Around The World 2011 Day 44: Paris, France to Lisbon, Portugal

I know this is going to be hard to believe, but at a certain level I am happy to be leaving Paris.  The first time I experienced this city in the year 2000, I thought it was the greatest city in the world.  And today my opinion remains the same.  And even though a significant percentage of my heart wants to spend more time with Sujay, Meena and the Kids, Barbie and I have been on a long journey.  I am looking forward to seeing new places and to going home, and in a big way leaving Paris feels like the beginning for both.

Starting today, I will not be in a city that I have been to before until the day that we fly home to Los Angeles.  And I cannot wait to spend the next nine days seeing things that are brand new to me, and then finishing it with that last flight Westward to complete a circle around the Earth.

We arranged to have the same driver who picked us up from Charles de Gaulle come and take us to Orly Airport.  This had almost nothing to do with the fact that he is handsome.  Almost nothing.

A last drive by the dome of Napoleon's Tomb at  L'Hôtel national des Invalides.

Arriving at the airport.  I could not locate a sign welcoming us to the airport.  This will do.

Okay.  I normally control my constant urge to take photographs in security.

Normally.

But I had to take this picture.

Seriously.

Breakfast at the airport.

Our ride to Portugal.

My last view of Paris.

On the flight, Barbie resumed her full-frontal assault on the top ten list of the Skeeball game on my iPhone.

What the what!!!!  She has knocked all but one of my scores off.   Oh, cruel fate, have you no mercy?

After showing me this, she handed the game to me and I got to try for the last portion of the flight.

Do not ask how.  It is best to not question such luck.  Suffice to say that that top score will likely be gone before I know it.  But at least I bought a little time.

This marks the first moment my eyes ever saw Portugal.

This is actually Almada, across the Tejo river from Lisbon.  If you look closely, above the foot of the bridge you will see a replica of Rio's Christ The Redeemer.

Lisbon proper.

Thanks for the ride, dude.

You might say that there were a few students from Brasil in the baggage claim.

You know my policy.  Any airport that welcomes you gets three bonus points.

Remember a few weeks ago when I mentioned that every airport in the world has a Samsung ad?  Need I repeat myself?

We have arrived at the third Four Seasons of this voyage.  It turns our that our driver from the airport, Jorge, and apparently in Portugal you pronounce this George and not the Spanish Horrhay, can drive us on the tour that Barbie wants to take tomorrow.  In other words, on the ride from the airport to the hotel we locked up plans for our only full day in Lisbon.  Perfecto!

Oh... I would not be me if I did not mention that Lisbon is Lisboa in Portugese.  Remind me why the British had to add an "n" to the end?  

In our room we were greeted with tradition Portugese custards, port wine, water, and a cinnamon shaker. for the custard.  Sorry the cinnamon shaker is shaky in the picture.  Think of it as an action shot, as I shook the heck out of that shaker because extra cinnamon on the custard was delicious.

I turned the forward facing camera on my pants to show YOU, the loyal Waste readers, that in all likelihood this is the last time that I wear pants this trip.  Then Barbie pointed out that I may be wearing pants at night in the dining room of the cruise ship.  She is right, and I got a little sad thinking that it was not shorts and sandals from this moment forward.

To make the most of the afternoon, we hopped into a taxi and headed to the Castelo de São Jorge, one of the oldest sights in the city.

Along the way, we passed Marquess of Pombal Square, which is viewable from our room.  (Expect some trick photos of it at some point.)   The man on the horse is, get ready for this, Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo, 1st Marquess of Pombal, 1st Count of Oeiras.  He was prime-minister of Portugal from 1750 to 1777, and managed the rebuilding of Lisbon after the earthquake of 1755. 

That earthquake is still remembered today, and made a significant mark on the city.  It is estimated to have been between 8.5–9.0 on the Richter Scale, and its epicenter was offshore in the Atlantic it was followed by a tsunami.  It is estimated that 1 in 5 of the 200,000 residents of Lisbon did not survive.

The earthquake was such a significant cultural event that artists and philosophers throughout Europe had to consider its meaning.  Immanuel Kant published three separate texts on the Lisbon earthquake.  Voltaire used the earthquake in Candide.  To really grasp this, and I am not sure that I can, you have to consider a modern metropolis, a major capital of the world, getting smacked by a disaster that takes away 20% of its people.  Comparatively, we are talking about the loss of millions in a day.  No wonder the people of Lisbon keep mentioning this earthquake to us.  Perhaps because it is also thought that the effort required to rebuild prevented Portugal from continuing to compete as a global, colonial power.

Restauradores Square, featuring an obelisk and a Hard Rock Cafe.  In other words, the perfect square.  Restauradores means restoration and refers to Portugal's independence from Spain in1640.  (Spain had controlled Portugal for the previous 60 years.)  The obelisk features the names and dates of the battles that restored Portugal's independence.

By the way, the Portugese word for square is Praça, which can be added to the list of words for public square that come from Latin.   Praça, Piazza, Platz, Place, Plaza...  those are off the top of my head.

