Lisbon, excursion through the city

First we drive to Belem, a suburb of Lisbon, 7 km. west of the centre. From the profits of voyages of discovery that left from here (Vasco da Gama to India; Pedro Alvares Cabral to Brazil) this monastery was build about 1500, the Mosteiro dos Jeronimos. The famous Portuguese manuelino architecture is clearly visible in this building and the whole district.

Along the banks of the river Tagus more monuments can be found, like the Padrão dos Descombrimentos, a 52 metres high building which is a salute of honor to the exlorers. To the right the Torre the Belem, a fortress on a rocky island which had to protect the entrance to Lisbon. There are also some museums in this area.

Instead we walk the way back down through the narrow streets of the Alfama district. One can imagine being in the middle ages again. This is one of the few districts that survived the earthquake of 1755 and therefore never has been rebuild. But nowadays some restoration is very necessary. Many houses are supported by big trunks and steel.
The tour takes us throughout the city and sometimes we have a walk. At the end of the tour we visit the botanical gardens of Lisbon, the Lisboa Greenhouse.

We get half an hour, too short to fully enjoy the sultry greenhouse and the beautiful vegetation, but we really like it. We don't know then, but are later told by fellow campers that Portugal has a lot of famous gardens. Well, this one surpassed our expectation.

Today we take the city bus from the campsite to the centre of town. The campsite is located in a large park, about 5 kilometers away from the centre. We will do our share of walking today, that is why we take the bus. We drop off at Rossio, the vivid centre of the city. When we start to walk towards the Tagus it is very evident how spacious this city is set up, with many pompous monuments and large squares. A great part of the centre, like square Rossio, is being renovated.
But we have seen enough monuments, today we are just going to walk around a bit and see what the city has to offer. We cross the city in all directions (and hills).

With the Elevador the Santa Justa (to the right) we can only go up and down: the connection road to the district behind it is unreliable and therefore closed.
From the top of the elevatorhouse we have a nice view on the valley where the centre of Lisbon is situated and the hills on the other side with the castle. Back in the shopping street Teije is constantly bothered by drugsdealers, probabaly because of his long hair. When we threaten them to call the police they get angry but back away.

So, instead of the elevator we take a trolley to climb the hill. Two trolleys that only go up and down. Must be boring after some time for the drivers...

After some well deserved breaks and some endemic food we have a clear impression of Lisbon, although one never can see enough of any city. But with 30°C we long for a swimming pool after walking for 6 hours. So back to the campsite we go, into the cool water.