Lisbon, Portugal

• Day 49 Lisbon, Portugal
  
• Randy and I spent a pleasant day in the charming City of Lisbon, Portugal. Lisbon is the Capital of Portugal, and the population is around 3 million with the total population of Portugal around 10 million. We spent the day on the Hop on Hop off bus. We got a great overview of the city. Portugal is a mix of new and old. Portugal's buildings are not as old as some European cities, as a lot of the city was destroyed in the 1755 earthquake that killed over 30,000 people. There are many layers of culture in Lisbon. There is the Castelo De S. Jorge(Castle of St. George) sitting on top of a hill, a wonderful castle with all the inner walls and the outer fortification walls, of Moorish vintage,(It survived the earthquake) The Church of the Sacred Heart. An old church with two towers that hold 14 bells each that was built by the Queen to thank god for having a heir to the throne in the 1700's. We climbed the bell tower and had great views of the city, and the bells were amazing and we climbed on the roof and went it to the dome with its platform that is 100 feet from the church floor and then another 75 feet to the ceiling. We stopped at the famed Jardim Da Estrela the most romantic Park in the city for lunch. The Maques do Pambal Square, the Alfama area which is the medieval Moorish district with a maze of narrow streets and houses decorated with tile work fronting the building. This area survived the earthquake. We drove through the Belem area where the Jeronimos Monastery from the 16^th century, the Palace and has many of the museums. Lisbon has a bridge that was built in 1966 that is one mile and a half that was built using the same principles used to build the Golden Gate Bridge. It is named The 25^th of April Bridge and spans the Tagus River. The name came from a bloodless revolution that restored democracy in 1974. Lisbon also has a statue of Jesus on the water like in Rio.
  
•