streets of the central city.
Going to Dakar/ Senegal
Going there, we had a lay-over of 7 hours in Lisbon and used the time to tour Lisbon.
Returning from Dakar/ Senegal
Coming back, we stayed over-night in Lisbon. Our stay there coincided with a #winelover dinner in Lisbon, which we attended. The #winelover community was on its way to Madera to celebrate the 7th anniversary there.
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