The river Tagus, longest in the area, originates from Spain concluding its journey here in Lisbon when it drops into Atlantic Ocean. It was a major sea trade route linking Western Europe to Africa, Asia and Americas. Calling Tagus a river in Lisbon area is injustice; at some places it is as wide as up to 20 KMs. “Vasco De Gama” the latest & longest bridge in Europe (17 KM) is built here.
Walking with laptop & trolley bag in furious weather wasn’t easy but I dared to walk along the bank. There were few ships floating around in turbulent water. Sand was blowing into my face like bullets. As soon as I would leave my bag to take a photo it would either fall or start walking away. Time to head to hotel, I thought. I was staying in another town Oeiras. It is only few miles away from Lisbon, a newly built town where many technology firms are based.
A bit tired yet in high spirits, I took a tram to Belem. No way was I leaving without visiting the Belem Cake Shop. I didn’t eat the Natta cake though, just visited it like a dutiful pilgrim. I walked in Belem for some time and then took taxi to hotel in Oeiras enjoying stunning scenery on the way. It was dark by now. Trees & bushes were looking stunning under the yellow light emerging from streetlights.
Tram No 28 is one of the old types. It runs through the old parts of town and passes by many famous monuments; worth a visit. Alfama is the old part of which was built by Moors (Muslims) when they ruled the area. There is a big central mosque in Lisbon; I could not visit it though.
I stayed in Oeiras for 5 days, occasionally visiting Lisbon in the evening. Natural beauty in the area was superb. We could not walk around much as it rained almost every day.
One day we had dinner in HRC (Hard Rock Café) to comfort an American colleague who was missing home. It was an experience for me too; I had heard of it but never visited one. First HRC was opened by two Americans in 1971 in London, later expanding to USA followed by many worldwide locations. Around 1979, HRC started a trend of acquiring Rock & Roll memorabilia which included photos, autographs, shirts, vehicles, guitars and the like from famous Rock starts, and displaying them on the Café walls hence creating a museum in each shop. The Lisbon HRC we visited was playing famous Rock & Roll songs and displaying object all over the two storey walls. For me; hmmmm… veggie burger was delightful along chunky chips! Service was grand too!
After dinner we walked in the streets for a while. Lisbon is a peaceful city but seeing homeless and drug sellers at night was hurtful. We took a taxi on the way back to Oeiras. The driver was an old person in 60s but he drove fast & furious; so much so we were scared. Never seen such a wild taxi driver in my life. He took it as an encouragement when we screamed with scare and gave us a ride of lifetime. The car was fully loaded with five of us and he was not slowing at all on turnings and roundabouts.
Soon five days were over and it was time to go home. I was confident that the return flight will be comfortable one. But no, weather turned to be even worse. Mostly flight was fine but touch down!!! – oh my God it was the scariest landing ever in my life. We landed from the London city side. As we descended from 10,000 Meter to about 3,000 meter, the plane started shaking in every direction violently and it continued for last 30 minutes of the journey. Severe wind was throwing the plane around like a piece of paper. As we approached for landing I took the embraced position which is usually advised for the emergency landings. My body was literally shaking. Eventually plane touched the ground safely; a great relief to be on ground again. It was a difficult landing but pilot managed it very well.
The flag masts and poles on the airport were rattling with noise due to shear wind. No doubt this was the most frightening flight of my life but visit to Lisbon was one of the best visits ever!
Good one. Thanks for sharing your experience.