February 21, 2009

Lisbon photos

Long overdue, here are some photos from my trip to Lisbon, Portugal.

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We found a hostel in the very centre of the city. When we stepped out, we were already on a main boulevard, Rua Augusta.

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Lisbon seems to be an environmentally conscious city. The police had electric vehicles. Here’s one for tourists.

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Here’s another example. In Europe, buildings require an ‘energy performance certificate’, which is a rating of how energy efficient the building is. These were being advertised in many bus shelters.

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And besides these signs, even the ATMs where you get cash out had a sign telling you how much energy it was using!

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This is the view of some rooftops from a lookout in Alfama, which is Lisbon’s old Moorish part.

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That’s Castelo de São Jorge (Castle of St George) on the hill top.

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I spotted this sign and it took me a second to understand what it meant.

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And here it is! A very basic urinal on the streets approaching Castelo de São Jorge.

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Although this was only a small tourist shop, it still had a large stock of port. Portugal is, of course known for the port, a fortified dessert wine. I used to drink it rather regularly after eating three courses at Cambridge formal hall.

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Many houses were drying their clothes high up on the second, third or fourth floor of a building. What happens when a bit of clothing falls from a laundry line four storeys up?

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You’d think only scooters could get up these streets but there are also quite a few Smart cars and tiny Renaults motoring around here. I think you need to be brave, driving around Lisbon.

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A window sill that caught my eye.

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Lisbon is a well developed city but there are quite a few abandoned derelict buildings. The city is still rebuilding after the 1755 Great Lisbon Earthquake.

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I spotted these mail boxes in a derelict building. Amazingly, one or two of them were still being used.

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