The Rossio, or "commons, has been an important public space in Lisbon since the 1200's.  Over the centuries it has been a home to hospitals, palaces, and executions.  Today it is home to the national theater, the Rossio train station, two fountains imported from France, and a statue of Pedro IV, King of Portugal (after being Pedro I, first Emperor of Brasil).  After the column and statue of Pedro IV was erected in 1874, the name for the Rossio became Praça de D. Pedro IV, or  Pedro IV Square.  So far, the people of Lisbon still call it the Rossio.

I enjoy hearing of a people refusing to accept the renaming of a public space after a monarch.

After a wild drive up narrow streets to the top of a hill, we arrived at the Castelo de São Jorge.

The first thing you see after coming through the gates is this bronze statue of Afonso Henriques, the Portuguese monarch who took the castle from the Moors.  The castle was built during the 11th century by the Moors, who had occupied this land from the 700's until 1147, when Afonso Henriques reconquered the city for the Portugese.

Another distant view of the 25 de Abril Bridge, built by the same company that built the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.  I was once told, and have always believed the person who told me this, that the suspension bridge is the first example ever of an architectural design that was created in North America and imported to Europe.  If you think about it, almost all architecture before 1937 had been developed in Europe and then brought across the pond.

Before we went over to the castle, we stopped for a snack and something cool to drink.  We are back in the Mediterranean heat and loving it.

These female peacocks were all over the place.

I know you just went, "Awww."  Chicks do that to everyone.

At long last, you get to see the walls of Castelo de São Jorge.

What began as a strongly fortified citadel became a royal palace in 1255.  Like much of Lisbon, it was severely damaged in the 1755 earthquake.  The castle was not renovated until the 1940's.

Our hotel is around THERE.

This young couple came up from that much lower outlook exhausted and sweaty, and then recommend that we take a look ourselves.  We passed.

Eureka!  I figured out a new way to show you a lot of images fast.  Here are two QuadCam shots of the castle as an animated gif.  You get to see eight images for the price of one.

When Barbie spotted this archway, she decided that it would be a great spot for a photo.

For the cat lovers who read the Waste.  This feline hangs out at the castle and completely ignores the peacocks.

Time for Barbie to get her sixth, yes, sixth shot glass of the trip.

Need I say more.

In case you were wondering why I had to wait around ten minutes before someone even asked me if I wanted to be seated, this picture should explain it.

The upside-down car reminded me of the original Hard Rock Los Angeles with its homage to Cadillac Ranch.

The woman and her nachos.

We decided to walk to the seashore, which is really a river, but where the river hits the Atlantic it gets so wide that it is hard to not think of it as already being the sea.

I took another picture of Praça de D. Pedro IV, because it is better to take pictures on foot.

Barbie by one of the French fountains in the Praça.  I took two shots, and when I notice the bird appearing in the sky to the left of the fountain, it made sense to show you both by animating them.

Later in the day I discovered ProCamera has lots of nifty little effects that I never bothered to check out.  It seemed fun and appropriate to transform this picture into a weathered photograph. 

This was the destination of our walk, Praça do Comércio, or Commerce Square, with its Rua Augusta Arch.  This square was designed and built after the destruction of the 1755 earthquake.

The square features a statue of of King José I on horseback.

Another nifty ProCamera effect that seemed good for this photo, a sunburst.

The statue and the arch.  No panorama here because they were setting up for a concert tonight and the speakers and fences were, shall we say, less photogenic.

Another distant view of the 25 de Abril Bridge and Jesus the Redeemer to the left. 

A last view of the arch, with the King José I statue in the distance.

Forgive me.  I had to take this picture of the shirtless man who very well could be a bum.  You do not always get to use the word bum with this kind of accuracy.

The Four Seasons lobby.

The Four Seasons elevator.

We changed and headed toward the indoor pool on the bottom floor.

When we saw the sculpture of feet, both Barbie and I knew what had to be done.

The pool did not disappoint.  After a long day, that cool water was refreshing as heck.

Ah.

After the pool, we headed up to the rooftop gym.  It was, in a word, amazing.  Three hundred sixty degree views.  But I waited until we got to the outside running track to take photos.

Barbie gets in a jog.

The Marquess of Pombal Square, seen from the roof.

Do sunsets get better?

Not a bad double-self-portrait, either.

I should crop the antennae out of this shot and sell it to the hotel.  I dare say that their rooftop sign has never been the subject of a more beautiful photograph.

I fooled around with effects on this one, and again liked the results enough to include for you. 

We closed the day with room service.  It felt like 2009, the year we did our sightseeing, came back and got in the work and blog time, and then ate room service before going to bed.  This, my friends, is ideal travel.

Until tomorrow...

Note from the Editor:  Tomorrow we board the SeaDream, and internet service might be not so available.  The Waste may go dark for a week, to return after we are home at which time I till upload a whole lot of posts.