Sabbatical 9/07 - Walking In Lisbon
On Sunday, I rode buses and boats around Lisbon on a hot summer day full of tourists. Monday was cooler and less crowded, so I set out on foot to check out some things I'd glimpsed from the bus.
First I headed north along Avenue de Liberdade to a garden memorializing fadista Amalia Rodrigues. She is and always will be the greatest fadista, and there are memorials to her throughout Lisbon. The park was small and had some interesting statuary and a reflecting pool.
Then I turned around and went through the Edward VII park. Portugal and the U.K. have had an alliance since 1386, which is why Lisbon doesn't find it odd to have a park commemorating the visit of an English monarch in 1902. This park is long and narrow, with ornamental hedges in the middle and two pools on either side, each with assorted statuary. There are some large pillars separating Edward VII park from Amalia Rodrigues park.
At the southern end of this park and at the north end of the Avenue de Liberdade is a square with a monumental statue to the Marquis of Pombai. The Marquis rebuilt Lisbon after the great earthquake and was enormously unpopular with the aristocracy, mostly for being very effective and comparatively lowly born. Once the king he supported died, the new king stripped him of power, but he is the dominant historical figure of Lisbon's tourist information.
Next I walked down Avenue de Liberdade and took my time looking at all the statues and greenery. I then climbed the hill along side the avenue and looked down on the city from a small park atop the hill. I wandered the side streets and looked at more statuary before ending back at the river.
This summary doesn't sound terribly exciting, but between the distances and altitude changes involved it took quite some time. I took a nice nap in the middle of the day, and finished reading The Crossing. I had a leisurely dinner and slept well.
Photos forty-one through sixty-nine in this set are from September 7.
First I headed north along Avenue de Liberdade to a garden memorializing fadista Amalia Rodrigues. She is and always will be the greatest fadista, and there are memorials to her throughout Lisbon. The park was small and had some interesting statuary and a reflecting pool.
Then I turned around and went through the Edward VII park. Portugal and the U.K. have had an alliance since 1386, which is why Lisbon doesn't find it odd to have a park commemorating the visit of an English monarch in 1902. This park is long and narrow, with ornamental hedges in the middle and two pools on either side, each with assorted statuary. There are some large pillars separating Edward VII park from Amalia Rodrigues park.
At the southern end of this park and at the north end of the Avenue de Liberdade is a square with a monumental statue to the Marquis of Pombai. The Marquis rebuilt Lisbon after the great earthquake and was enormously unpopular with the aristocracy, mostly for being very effective and comparatively lowly born. Once the king he supported died, the new king stripped him of power, but he is the dominant historical figure of Lisbon's tourist information.
Next I walked down Avenue de Liberdade and took my time looking at all the statues and greenery. I then climbed the hill along side the avenue and looked down on the city from a small park atop the hill. I wandered the side streets and looked at more statuary before ending back at the river.
This summary doesn't sound terribly exciting, but between the distances and altitude changes involved it took quite some time. I took a nice nap in the middle of the day, and finished reading The Crossing. I had a leisurely dinner and slept well.
Photos forty-one through sixty-nine in this set are from September 7.