Sunday July 16,2017
It was 18 C ( 65 F ), in the morning but it became hot with a temperature of 33 C ( 91 F ) by mid afternoon.
We had breakfast at a local cafe and spent most of the day wandering around the city.
Lisbon is one of the oldest cities in the world, with a population of 550,000 in the city and 2.8 million in the metropolitan area and it has very interesting architecture in the downtown area. The city is built on rolling hills, where the Tagus river empties into the Atlantic Ocean. They still use electric street cars and there are many beautiful views of the city. When you are at one of the high points in the city, it is similar to the streets of San Francisco and you can sometimes get a view of the Tagus river at the end of the street.
There is an elevator in town and for 5.15 Euros you can ride it up to a viewing platform above most of the city buildings.
Several of the buildings are very ornate including the outside of the railway station in downtown Lisbon.
There are are some unique streets, because the city was built more than 1000 years ago, when cars didn’t exist.
What I found most interesting is that Lisbon has been hit by numerous earthquakes, several in the 1900’s, but none as devastating as the one in 1755. It only lasted about 5 minutes but it caused fissures ( cracks ), 5 meters ( 16 ft ) wide in the city center and resulted in 3 tsunami waves, as well as a firestorm in the city. It was one of the deadliest earthquakes in history. Some of the surviving buildings still show signs of the damage.
The food in Portugal and Spain has been excellent and we have enjoyed a lot of the seafood. I have had prawns, sea bass , hake, sardines, as well as a fish I didn’t recognize and for today’s main course, I had a very tasty meal of squid.
We experienced a lot in the last three weeks and I couldn’t possibly document everything, but I have tried to capture some moments that will help us remember our time here.
And….as always, some things that happened on this trip, will remain on the trip!
Ralf Hamm 
Trusting that you have thoroughly enjoyed the architecture in the cities you’ve visited.
Venturing along with you folks via your blog has spurred me on to finish my New Zealand photo album. It is nearing 100 pages. Very helpful to revisit your blog and my journal for the details that are already fading from my memory.
Carpe diem!
Hi Ralf
Thank you for sharing this very interesting trip with us. I was looking forward to reading about it every day. The pictures are great.
Have a good trip home. Obrigada
Catinha
Thank you Catinha.
It was an interesting trip for me and I like writing my journal right away before I forget what I did.