Lisbon Part One

After about a day in London, Dahlia and her parents boarded yet another plane. This time they headed for Lisbon, a pretty city full of cobblestone streets and interesting neighborhoods. It is a very hilly place, and with its trolleys you can almost call it a Portuguese version of San Francisco.


During their first full day in Lisbon, Dahlia and her parents took a trolley to the top of one of the hills. There they visited Castelo de São Jorge, a castle near the heart of the city that was built by the Moors hundreds of years ago.

A walk around the castle grounds provided some beautiful views of Lisbon:

Lisbon is divided by a river that leads to the Atlantic Ocean. The river is a sort of dividing line between "traditional" Lisbon (with the red roofs) and "modern" Lisbon. Lisbon is a relatively compact city, so the two sections are actually quite close to one another.

Lisbon has a great public transportation system, which Dahlia's parents managed to navigate successfully (most of the time, at least) without speaking Portuguese. One especially distinctive form of public transportation was the funiculars, which are basically elevators that will take you to and from the lower part of town to the Barrio Alto ("High Neighborhood"). Here Dahlia and her parents pose for a picture after taking a ride:

The weather was gorgeous the entire time Dahlia was in Lisbon. It was great to spend so much time outside in less than 100-degree heat...

...and walking up and down those hills provided quite a workout!