Portugal - Lisbon V - the best lookouts

Portas do Sol lookout

From St George's Castle we made our way down to the riverfront going past another lookout - Miradouro das Portas do Sol (Gates of the Sun lookout). 
With one of the best views over Lisbon and the Tagus River, this balcony-like lookout has a couple of outdoor restaurants at street level and just below, that just spell relaxation.
The statue of St Vincent, Lisbon's patron saint, holding a boat with two ravens, the symbols of Lisbon stands in the middle of the lookout.

The church visible in this photo is St Vincent Monastery inaugurated in 1629. It was damaged in the earthquake of 1755 and restored in 1855. Here lay the bodies of all Portuguese kings from 1640 to 1910.

Portas do Sol lookout, St Vincent statue and St Vincent Monastery

Restaurant with a view at Portas do Sol lookout

Santa Luzia Lookout

Just a few steps away is another lookout - Miradouro de Santa Luzia (St Luzia Lookout), next to the St Luzia church,  covered in the typical Portuguese blue tiles.

Tile panels from the St Luzia church

Lisbon's oldest building - the Cathedral

Walking  down again, we go past Lisbon's Cathedral built by Portugal's first king in 1150 on the site of a former mosque, whose ruins have been recently been  found during excavations.

The remains of St Vincent (Lisbon's patron saint) in a casket, along with other sacred objects are kept in this church.

St Anthony's Lisbon Museum

Just around the corner next to another Church is the St. Anthony Lisbon Museum, with a statue of the saint in front of it.

25th April Bridge

Time to go home and we drive past the "25th of April bridge" that joins Lisbon to Almada on the other side of the Tagus river. Built by American bridge company who also constructed the San Francisco bridge, hence the similarities.
On the other side of the bridge is the nearly 80mt high statue of Christ the King, whose design was based on the statue of "Christ the Redeemer" in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Christ the King statue in Almada, the other side of the Tagus River

Hope you enjoyed the lookouts I've showed you, but for the most beautiful views over Lisbon from the best lookouts click on this link for some great photos.

Monday Murals - the Portuguese language world

Another one of the murals I saw when I visited Lisbon in May.

On the side wall of the "UCCLA" (Union of capital cities of Portuguese Language) association building, the map shows the continents where Portuguese is spoken as the official language - Europe, Africa, Asia and South America - mostly former Portuguese colonies.

The building is at Rua Sao Bento, near the Portuguese Parliament in Lisbon.

For other murals from around the world please click on this link.

The various African capitals where Portuguese is spoken

Portugal - Lisbon IV

It's been ages ago since my last post about Lisbon, but life get's in the way ...

Another visit to Lisbon started with a visit to Alfama, Lisbon's oldest district.
The narrow cobbled streets and plenty of steps between streets, means you have to walk a lot.

In the harbour the huge Queen Mary 2 was docked, so plenty of tourists were visiting this old part of Lisbon.

 The old trams still in use criss-cross the old neighbourhoods.

Climbing up to the St George's Castle we came upon a lookout located at the Calçada do Marquês de Tancos called "Miradouro do Chão do Loureiro".
The terrace adjoins a restaurant and it has a panoramic lift that takes people to a street down the hill.
It's not the best lookout as it's surrounded by a lot of buildings but you can clearly see the Santa Justa Lift just ahead and the Carmo Convent right next to it.

Ahead the Santa Justa lift (in black) and Carmo Convent next to it

Entry to the Lookout

To the left can be seen at the far end the statue of Christ Redeemer, on the other side of the Tagus River and the bridge across it can just be seen too.

 Turning to the back we can see the walls of the Castle of St George.
 

Walking up to the Castle we came across this artist who painted little scenes of Lisbon with coffee - very original!

The queue to enter the moorish Castle was long and we decided to forego a visit and just sit down and have a custard tart (Pastel de Nata) at "The World needs Nata".  What can I say, delicious!

The various modes of transport we found were unique - from tuk-tuks to bicycles, from segways to these bright yellow tricycles we saw near the Castle...

Also near the Castle on our way down to some of Lisbon's best lookouts, we came across this plastic flower covered cube hanging in a courtyard, attached to a metal turtle.

Next post - the best lookouts

Monday Mural - Dogs and Cats

This mural of cats and dogs on the wall adjacent to a Veterinary clinic in Cascais (30km from Lisbon) was quite colourful and sweet.

                                                                

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In Perth, the recently opened Cat Hospital in the suburb of West Leederville, has also got a beautiful cat mural, painted by Rahalie McGuirk, a young Perth artist.

Above the Cat Hospital sign is another mural painted by Kyle Hughes-Odgers that I had already posted about in December 2014.

If you enjoy murals, click on this link to see other murals from around the world.

I also spotted something interesting near the Cat hospital - 3 huge solar panel flowers in front of this office building. 
I wouldn't mind having this in my garden, a real show-stopper!

Monday Mural - Escadinhas São Cristóvão - Lisbon

This long and complex mural is located at Escadinhas de São Cristóvão, (Steps of St. Christopher) - a long set of steps from Rua da Madalena up to the 16th century Church of St Christopher, in Lisbons's Mouraria district, the home of "Fado" (Portuguese soul music).

The mural was created in 2012 by a group of artists and donated to the neighbourhood, and it honours the "Fado tradition" as well as St Christopher. 

Starting from the bottom, the mural begins on the left side, while the right side is covered with graffiti. Apparently the mural was painted over existing graffiti.

In this corner the mural is dedicated to Fado - on the left, a dark haired woman with a low cut top and fishnet stockings is Maria Severa as the yellow banner says. She is considered to be the first Fado singer to have achieved fame after her death in 1846.

On the right, two men play the guitar, the top one being the Portuguese guitar, behind them tiered buildings with St George's castle above them. The castle is not too far from this area. A black dressed woman looks out from a balcony. The world "Cheira bem, Cheira a LX (Lisboa),  are the words of a Fado song sung by Amalia Rodrigues, who died in 1999, considered to be the best selling Portuguese artist of all time.

The next wall is dedicated to St Christopher with the image of a priest.

The Church of St. Christopher can be seen just above to the left, and you have to climb another set of steps to reach it.

If you enjoy looking at murals from around the world follow this link.