Loco over Lisbon
April 1, 2007 | 12:00am
Portugal! Portugal! Portugal! I’ve always wanted to go to Portugal and the only person I know who’s been there is Richard Gomez. Yes, the actor, the athlete, the host. And yes, soon to be senator! He’s been telling me about it for the longest time  since the ’90s! Since then I’ve always dreamed of Portugal. The closest thing to a Portuguese experience I’ve had is eating the Portuguese chicken rice I always order at Panciteria Lido in Ongpin. My good friend Chelo Banal-Formoso also gave me a book entitled 1,000 Places to See Before You Die and Portugal is one of them. And now I finally got to see it!
Lisbon is one of most beautiful places I have ever visited in all my travels and that’s saying a lot! During my visit, it was already late summer and the nights were a lot cooler. Thank goodness, because I was positively sweating during the day! Daytime temperatures sometimes went as high as 40 degrees Celsius, which was a good excuse to just go around in comfy clothing and my favorite Crocs and Havaianas. And because we were sightseeing, I wanted to be relaxed and enjoy my tour, which was definitely one of my best ever!
One of the first stops we visited was the gigantic Cristo Rei statue, which I saw from the air as we were landing at the Lisbon airport. It is very much like the Christ statue in Rio de Janeiro. Think the Merlion of Singapore, New York’s Statue of Liberty or Jose Rizal in Luneta and you get the picture. Anyhow, the statue is over 100 meters tall and set on the opposite bank of the Tejo River in downtown Lisbon. I wanted to climb to the top but I was too kuripot to spend three euros for the elevator ride. So I just took pictures and made them into a screensaver!
Another familiar sight was the Ponte 25 de Abril. No, this is not one giant calendar or clock but the sister bridge of the Golden Gate in San Francisco. I didn’t even know there could be sister bridges and not just sister cities! Both the Ponte 25 de Abril and the San Francisco Golden Gate Bridge were designed by the same architect; that’s why they look alike. The Ponte used to be called the Salazar Bridge, but they decided to name it after the revolution of April 25, 1974 when the dictatorship ended in Portugal. Maybe we can rename one of the flyovers on EDSA instead. Me and my big ideas!
I wanted to see Lisbon from the elevadors. The Elevador Santa Justa is undoubtedly Lisbon’s most popular elevator or lift (how very European) and connects the Baixa  the heart of the city  to the Bairro Alto (meaning "high neighborhood") district. However, it was too expensive so we satisfied ourselves with taking in the sights on the viewing platform, which was free at the Bairro Alto area. Aside from the Elevador Santa Justa, there are also the Elevador da Gloria, Elevador da Bica and Elevador da Lavra. Don’t miss riding the trams as well, which I heard were at least 100 years old!
While we’re talking about transportation, I couldn’t resist admiring the artwork that was on display at the subway stations in downtown Lisbon. I couldn’t believe that all that amazing artistry was on display for free. Everything was so colorful and all the artists who participated did it for free, too! And they say you can’t get anything for free these days daw. The artwork was inspired by the stations’ surrounding areas so I recognized some of the neighborhoods we’d seen, the more modern residential areas and the busy, busy streets of Lisbon depicted faithfully on the walls. If you’re planning to visit, start with the red line (Linha Vermelha) of the metro, which features the latest art murals.
Another transport hub worth visiting is the Orient Station, or what they call the Estação do Oriente. This is one of the main stations where trains, buses and taxis can be found. The structure is made of glass and steel and looks like palms. In the daytime, or when it’s illuminated at night, the effect is magical. We exited through the shopping mall across and found ourselves in the Parque das Nações (Park of the Nations) which was the site of the 1998 World Expo and has one of the world’s largest aquariums (but expensive at nine euros!). Really, everything in Lisbon is so famous! Just like me! Walang kokontra!
