In Lisbon, the language is unambiguously Portuguese.

As a snap decision, we decided to sign up for the organized tour of Lisbon. It was a mistake- one of two tour mistakes we made on the cruise. But: live and learn.

Keep in mind that our cruise ship was operated by a Spanish cruise company and the vast majority of passengers were Spanish-speaking. On some occasions there were “English language” tours, but we always signed up for the Spanish tours. Rhonda and I are both fluent enough that we could understand the guides.

The “25th of April Bridge” bears a striking resemblance to the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. I have heard and read several different stories about construction related connections between the two bridges. The tales differ with regard to whether the designer was the same, the materials supplier, the construction company, or …

For the record, the longest span of the Golden Gate is 1,280 feet, and it was completed in 1937. The “25th of April” bridge’s longest span is 1,013 feet, and it was completed in 1966. The Portuguese bridge has two decks, with train tracks comprising the lower deck.

The bridge crosses the Tejo river, which is the longest of the Iberian peninsula. In Spain this river is known as the Tajo. This is the river that wraps around the beautiful city of Toledo.

The “Tower of Belém” (Bethlehem), was constructed in the 16th century. It takes its name from the adjacent neighborhood of “Santa Maria de Belém.”

The building has a rather odd and  ornamental style, but it was constructed as an important addition to the city’s defense mechanisms. Equipped with cannons, it played a role in protecting the city from attacking ships.

Nearby is the “Discoveries Monument” which was built in 1960. It replaced a similarly themed structure that had been torn down. The monument bears the likeness of the prow of a ship. The various people depicted are led by a statue of Prince Henry the Navigator.

 

 

 

In the same general neighborhood is the huge “Jerónimos Monastery”. It is embellished with all sorts of ornate stone carvings.

Nearby we were shooed over to spend time in a bakery of no apparent historical or cultural significance. Cynically I wondered how much money a business like that slips to a tour guide in return for dropping off a busload of tourists.

After a confusing zig-zag through several city neighborhoods, we ended up at the famed “Alfama” district. Here we descended from the bus once again. Much has been made of the restoration, and sprucing up of this, the oldest of Lisbon’s neighborhoods. But the guide, waving her numbered paddle, ushered us through many dilapidated sections in a way that caused me to feel like an unwelcome voyeur. Unsmiling residents leaned out windows staring down at the noisy herd.

Here, many of the streets are quite narrow, and many due to either the incline or stairs, are impassible by cars.

 

Some of the alleys were too narrow to even consider as a passageway for our throng.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A door with four mail slot made me curious. Rhonda pointed out that there seemed to be four floors, and possibly four apartments in the building.

 

 

It was not just the cousin of the Golden Gate Bridge that had us thinking of San Francisco. Rhonda pointed to the steep streets in Lisbon that seemed so like those of the California city.

 

 

 

In the end we were pretty disappointed by the content of this tour. (and many of the other passengers seemed equally disillusioned.)

We decided that we would have been far better off, and gotten a better feel for the city if we had just hopped a streetcar from the pier, headed downtown, and explored a bit on our own. We could then have capped the visit by sitting in a square sipping beer, watching people.