Lisbon: An Evening Stroll

From Rua das Poras de Santo Antao where our hotel was located it was easy walk to plazas, shopping, sightseeing and eating. When we had to cut short our HOHO tour due to many people were congregating on the streets (there was a big football game between Lisbon and Germany -can't remember which team), we thought the best thing to do was take an evening stroll, despite the drizzle and the cold. After all this may be the only chance we have to do so.

We walked to the Comercio Square which we passed on the HOHO tour. Comercio Square has a waterfront location and originally called Tererreiro do Paço or "the palace's square". It is where the royal palace stood for over two centuries until 1755, when its was destroyed by the Great Earthquake.

On the north side is a triumphal arch. In the center of the square is a statue of King Jose I showing him on horseback, wearing his emperor's mantle, and measuring 14 meters in height counting from the pedestal.









From here you can see the 25 de Abril bridge (which is the twin sister of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco) and the Monument to Christ which is a figure of Christ with arms wide open (inspired by the Christ the Redeemer from Brail).

Through the triumphal arch is the main pedestrian street lined with stores and restaurants, the Rua Augusta. The rain was coming down hard by the time we were here so we ducked into a store and shopped for souvenirs.







Afterwards, we thought about dinner plans. What would we do about dinner? Along the length of the street were pastelerias and we read how we should have these wonderful baked goods especially the egg tart.












Stand on the counter, order coffee and a few items to munch.





The strong hot coffee and the sweet pastries gave us a boost of energy to sustain more exploration of the neighborhood.







OUR WORLD TUESDAY