It had been a while since I had visited Lisbon, so Rui organized a trip for Raf, Adriana and I to do what we do best — eat, drink and party in an amazing city.

We spent most of our time enjoying great food and drinks at one of the many terraces around the city.  But we did manage to fit on a bit of sight seeing.  We spent a lot of time strolling through the narrow streets and plazas of some of Lisbon’s oldest neighborhoods.  They were getting ready for the Feast of St. Anthony so the streets were also being decorated and stages were getting setup.

We also wandered across the 25 de Abril bridge to Almado to enjoy a seaside lunch and climb Cristo Rei.

The Ponte 25 de Abril is a suspension bridge that spands the River Tagus at its narrowest point.  The bridge may remind you of the Golden Gate bridge in San Francisco as it is the same colour, but actually, look carefully at the construction and you’ll see that it shares many similarities with the Bay Bridge.  It was built by the same company, the American Bridge company, that constructed San Francisco’s Bay Bridge.

Cristo Rei is one of Lisbon’s most iconic monuments — it dates back to the 1950s and was built to symbolize Portugal avoiding the horrors of WW2.  If you’ve been to Rio, you’ll see much of a resemblance as Christ the Redeemer was the inspiration.

We also made a day trip out to Sintra. a town located 20 miles northwest of Lisbon.  We enjoyed the scenic route, to drive along the waterfront, and then walked around the little city to take in teh beautiful palaces, villas and castles.