24/05/2015

Lisbon, first day


Our apartment in the Alfama district
We arrived yesterday and got a cab from the airport to the Alfama district. We'll be staying here for the next two weeks. Our very friendly airbnb host greeted us at the door. The apartment is lovely and airy with a view of the Tejo river, a welcome site as our place in Istanbul looked out on a wall several stories high. It did become the scene of a gripping small world drama but more about that later.

Cat on the ledge
a view of the Alfama from our apartment
The Alfama district is the oldest district in Lisbon and a labyrinth of narrow, winding stone streets. During Moorish rule it was home to fishermen and the poor. The Alfama was also the only part of the city to survive the earthquake and tsunami of 1775 which almost completely destroyed the rest of Lisbon. I can't imagine how horrifying it must have been watching the tsunami pull the water back revealing, according to records from the time, "a sea floor littered with lost cargo and shipwrecks".

Ok. Gotta go. It's time for a customary first day in a new country, make-do, shitty sandwich then a walk. If you want to read more about Lisbon, I recommend reading the Never Ending Voyage. They do a fine post on Lisbon. Though I travel a lo t these days, this isn't really a travel blog. And there's always my go-to site, Wikipedia, if you want to read more about Lisbon. Cheers.

9 comments:

Roy said...

Seems like in history, people were always fleeing to Spain, or fleeing from Spain, including Bishop De Gregorio who fled to Rome to tattle to the Pope that the Spanish were trying to set him up as "anti-Pope." Where is Father Guido Sarducci when you need him?

That looks beautiful. I hope the kitty made it through the day OK. Have fun!

asha said...

Bishop De Gregorio? A relative of yours? Unfortunately, Father Guido could not help him but Lazlo took a swing at it.

The kitty is A-OK. Obviously a ledge walker from way back.

Roy said...

Let's hope I'm not a direct descendant--but I like that after that little episode, he had a very successful career in the Vatican.
LOL. "They call me 'Ledge Walker.'"

asha said...

The Vatican is a very absorbent place.

Ledge Walker sends his hellos.

Roy said...

By the way, I meant to say that camera of yours is pretty damn good. I'm kind of amazed at the technical quality of your pictures. (As opposed to artistic quality, which in your case is always good.)

asha said...

You're too kind. But... I do love this camera. The counter-intuitive thing about it is that they lowered the pixel count in order to improve clarity. Go figure but so far, so good. The one knock I have is the battery. It's got a really really short life. The battery in my last camera, the Sony, was virtually deathless. I got out of the habit of charging it at all. The Lumix battery is kaput in two days.

Roy said...

My Sony camera is like that. I am always surprised at how much battery life is left. But--main thing is it lasts longer than one day, so you probably won't be left with a dead camera some time after lunch.

Oops sometimes I go weeks without even thinking of Flickr.

asha said...

I haven't gotten caught with a dead battery since the first time. That was way too painful to want to repeat but I am scarred.

Hey hey....don't forget flickr. It's a real photo site. Instagram is provocative but all novelty. Here and gone. Promotional activity, girls endless posting themselves wearing butt thongs..boring things like that.

Roy said...

What do those girls want from me???