Day 14th Oct 27th. Day 2 Lisbon

 A day of walking! Today we were on our own to continue exploring Lisbon. We decided to go up one of the 7 hills to the St. George Castle. Upon our concierge's suggestion we found a trolley to take us up. However when we were almost to the top, there was a car parked on the trolley tracks and we weren't going anywhere. So we hopped off and made it to the castle. What a view!



The castle in the distance is where we trekked to today


The first fortification was built in the first century BC by the phoenicians. Then the roman's, moors and the portugese in 1147. It served as a royal palace and military barracks. Excavations continue.  It has a beautiful garden and a magnificent view of the city and bay. The perimeter was 17700 feet, that's more than 3 miles.




Afterward we meandered down and down to the plaza level for lunch.



We needed to get in some more steps so we headed up to the ruins of the Carmo convent. It was founded in 1389, with construction started in 1393. Unfortunately the famous Lisbon earthquake of 1755 created significant damage to the cathedral. The nunnery, after some roof repairs was used for military housing. It was said to be the most imposing cathedral in its architecture and decoration of it's time. It must have been magnificent in its prime. 




We rode our shuttle back to our hotel.  But wait....there was still time left. So a walk to the Eduardo VII park close to our hotel. It is 64 acres of a beautiful greenway and again a fantastic view. 



Two last pictures. Heading to Madiera tomorrow.

We try to find a local Starbucks cup when we travel.  Found the Lisbon one today

 Found another of the Portugese artist,
Bordalo's  work as we were walking around.


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