CUADERNO DE VIAJE 3, LISBOA AÚN {TRAVEL NOTEBOOK 3, STILL IN LISBOA}

16.08.2011 - Seguimos en Lisboa. Ese día hicimos una ruta turística total. Empezamos temprano en la Plaza del Comercio y allí cogimos un tranvía que nos da primeramente una vuelta por la ciudad. El tranvía rojo te hace un recorrido turístico. Hay momentos que paseando por Lisboa me acuerdo del centro de La Habana vieja, esos edificios tan decadentes y tan bonitos me traen recuerdos de aquella ciudad,

1. 16th August 2011 - We are still in Lisbon. That day we followed a touristical route around the city. We started early in the Commerce Square and there we took the red tran which guides you in a city tour. There were moments walking around the center of Lisbon that brought me memories of some houses in Old Habana, the decadent buildings reminded me of that city.

Iglesias a la vuelta de cada esquina.

1. Churches around every corner

Después de un paseo en tranvía......entre esas calles tan difíciles

1. After a short drive by tram....through those difficult streets in Lisbon

Paramos en la Basílica de la Estrela. Se construyó como una ofrenda religiosa por la Reina Mary I de Portugal después de dar a luz a su heredero al trono Portugues. La basílica se ve que no fué una ofrenda suficiente porque Jose murio dos años antes de que se terminara la Basílica. Mary vivió con la pena hasta su muerte y la reina miserable fué enterrada en la Basílica que se construyó en honor a su hijo. La cúpula curvada, del color del azúcar blanco y sus dos campanarios gemelos de la Basílica se ven desde lejos. Hoy en día se considera a la Basílica como una de las Iglesias de Lisboa mas adornadas con diseños de mármol en el interior.

1. We stopped at the Basílica de la Estrela. It was constructed as a religious obligation by Queen Mary I of Portugal after she gave birth to her heir to the Portuguese throne. The lovingly designed Basilica proved an insufficient offering, as Jose died two years before the final complention of the Basilica da Estrela. Mary grieved till her death and the miserable queen was buried in the basilica dedicated to her son. The curvaceous, sugar-white dome and twin belfries of Basílica are visible from afar. Today, the Basilica is regarded as one of the most ornate churches of Lisbon with a detailed from facade and intricate geometric marble patterns that line in the interior.

Uno cuando pasea por las calles de Lisboa observa las fachadas de sus casas, cubiertas con azulejos pintados, preciosos. Algunas de estas casas están completamente en ruinas, no hay dinero para restaurarlas completamente. La gente prefiere ir a vivir al extrarradio que pagar al gobierno alquileres nuevos y por tanto mucho mas caros, antes estaban con rentas antiguas. Arreglar las casas en este momento es impensable.

1. When walking around the streets of Lisbon, you see the façades of the houses, all covered with decorated tiles, gorgeous really. Some of these houses are completely ruined, there´s not enough money to restore them from scratch. People prefer to go to live in the suburbs instead of paying the goverment new rents. To restore and refurbish these houses is absolutely impossible due to the crisis.

Subimos y bajamos y bajamos y subimos. Lisboa y creo que Portugal en general es bastante arriba y abajo.

1. We went up and down, and down and up. Lisbon and probably the rest of the country in general is that way.

1. And the view from up there are awesome.

Y colina abajo de nuevo

1. And again downhill

La Catedral de Lisboa fué nuestra siguiente parada. Santa María Maior de Lisboa o Sé de Lisboa es la Catedral de Lisboa y la iglesia mas antigua de la ciudad. Desde el inicio de su construccción en el año 1147, el edificio ha sido modificado en varias ocasiones y ha sobrevivido a varios terremotos. Actualmente es el resultado de una mezcla de distintos estilos arquitectónicos.

1. Our next stop was the cathedral. The Patriarchal Cathedral of St. Mary Major, Santa Maria Maior de Lisboa or Sé de Lisboa is a Roman Catholic parish church located in Lisbon. Since the beginning of the construction of the cathedral, in the year 1147, the building has been modified several times and survived man earthquakes It is nowadays a mix of different architectural styles.

Para cenar, nos montamos en el Elevador de Santa Justa que está en la Praça dos Restauradores y nos fuimos a la parte alta de la ciudad.
El Elevador de Santa Justa, tiene 45 metros de altura y su estructura nos recuerda a Eiffel, no en vano fue construido por Raoul Mesnier de Ponsard, seguidor del arquitecto francés.

1. To have dinner that day, we took the Santa Justa Lift located in Praça dos Restauradores and went to the highest point of the city. One of the city´s best-loved landmarks, this extraordinary structure was built at the turn of the century by the Portugal-born French architect Raoul de Mesner du Ponsard, an apprentice of Gustave Eiffel, that explains the structure´s similarities to Paris Eiffel Tower.

1. After 45 minutes waiting and 10 euros less in our pockets (each ticket cost 5 euros), we were in the upper part of the city, barrio alto.

1. If you take the elevator, you´ll see the four blocks of houses that were burnt down on 25 August 1998. Barrio Algo, which is adjacent to Chiado, is rather alternative and is probably the best part of the city to find good fado restaurants. The best way to get to the Barrio Alto is to take Rua da Misericordia.

1. And again those wonderful street floors

1. We had dinner in a restaurant somebody recommended us while we listened to fados. The restaurant´s name was Faia and I have to say the dinner was really good but let me tell you that listening to the Portuguese guitar while enjoying the local food was awesome.

1. Our dinner consisted of Mussles with pepper, shrimps in puff pastry french style and spring onions with cream. Cod, Faia style (fried in olive oil and grilled with mayonnaise, shrimps, potato purée and onions, it was really gorgeous, a delish. For dessert, "Guitar chords", this is walnuts and sweet egg cream in angel hair pasta with lemon sorbet. Everything was really good.

1. In the meantime, we enjoyed some fados.

1. In popular belief, fado is a form of music characterized by mournful tunes and lyrics, often about the sea or the life of the poor. However, in reality fado is simply a form of song which can be about anything, but must follow a certain structure The music is usually linked to the Portuguese word saudade which symbolizes the feeling of loss (a permanent, irreparable loss and its consequent life lasting damage).