A Walk Around our Neighborhood, March 30, 2023

 After finishing my tour at the Gulbenkian Museum I walked to the metro station and took the underground train close to our apartment to meet up with Rita and we spent the afternoon walking around our neighborhood before heading for an early dinner.

We are staying in the Chiado district in Lisbon which is on one of its hills.  We walked up to a viewpoint and looked across at the Sao Jorge Castle which sits on the highest point in Lisbon.  
 
We then walked down several hundred steps that led to one of Lisbon's main streets, Rua Augusta and came upon Santa Justa Elevator, the 150 foot tall, neo Gothic, iron tower built in 1902 that connects the lower and upper parts of Lisbon.  

Further along and heading towards the Tagus River we walk under the impressive Arco da Augusta (Augusta Arch), built in 1873,  onto Praca do Comercio, a huge riverfront square that used to be where the palace was located before it was destroyed in the 1755 earthquake.  Locals call it Palace Square.  Whatever its name, its a magnificent entrance into the city of Lisbon. 

Since we were close by we wanted to check out Libon's Gourmet Food-Circus Market and have an early dinner.  Mercado da Ribeira (a.k.a. Time Out Market) is two markets in one: the boisterous Ribeira fresh food market in one half of the Industrial Age, iron and glass market hall, while the other half has become a trendy food-court curated by Time Out magazine, which has invited a few dozen quality restaurants to open outposts here.  We arrive a little after 6pm and it was packed as the center of the building is filled with long tables and chairs.  The sides are where the food stalls are located and you check out the menu's, order your food and find a free place to sit and eat.  Its noisy and hectic but a fun experience and the food quality is excellent as is the prices.  Dessert bars, beer and wine shops are also part of the experience.  We ended up stopping at an Italian restaurant and had a delicious dinner before heading back home. 

Heading home we passed over "Pink Street" previously the red light district which is now Lisbon's late night nightlife district as it is home to some of the best bars and clubs in town.  The action starts when the other bars and clubs close and goes on well into the early hours of the morning.  We are happy that we live quite a few blocks away from this street.





  

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