A quick side trip to The Gulbenkian Museum satisfied our taste for a little culture. This museum was the dream of an Armenian man who wanted to see all his treasures in a museum. Personally, my dream is just to be famous. (Whatever!) Anyhow, along with Egyptian artifacts, we also saw paintings by masters such as Rembrandt, Manet, Monet, Renoir and Cassat.
The historical parts of town were among the most interesting places we visited. The first one is Belém. No, not the one in Brazil but Lisbon’s very own version. It was full of monuments such as the Belém Tower (Torre de Belém), the Jeronimos Monastery, Padrão dos Descobrimentos and the modern Belém Cultural Center. One unique place we discovered here is the Museo dos Coches or the Coach Museum located in the former riding school of Palácio de Queluz, the former official residence of Portugal’s royal family. Everything here is "former" because they have such a long, rich history. Anyway, the museum has the world’s largest collection of coaches and royal vehicles. I saw several that I think would look gorgeous just parked in my home and would be a nice way to putter around my posh village!
On the other hand, the Palácio de Queluz represents the glorious era of Portugal when it was ruled by royalty. Today, it contains a valuable collection of beautiful decorative art like Portuguese furniture, Arraiolos carpets, royal portraits and Chinese and European porcelain and jewelry. Unlike the usual palaces I’ve been to, the rooms here are relatively small and cozy. I can almost imagine myself being a prince of some sort in those days. Doesn’t Príncipe Keren sound good?
An old neighborhood is the Alfama and this one is really old  ancient  dating back to the 12th century. As my friend Ben Chan said, it was really like going back in time because we saw traces of the Arab and Roman influences all around. The name Alfama came from the Moorish Al-hamma, meaning baths. Since we went here in the late afternoon, most of the restaurants and bars were already doing business for the evening and playing the mournful Portuguese music called fado. Being a happy person, fado was too serious for my taste. Give me the chillout music on my iPod anytime! (Right, Zanjoe?)
I’m back in Manila now, yet I am still in awe of the charm of Lisbon. Its strong links to the past, the magnificent architecture and the impressive sights are beyond amazing! Wow! Now I have one more thing in common with my good friend Richard and that’s our fascination with Portugal. And yes, that’s another place ticked off the 1,000 Places to See Before You Die list. I really wouldn’t mind going back to Lisbon to have a second look at all the places I already went to and make sure I visit those that I didn’t get to see! Muito obrigado, Lisboa!
Lisbon is one of most beautiful places I have ever visited in all my travels and that’s saying a lot! During my visit, it was already late summer and the nights were a lot cooler. Thank goodness, because I was positively sweating during the day! Daytime temperatures sometimes went as high as 40 degrees Celsius, which was a good excuse to just go around in comfy clothing and my favorite Crocs and Havaianas. And because we were sightseeing, I wanted to be relaxed and enjoy my tour, which was definitely one of my best ever!
One of the first stops we visited was the gigantic Cristo Rei statue, which I saw from the air as we were landing at the Lisbon airport. It is very much like the Christ statue in Rio de Janeiro. Think the Merlion of Singapore, New York’s Statue of Liberty or Jose Rizal in Luneta and you get the picture. Anyhow, the statue is over 100 meters tall and set on the opposite bank of the Tejo River in downtown Lisbon. I wanted to climb to the top but I was too kuripot to spend three euros for the elevator ride. So I just took pictures and made them into a screensaver!
Another familiar sight was the Ponte 25 de Abril. No, this is not one giant calendar or clock but the sister bridge of the Golden Gate in San Francisco. I didn’t even know there could be sister bridges and not just sister cities! Both the Ponte 25 de Abril and the San Francisco Golden Gate Bridge were designed by the same architect; that’s why they look alike. The Ponte used to be called the Salazar Bridge, but they decided to name it after the revolution of April 25, 1974 when the dictatorship ended in Portugal. Maybe we can rename one of the flyovers on EDSA instead. Me and my big ideas!
