Last Day in Lisbon

It was a relatively slow morning beginning with a walk / run north along the Tagus River. Breakfast and packing up were next on our agenda for a mid morning check out. We had one more day of exploring left before heading to the airport later in the afternoon to catch our 9pm flight.

Leaving our luggage in a the conveniently almost next-door baggage locker, we started with the last minute shopping to complete before we went walking! With the remnants of our food and picking up a few items on the way for a picnic lunch, we traversed Lisbon before climbing up to the most famous viewpoint, Miradouro da Graça. This balcony provides panoramic views north over the historic city centre, to Såo Jorge Castle, out to the Tagus river and the Ponte 25 de Abril bridge. Behind this balcony is the Igreja da Graça and the Graça Convent which both are prominent buildings when looking south across the city as we had often done.

Continuing west through Graça, we again climbed to the highest central point of Lisbon, the Miradouro de Senhora do Monte.  Miradouro da Graça might be the most famous but Miradouro de Senhora do Monte is the most popular with waves of tourists arriving and departing by tuk tuk! Securing a bench, we enjoyed our picnic lunch here while tourist watching. We picked up many pointers as how to pose for the perfect photo. Our favourite was the casual no smiling looking into the distance pose...we are yet to master this!

 

With lots of time still to kill, we decided to pay a visit to Såo Jorge Castle. Another viewpoint - Miradouro do Castelo de Såo Jorge where we stood and admired the views again! We wandered around the castle ruined walls for the next hour dodging the sprinkles of rain.

 

By now we had well and truly exhausted all the things to do and see in Lisbon! Traipsing back across Lisbon for the last time to retrieve our luggage was straightforward as we'd grown accustomed to the layout of the city so no map required. It was then a short metro ride out to the airport.

Extra Non Conference Bits

The few sessions that we decided to skip saw us explore new areas...

Located between the conference centre and the Tagus River is the Parque Nações Cable Car that was built for Expo 1998. We boarded the cable car at the north terminal for the 1.2km return journey that took around 15 mins. Panoramic views included oceanarium, MEO Arena, FIL Pavilions (including the one our conference was in), Oriente Station, the São Gabriel and São Rafael towers, the old Torre Vasco da Gama now Hotel Myriad, Vasco da Gama bridge (longest bridge in Europe - 17km long) and of course the vista across the Tagus River.

With our feet on the ground we wandered around Parque Des Nações (the Park of Nations from Expo 1998) finding various interesting sculptures!

Leaving the conference that evening we chose to eat dinner at Time Out Market, a gourmet market hall. It was busy, very busy. After securing a seat, we each found something to eat - Shannon braving a traditional Portuguese meal while I not wanting sardines, played it safe with a burger.

A late night from the conference party and a less appealing afternoon program meant we left early choosing to spend some time soaking up the sun with a run in  the largest city park - Parque Eduardo VII. We caught the metro out and then ran a few loops around the park before walking back to our apartment.

The final day of the conference was a half day of lectures followed by an afternoon excursion including dinner to Cascais. Given that we'd already visited this coastal town, we opted out of this one choosing to do our own thing. We first went in search of port...which led us to Alfama the oldest district of Lisbon - a charming area of small roads / laneways and many little shops.

  

To celebrate the close of the conference, we decided on wine tasting at a roof top bar and found the perfect one accidentally! A great way to wind down from a hectic week.

Conference Time

The next 5 days were intense. The conference was held in a warehouse type building next to the Tagus, a 20 min metro ride for us from the centre of Lisbon. It provided a large flexible space for the 3000 delegates. Divided into 3 sections - a curtained area provided a darkened relatively soundproof space with 3 massive screens and 3000 foldable chairs in compartments served as the lecture theatre; an area for the buffet lunch with numerous round tables each seating 10+ people and a smaller space connecting the two that contained the sponsors and imaging companies displays and all the latest innovations and gear.

We got to see many of the ultrasound gurus speak in real life! Lectures ranged from 15 mins to 1 hour and the program ran from 8am - 7pm. The sessions generally ran late so lunch was shortened and the afternoon lengthened or even rescheduled for early the next morning so delegates could get to the dinner party on time! Regardless  no-one seemed to mind and the lecture theatre was at capacity most of the time. The catering was impressive and we loved the GE gelato cart! The dinner party was also an interesting experience!

