Port 94 Lisbon, Portugal

by Ed · June 19, 2022

Bom dia!

When we arrived in Lisbon on Jun 14th, 2022, there was a very low ceiling of clouds. Today is supposed to be sunny and warm. I hope this is true!

The figure of Christ overlooking the harbor entrance is shrouded!

A beautiful, bustling city appears on the starboard side! It has been almost 14 years since we were here last.

A beautiful square opens up!

There are interesting buildings sticking up over the buildings everywhere! I don’t know whether I’ll get close to any of these today.

I have no tour today, so I start by walking. I head in the direction of the beautiful square I showed you. My target – you guessed it! – Hard Rock Cafe! I missed it when we were here in 2008.

The first buisness I see is a wonderful one! Taylor Fladgate is one of my favorite ports to drink!

Fat masts catch my eye on the waterfront. I go to investigate and see these two colorful boats! They are obviously set up for harbor tours with the bench seating.

Taking what I think is the turn I want Hard Rock, I stumble into this OMG view!

I cross the street to get a better overall view. This is a church buried on a small street, no belltower. Just a quiet church! But unlike a lot of old churches I’ve seen lately, this one appears to still have all of the carvings intact! Only one face at head-height between the doors has any visible wear.

I make it to the square I saw earlier from the ship! This is Commerce Square (Place do Comercio). The stately statue in the center is King Jose I. What I love about this statue is the elephant on the base!

Behind King Jose I’s statue is this interesting gold head! Behind the head you see the nice detail in the Arco da Rua Augusta!

The Arco da Rua Augusta is the centerpiece of this stately building along the back of Commerce Square.

I lose faith in my maps on getting me to the Hard Rock Cafe, so I grab the ship’s shuttle. It’s drop off point is identified as “in front of the Hard Rock Cafe” so I take them up on that! I takes about 15 minutes to get to the heart of old Lisbon, and right in front of us is this lovely sight! This is the most beautiful Hard Rock Cafe entrance I have ever seen – worthy of a photo!

Mission accomplished, I take a stroll back to the ship! This is the Restorers Square (Praça dos Restauratores) where the shuttle bus stop is located. You can see the bus and Hard Rock Cafe on the right.

This beautiful monument celebrates the victory of the Portuguese Restoration War. The mosaic tilework is mesmerizing!

The roofline of this building caught my eye, but the horseshoe entrances sealed the deal on this as being very unique! Plus Starbucks managed to snag a corner of the ground floor! Sweet!

This is the King Pedro IV Square (Praça Dom Pedro IV). More mesmerizing tilework that can easily give one vertigo if not careful!

Keep your eyes on the horizon, Martin!

In the center of the mesmerizing tilework is this imposing statue of King Pedro IV! He looks like he’s ready to step off the pillar!

There are identical fountains at each end of the plaza. But this one works!

Up the hill from the plaza I spy a wonderful structure that appears to a burned-out cathedral. Too bad I won’t be exploring up there today!

A few blocks away is King John I (Dom Joao I). He’s staring straight down one of the streets! Very scary!

This puts me back at Commerce Square, and on my way back to the ship!

I don’t encounter any other churches on my walk. This helps me keep this post short. So I want to share some of the images I see as we sail out of Lisbon’s harbor.

Back on the ship the ceiling has clearly lifted. So we should have some better photos to share!

We were told by one of the port speakers that we can expect a sea of red roofs. I’m not sure I’d call them red, but certainly orange is about the only color of roof visible from any angle!

Time comes for us to push off.

We slowly turn around. Captain gives us the view of the city as he does this! I think this is the part of town Joy explored. I was much farther left!

Then we head out! Bye bye, Lisbon!

As we slide under the beautiful April 25th Bridge (Pont 25 de Abril) – a Golden Gate-lookalike bridge – we have a nice view of Jesus Christ blessing us as we travel!

Here’s a good look at him on his lookout point!

We pass this wonderful sculpture! I was all over this in 2008! It is the Padrão dos Descobrimentos sculpture, celebrating exploration! On the far side (east side) are figures of the great explorers, and on the side we see, the west side, are figures of the benefactors who enabled the explorers to do their jobs. This was erected in honor of Prince Henry the Navigator, so perhaps that is him up front!

Then we see Belem Tower, a medieval defensive structure. Hard to believe anything so beautiful would be meant to take attacking fire!

Finally, next to Belem Tower is the military Monument to the Overseas Combatants. It is a long building, and at the center is an A-frame peak standing in a reflecting pool – I think I recall there being an eternal flame at the top of the peak. Two guards stand watch over this site. I know I cried when I stood in front of it in 2008 and saluted the guards.