I wanted to see Lisbon from the elevadors. The Elevador Santa Justa is undoubtedly Lisbon’s most popular elevator or lift (how very European) and connects the Baixa  the heart of the city  to the Bairro Alto (meaning "high neighborhood") district. However, it was too expensive so we satisfied ourselves with taking in the sights on the viewing platform, which was free at the Bairro Alto area. Aside from the Elevador Santa Justa, there are also the Elevador da Gloria, Elevador da Bica and Elevador da Lavra. Don’t miss riding the trams as well, which I heard were at least 100 years old!
While we’re talking about transportation, I couldn’t resist admiring the artwork that was on display at the subway stations in downtown Lisbon. I couldn’t believe that all that amazing artistry was on display for free. Everything was so colorful and all the artists who participated did it for free, too! And they say you can’t get anything for free these days daw. The artwork was inspired by the stations’ surrounding areas so I recognized some of the neighborhoods we’d seen, the more modern residential areas and the busy, busy streets of Lisbon depicted faithfully on the walls. If you’re planning to visit, start with the red line (Linha Vermelha) of the metro, which features the latest art murals.
Another transport hub worth visiting is the Orient Station, or what they call the Estação do Oriente. This is one of the main stations where trains, buses and taxis can be found. The structure is made of glass and steel and looks like palms. In the daytime, or when it’s illuminated at night, the effect is magical. We exited through the shopping mall across and found ourselves in the Parque das Nações (Park of the Nations) which was the site of the 1998 World Expo and has one of the world’s largest aquariums (but expensive at nine euros!). Really, everything in Lisbon is so famous! Just like me! Walang kokontra!
A quick side trip to The Gulbenkian Museum satisfied our taste for a little culture. This museum was the dream of an Armenian man who wanted to see all his treasures in a museum. Personally, my dream is just to be famous. (Whatever!) Anyhow, along with Egyptian artifacts, we also saw paintings by masters such as Rembrandt, Manet, Monet, Renoir and Cassat.
The historical parts of town were among the most interesting places we visited. The first one is Belém. No, not the one in Brazil but Lisbon’s very own version. It was full of monuments such as the Belém Tower (Torre de Belém), the Jeronimos Monastery, Padrão dos Descobrimentos and the modern Belém Cultural Center. One unique place we discovered here is the Museo dos Coches or the Coach Museum located in the former riding school of Palácio de Queluz, the former official residence of Portugal’s royal family. Everything here is "former" because they have such a long, rich history. Anyway, the museum has the world’s largest collection of coaches and royal vehicles. I saw several that I think would look gorgeous just parked in my home and would be a nice way to putter around my posh village!
On the other hand, the Palácio de Queluz represents the glorious era of Portugal when it was ruled by royalty. Today, it contains a valuable collection of beautiful decorative art like Portuguese furniture, Arraiolos carpets, royal portraits and Chinese and European porcelain and jewelry. Unlike the usual palaces I’ve been to, the rooms here are relatively small and cozy. I can almost imagine myself being a prince of some sort in those days. Doesn’t Príncipe Keren sound good?
An old neighborhood is the Alfama and this one is really old  ancient  dating back to the 12th century. As my friend Ben Chan said, it was really like going back in time because we saw traces of the Arab and Roman influences all around. The name Alfama came from the Moorish Al-hamma, meaning baths. Since we went here in the late afternoon, most of the restaurants and bars were already doing business for the evening and playing the mournful Portuguese music called fado. Being a happy person, fado was too serious for my taste. Give me the chillout music on my iPod anytime! (Right, Zanjoe?)
I’m back in Manila now, yet I am still in awe of the charm of Lisbon. Its strong links to the past, the magnificent architecture and the impressive sights are beyond amazing! Wow! Now I have one more thing in common with my good friend Richard and that’s our fascination with Portugal. And yes, that’s another place ticked off the 1,000 Places to See Before You Die list. I really wouldn’t mind going back to Lisbon to have a second look at all the places I already went to and make sure I visit those that I didn’t get to see! Muito obrigado, Lisboa!
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