My last European city. How did 4 months go by already? The last couple days were spent in Lisbon and I quite enjoyed them....
Praça do Comercio and Rua Augusta
Arco da Victoria, the biggest crowd-puller on Praça do Comercio
Praça do Comercio with statue of Dom José I. He was largely responsible for rebuilding Lisbon after the 1755 earthquake. He survived the destruction of his palace because he was strolling in a nearby area. He subsequently developed a fear of enclosed spaces and spent the rest of his life living in spacious, pimped-out tents.
Having supper at Home Hostel, with Mamma sitting at the head of the table. This lady is fantastic and so warm! She prepared home-cooked meals for her guests every night, with unlimited sangria. It was an amazing way to bookend my trip, and it was one of my favorite hostels ever. Also enjoying the company of new friends, mainly Lindsay (next to me in red), Bria (in white at left) and Steph (second left).
Lindsay actually bought me some pastéis de nada, knowing I couldn't make it to the specialty pasteleria in neighboring town Belém.... Isn't she beautiful? What a sweetheart!
Oh boy! It's gonna be awesome...
Lisbon's Sé (Cathedral), built in 1150 on the site of a mosque.
Panteao Nacional, originally meant to be a church, but now a mausoleum, where many prominent Portuguese personalities are buried.
In 1755, while most citizens were attending Mass on All Saint's Day, Lisbon suffered three massive earthquakes, followed by a tsunami and devastating fires. One-third of its population was killed and three-fourths of the city was ruined, never to regain its former glory. It did, however, become the world's first-ever city built on a grid, which was considered to be cheap and earthquake-proof.
The Catholic Church, rather than believe that they were being punished for their bloody Inquisition, chose to think they hadn't done enough to punish the heretics:
<<After the earthquake, the University of Coimbra declared that burning a few more people alive by a slow fire, and with great ceremony, was an infallible secret for preventing earthquakes.>> Voltaire, 1759
<<After the earthquake, the University of Coimbra declared that burning a few more people alive by a slow fire, and with great ceremony, was an infallible secret for preventing earthquakes.>> Voltaire, 1759
Wow, so ends my European portion of my round-the-world trip! Thank you so much for following my stories through thick and thin, but forgive me if I'm excited to return to friends, family and reality for the next bit....
A long 11-hour flight brings me from Lisbon to Toronto. And what do I see while coming down the escalator at Pearson? Tim's!!! Yeah, you know I went straight for the sweet stuff.... My love affair with cheap, sub-par coffee picks up right where it left off...
It seems I've arrived just in the nick of time. The biggest snow and ice storm in 15 years shuts down Pearson and Eastern Canada just a few hours after I arrive... My heart goes out to the HALF-MILLION people without electricity, Internet or water in this cold weather.... I sincerely hope the weather will recover in time for everyone to be with their loved ones by Xmas time.
I will spend the next few weeks in Sudbury with family and friends.... Will be here until Jan 8th, when all 5 of us leave for a belated Xmas vacation together.... Until then, I can be reached at (705) 897.6054... Love you guys, your support means so much to me! xxx
