2/12/2014

Can I eat more "pasteis de belem"? (Part-1)


“Alice came to a fork in the road. 'Which road do I take?' she asked.
'Where do you want to go?' responded the Cheshire Cat.
'I don't know,' Alice answered.
'Then,' said the Cat, 'it doesn't matter.”
 Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

Despite to Alice, I knew where I wanted to go. Four months ago, I was sneakily searching cheap Barcelona tickets in the office. And I made it, I found some cheap tickets but just because of my laziness, I did not buy them on that day.
Very next day, those cheap tickets weren’t that cheap any more. So I cancelled my Barcelona trip but did not give up, I continued my research.
Et voilà ! I found new tickets but this time to LISBON!!!


Lisbon Air View
 

We can divide Lisbon to 10. You can find below top ten places in Lisbon;

1.     Baxia and Rossio

2.     Sé, Castelo and Alfama

3.     Chiado

4.     Bairro Alto

5.     Estrela, Lapa and Santos

6.     Belém adn Ajuda

7.     Avenida, Gulbenkian and Parque Eduardo

8.     Sintra

9.     Lisbon coast

10.  Parque das Naçoes

Our hotel was very close to section 7; Avenida, Gulbenkian and Parque Eduardo. So first day, right after leaving our luggage to hotel we went to “Museu Calouste Gulbenkian”. Taking pictures is not allowed so I only took pictures of museum ducks.
Ducks of the museum

Admission fee is € 8 but you can have a discount if you have Lisbon Card (http://www.golisbon.com/Lisboa-Card/)
Calouste Gulbenkian is an oil expert and business man who was born in İstanbul. Besides being a business man Calouste Gulbenkian is a collector. Throughout his life, he assembled a unique collection. In the museum you can see precious pieces such as Portrait of Madame Claude Monet, Still life with melon.

After Museum; we headed to Avenida and Parque Eduardo (Well, actually there is nothing special at Parque Eduardo)

Avenida or Avenida Da Liberdade is main boulevard of the city. This 1.3 km connects boulevard  to Parque Eduardo, at the end of it you can reach to Baxia and Rossio.Avenida is a posh and nice place. It is covered with luxury brands like Prada, Louis Vuitton and palm trees. It is nice walk there.

If you feel hungry you can stop by “marisqueira santa marta” and have nice fishes.  But please keep in my; the place is not open at lunch hours. (http://www.marisqueirasantamarta.pt.vu/)
Forgot to take pictures of fancy shops

 
Every European city has a straight street where you can find almost everything. Straight Street of Lisbon is called Rua Augusta. Rua Augusta is main Pedestrian Street of Baixa.
So Baixa and of course Rua Augusto is located between Rossio and Praça do Comércio. If you are fancy in traditonaol travel shopping (like buying magnets and key chains as souvenirs) Rua Augusto is the right place. The street is covered with souvenir shops, stores like Zara, Mango and you can  also find resturants, cafes.


Rua Augusto at night
At the river side of Rua Augusto you’ll notice (it is not impossible to notice) a huge, white arch. Rua Augusto Arch is like door which opens to Praça do Comércio. Before telling you Praça do Comércio or in English Commerce Square I would like mention about the arch a little bit.
 
Arch and Rua Augusto
Maybe you know maybe not, on 1755 a great earthquake was occurred in Lisbon. Lisbon was totally destroyed. After earthquake, the city was rebuilt and in order to remember this enormous catastrophe Rua Augusto Arch was built.
Severity of damage done by earthquake and hugeness of the arch is parallel. You’ll see four statues, they represent

·         Nuno Alvares Pereira

·         Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo

·         Marquis of Pombal

·         Vasco da Gama

 
If you like take aerial viewpoint of the city you can climb the arch
  
Who wants to take a picture?
 
Before the earthquake, Praça do Comércio was home of royal buildings. But today it is a square which is located near to Tagus River where people meet.
 
 
   
So in the middle of square a king welcomes you. Don José was the king of Portugal at the time of 1755 earthquake.
Long Live The King
 
The Square was also main scene of political acts; in 1908 King and his was killed in there and in 25 May 1974 with Carnation Revolution the regime of the Estado Novo was overthrew. Billions of people gathered there during the Revolution.
 
 
You'll love the view which seen from square. Tagus River, 25th of April Bridge and Jesus Christ monument. If you like take pictures of the sunset  Praça do Comércio is the right place.
 
 

Love
 
More Rua Augusto
 

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