Let There Be Lisbon (2)

Day 2: Jess and I head into the town centre like the intrepid explorers that we are.  However, this is a rather long trip, as we keep getting distracted.  There are vintage shops and plenty of photo opportunities along the way!

Somehow, every street was interesting.

And my obsession with Portuguese tiles begins...

See what I mean?  It's cute!

Love the architecture in this place.

So, eventually we got to the town centre.  After a wee ride on the tram, we decided it was time to visit the Sao Jorge Castle.  As it turned out, deciding that and actually finding the blimmin' fortress were two very different things.  You wouldn't think you could lose a whole castle, but we managed it.

Castillo Sao Jorge seen from the Praça da Figueira

Let's be educated and have a bit of history (since I didn't read the pamphlet when I was there).

First on the site was a Moorish fortification for the elite, which was built in the mid-11th century.  It really came into its own when Dom Afonso Henriques (first King of Portugal) conquered Lisbon (October 25, 1147).  Consequently, it became a royal palace.  Then, while Portugal came under Spanish rule, it played more of a military role.  This continued until the early 20th century.
It has been a national monument since 1210.

Possibly the coolest thing about it is that it has a 'Door of Treason' which allowed secret messengers to get in and out.  Sadly, I don't remember seeing that.  :(

Another awesome thing about the Castle is the sweet views over the city from its grounds.  Check it out!

From the Tower of the Cistern (I think...)

Looking out over the River Tajo, from near the entrance.

We had a good laugh at some of the absolute posers who were going around taking their glamour shots with every doorway/wall/anything-they-could-find in the castle.  Seriously.  The way they were taking photos, they were going to be there forever.

After all of the climbing up and down the stairways in the castle (and marvelling at the lack of handrails... we decided that it'd never pass health and safety inspections in the UK or NZ, and also wondered how many archers fell to their deaths during wars), we were pretty peckish.  Luckily for us, we found a good Italian restaurant at the bottom of the hill (Sapori d'Italia).  I know: not Portuguese.  But we were hungry!

We had a great meal and decided we weren't hungry any more.  However, we'd seen something about a great cake shop on a map, so we thought we'd go searching for the Confeitaria Nacional (open since 1829, and still going strong).

After wandering around for ages, getting distracted by the great views from the riverside...

By the River Tajo, looking across to Cristo Rei and the Ponte 25 de abril

... and frustrated with the useless tourist maps, we eventually headed back to the Praca da Figueira and found the Confeitaria by accident.  Luckily for us, the dude at the counter spoke about 5 languages, so we could get our dose of cakes.

Yep, the Portuguese can do desserts!

After that, it was time to go and chill at the hotel for a bit, before checking out Lisbon's nightlife!  (We tried to find fado, yet somehow ended up in a Cuban bar.  Portuguese culture fail!)