Jan's Blog: Zoe goes to Portugal: Lisbon Yellow Bus Tour

Sunday, 16th June, 2013.

Gran went to Mass at the Basilica da Estrela. It was all in Portuguese, so the very long and fiery homily was rather lost on Gran.

Queen Maria 1 (1734 – 1816) was the daughter of King Jose !. She would have been 21 when the violent earthquake destroyed much of Lisbon. In 1760, when she was 26, she was married to her uncle Pedro. Serious and devout, she took her role as queen very conscientiously, and vowed she would build a church if she bore a son and heir to the throne. Her wish was granted, and construction of the basilica began in 1779. Her son Jose, however, died of smallpox two years before the basilica was completed in 1790.

After the death of her son, Queen Maria, already prone to bouts of melancholy, went hopelessly mad. Visitors to the palace were dismayed by her agonising shrieks as she suffered visions and hallucinations. Her younger son Joao was declared Regent in 1792, and took his mother to Brazil in 1807, where she died in 1816 at the age of 82. After such a troubled life, she is buried in an elaborate Empire-style tomb in the Basilica.

The huge domed basilica is now one of Lisbon’s great landmarks. The facade is flanked by twin bell towers and decorated with an array of statues of saints and allegorical figures.

The spacious, awe-inspiring interior is clad in grey, pink and yellow marble, and light streams down from the elevated dome (From Eye Witness Travel: Portugal).

The twin bell towers are still operating. One rings twice for each quarter hour,and the other strikes the hours. The bells also ring out before Mass.

The sound of the bells was very loud inside the basilica. When Gran went to Mass there, after the last stroke of nine died away, the people all stood up and the priest walked in.

Zoe and Orange in Gran’s big bed. This is probably the last picture taken of Orange, who was a present from Emirates. Gran stuffed him into the pram bag on the way home from the tour, but he must have fallen out. Hopefully, Emirates will give Zoe another Orange, as he was a great success.

At breakfast in the courtyard, by the (Lisbon?) lemon tree, Mummy and Gran decided to take Zoe on a bus tour of Lisbon, so she could see all the sights.

So they loaded up the pram and walked along the pretty streets, with stunning views of the blue Tagus, to the Yellow Bus stop.

Another view of the Tagus River on the way to the bus stop.

The paving stones in the street around the tram lines must be individually laid by hand, as they are in a very neat pattern.

The houses all looked very pretty in the morning sunlight.

They saw some creative parallel parking.

They passed the Prime Minister’s house, which was set in very large grounds.

Mummy and Gran thought it was rather funny that one of the doors leading into the Prime Minister’s house was No 10. Zoe didn’t really care.

They passed a park which had agapanthus, daisies and a playground. It won’t be long before Zoe will enjoy going to playgrounds like this.

Catching the Yellow Bus turned into a bit of a comedy of errors. Although the buses come about every half hour, Mummy and Gran managed to miss two of them. They missed the first because the bus didn’t stop where the map said it would. Because they missed that bus, Mummy then had to feed Zoe in a park, and that way they managed to miss the second. Then they decided they would go to a small museum while they waited for the third bus, but just as they arrived at the museum, it closed for lunch.

Finally, they did catch a Yellow Bus, and set off on their tour.

The bus headed into town, to the splendid Praca do Comercio, which they had seen a couple of days before. You can see some boats on the Tagus, with tall black sails, and the outdoor umbrellas of Martinho da Arcada, Lisbon’s oldest restaurant.

Boats on the Tagus, near the Praca do Comercio.

In the centre of the Praca do Comercio stands an equestrian statue of King Jose 1 (father of Queen Maria 1) erected in 1775 by Machado de Castro, the leading Portuguese sculptor of the 18th century. The bronze horse, depicted trampling on serpents, earned the square the name “Black Horse Square” although over the years the horse has acquired a green patina.

At the moment, it is not possible to tell what colour the horse is, as the statue is undergoing a renovation. With Portugal’s current financial situation, the statue may be under wraps for some time to come!

Statue of Dom Joao 1 in Praca da Figueira.

A view of Castelo de Sao Jorge.

The Vasco da Gama bridge across the Tagus, 11 kilometres long, was completed in 1998. It has helped ease the notorious congestion on the Ponte 25 de Abril.

Lisbon hosted Expo 98. Here are some pictures Gran managed to take out of the bus window of the Expo site:

Perhaps mindful of possible future earthquakes, Lisbon does not seem to have any high rise buildings to speak of. If Gran understood the Yellow Bus commentary correctly, this is the Vasco da Gama Tower on the Expo site (reminiscent to Gran of Burj al Arab in Dubai), the tallest building in Lisbon.

The Expo site included a modern take on traditional tiling.

Expo railway station. The architect is noted for his forms from nature and also skeletons.

Final glimpse of Expo site.

This was the best shot Gran could manage from the bus of the Campo Pequeno Bullring. The red brick Neo-Moorish bullring was built in the late 19th century. Keyhole shaped windows and double cupolas are a feature.

Bullfighting in Portugal is different from that in Spain. It involves a series of events including displays of horsemanship, and concludes with a team of eight forcadas on foot, who attempt to overcome the bull with their bare hands, holding it to a standstill while their leader launches himself over its head.

The bull is never killed, but escorted from the ring in triumph.

The Yellow Bus completed its loop back to the Amalia Rodrigues Casa Museu where Zoe, Mummy and Gran had originally (and eventually) hopped on, so they hopped off there. The museum was now open, so they decided to go in.

Soulful, emotional and filled with longing, fado music, sung by both men and women, and accompanied by the guitarra and viola (acoustic Spanish guitar) has been nurtured in Lisbon’s back-street cafes for over 150 years.

Amalia Rodrigues (1921-99) was the leading exponent of fado for over 50 years. She crystallised the music’s style in the postwar years, and made it known around the world. The museum was the house where she lived for the last 44 years of her life.

Mummy and Anna were given plastic covers for their shoes and Mummy was told “The cart cannot go”, so had to leave Zoe’s pram downstairs.

Amalia must have made a good living from fado, (and been given many presents) as the house was quite splendid, lavishly furnished and filled with many precious artifacts. There were glass cases and cases of medals and awards, as well as jewellery, silverware and various objets dárt. The walls were covered with paintings, including many of her. Some of her sensuous stage costumes were on display, as well as a room full of shoes, scarves and hair ornaments. There was a cupboard full of different shades of eye shadow. She was a stunningly attractive woman, who looked as though she lived life to the full. There was even a photo of her meeting Pope John Paul II. Maybe he was a fado fan.

The lady conducting the tour spoke both English and Portuguese, although the Portuguese speakers were probably given more information, e.g. to Mummy and Gran she would say “This is the dining room” then give an animated ten minute Portuguese commentary. However, Mummy and Gran didn’t mind, as there was lots to look at.