At the bottom of the page click on the YouTube link to see the photos.
The sun went down in a glorious array of colors as we cruised out of Praia di Vitoria in the Azores. Then the sky got darker and darker. Then the winds came – the temperature dropped rapidly. A storm was brooding and it stayed with us until we bounced into Europe. Dickie and I held tough and didn’t’ get seasick, but were happy to get off the tub in Lisbon, even though I don’t care very much for the city.
“If you don’t have anything good to say, keep it to yourself or go to a planet where your opinions matter,” I once preached to my employees, but that was then, and Lisbon is now.
The sun went down in a glorious array of colors as we cruised out of Praia di Vitoria in the Azores. Then the sky got darker and darker. Then the winds came – the temperature dropped rapidly. A storm was brooding and it stayed with us until we bounced into Europe. Dickie and I held tough and didn’t’ get seasick, but were happy to get off the tub in Lisbon, even though I don’t care very much for the city.
This city is filthy; frankly it stinks. Literally – stinks of feces and piss, of both humans and animals. This is May – I can’t imagine in the Iberian heat of summer what this place smells like.
Dick and I hired a taxi to show us the sites and in 3 hours we were done. There just isn’t that much to do here. There’s a big castle, where you pay a few bucks and then walk around on the ramparts. No exhibits, not history of the castle – nothing. No museums worth seeing.
Everything is uphill – think San Francisco if nobody cleaned the streets for 10 years. Even the wine sucks. Okay, there are nice churches and a lovely monastery with really ornate cloisters and a great monument to Portugal’s long history of sea exploration, but there should be so much more. It is totally a city of failed possibility without any fleck of hope of urban renewal.
Let me further explain in case you’re foolishly thinking of coming here: Like most European cities, there’s an old city and a new city here. The new city is where all the new stuff, tall buildings, industry and such are found. Unless you’re on business, there’s nothing there for you. The old city is what you see. And as I said, it’s nasty. Filled with disgusting, decaying buildings and people alike. I counted: I saw three nice-looking people in Lisbon in two days. The others look pretty scruffy who seem to walk around either talking or doing laundry. Even the pets are ugly. Urban-jungle roads are squeezed into a maze of confusing alleys designed to frustrate invaders trying to get up to the castle. Run-down houses comfort each other in their shabbiness.
The streets are filled with beggars and drug dealers are everywhere. They even approached me. I didn’t make eye contact nor give the secret “I want a bag of crack” hand signal. It took more than just “I do NOT want this stuff.” I made it crystal clear that if you touch me, I will literally tear your head off. I also used Fxxx-Off a few times before they got the message.
I want to sign off on a positive note and mention there’re two big attractions in Lisbon: A replica of the Golden Gate Bridge, the Ponte 25 de Abril ; and the striking sculpture Cristo Redentor, towering on a hilltop along the bank of the Tagus.
Tomorrow we're in Porto to, um, drink port. I’m excited about it for two reasons:
1) I like Port and 2) Port is NOT Lisbon.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGZNB1ndDgs
Everything is uphill – think San Francisco if nobody cleaned the streets for 10 years. Even the wine sucks. Okay, there are nice churches and a lovely monastery with really ornate cloisters and a great monument to Portugal’s long history of sea exploration, but there should be so much more. It is totally a city of failed possibility without any fleck of hope of urban renewal.
I want to sign off on a positive note and mention there’re two big attractions in Lisbon: A replica of the Golden Gate Bridge, the Ponte 25 de Abril ; and the striking sculpture Cristo Redentor, towering on a hilltop along the bank of the Tagus.
Tomorrow we're in Porto to, um, drink port. I’m excited about it for two reasons:
1) I like Port and 2) Port is NOT Lisbon.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGZNB1ndDgs
Click on the above YouTube link to see the pictures.