 

By the third day, our brains were at capacity and our bums sore from the unforgiving chairs so we allowed ourselves to skip a few of the less relevant sessions. Nevertheless, it was an interesting experience and I'm glad I went.

Touring Lisbon

Today we based ourselves in Lisbon for a tram day! Up bright and early, we boarded the famous #28 tram at the terminal Martim Moniz square. Despite the warnings that the tram is usually crammed with tourists, not surprisingly we found it was quiet at this time of the day! 

Line 28 of Lisbon's iconic trams was inaugurated in 1914, and today the 7km route goes between Martim Moniz Square to the neighbourhood of Campo de Ourique taking about 40mins. The little yellow tram rattles through the small streets of the historic districts of Alfama, Baixa, Barrio Alto, Chiado passing numerous attractions.

Disembarking, we wandered through the neighbourhood of Estrela down to the river aiming to catch the next tram #15E which would take us to the Belém district. From a colleagues recommendation we visited Pastéis de Belém, a bakery known for excellent Pastéis de nata (Portuguese Tarts). According to their website -

In 1837 we began making the original Pastéis de Belém, following an ancient recipe from the Mosteiro dos Jerónimos. That secret recipe is recreated every day in our bakery, by hand, using only traditional methods. Even today, the Pastéis de Belém offer the unique flavour of time-honoured Portuguese sweet making.

Anyway we could see the chefs working away in the kitchen while we ate our tarts and they were delicious. The pastry was perfectly crisp and the filling nice and sweet. Well worth the stop!

Back outside we ambled past the impressive facade of the Mosteiro dos Jerónimos with hundreds of tourist waiting to enter. We were happy just to wander past before crossing the road into the Jardim da Praça do Império and down to the Tagus river to the Padrão dos Descombrimentos.

Also known as the Monument of Discoveries, it was initially erected in 1940 as a temporary monument. In 1960 it was reconstructed to celebrate 500 years since the death of the Infante Do Henrique or Henry the Navigator. The monument is in the form of a stylised caravel which seems to be setting out to sea with Henry the Navigator on its prow. On either side are significant characters from the Portuguese Age of Discovery (exploration between 15th and 17th centuries) all portrayed with symbols that allude to their identity; navigators, cartographers, warriors, colonisers, missionaries, chroniclers and artists. It is a very impressive monument!

Continuing along the foreshore, the sun was blazing and we stumbled across a fancy car show! Next stop on our itinerary was the Torre de Belém. This 16th century fortification served as a point of embarkation and disembarkation for Portuguese explorers and as a ceremonial gateway to Lisbon. It symbolises Portugal's maritime and colonial power in early modern Europe. We took a few snaps while being hassled by locals trying to sell us bracelets or hats. 

The nearest tram stop was a short walk away. The plan was to catch the 15E tram back to town. We arrived at the empty tram stop and the monitor informed us that the next tram would be in 16mins. A few more people arrived. After counting down to about 7mins, the monitor jumped back up to 16 mins. A few more people arrived. By now we had been waiting for nearly 30mins and had realised that we hadn't seen a tram come past in the other direction. Finally we realised that there was a drivers strike and the trams had stopped. With no other option, we quickly ordered an uber to take us back to town.

The uber dropped us off on the foreshore near town.  On the small area of beach, one local was creative with sandcastle making! Across the road was the Praça do Comércio or the Square of Commerce, one of the largest plazas in Portugal. On the northern side of the plaza is the Arco da Run Augusta, the 30m tall stone arch was completed in 1875 to commemorate the city's reconstruction after the devastating earthquake, tsunami and fires of 1755. Another impressive sight. 

From there we ambled our way through the little streets and steep staircases upwards towards the Castelo de São Jorge. Perched on top of a hill, the majestic outline of the Castelo de São Jorge dominates the skyline of Lisbon. We scoot by the gate deciding not to enter the complex. Continuing our aimless wandering, we found ourselves at Miradouro was Portas do Sol with crowds of people  enjoying the view over the Alfama district. By now it was early afternoon and time for lunch so we backtracked to a small restaurant we'd eyed earlier.

The grilled salmon and salad was delicious and enormous meaning we wouldn't need any dinner! Glad to have a half hour stroll back to the apartment to burn off lunch. We had a bit of downtime in the apartment before deciding to visit a roof top bar for an aperitif while the sun set. A great way to wind down after a busy sightseeing day.