Lisboa, Portugal
07/06/2022
On our third day in Lisbon [you can find the second day here] we wanted to discover the north-western part of the city. Our first stop was Basílica da Estrela, an 18th-century church. The weather was perfect and allowed us to see the beautiful façade against a blue sky background. The inside was fine, too, but I am not an avid fan of churches so a quick look did the job.
We then walked through Jardim Guerra Junqueiro, a park on the other side of the road. I also went ahead to launch my drone for some aerial pics. Apparently a seagull had its nest in a tree since it immediately swooped my drone trying to get it out of its territory. Those birds really are nasty, but on the other hand it is their airspace so I put my drone into sport mode and got out of there quickly.
You can find the video on YouTube here.
After landing safely, we went over to Cristina Guerra Contemporary Art gallery and had a look at their exhibition “The Time Before“. It aimed to show works partly in their packaging, indicating that art pieces are art no matter whether they are purposefully shown at an exhibition or sitting in a box without attention. All of the objects were previously on exhibit in other museums and galleries but now shown in partial packaging. The mixture of different bodies of work under a common theme made for an interesting constellation.
Next up we wanted to take a look at the Aqueduto das Águas Livres, a freshwater aqueduct from the 18th century that revolutionised the freshwater supply of Lisbon and even withstood the 1755 earthquake unharmed. So we hopped on a bus but got out sooner to take a look at a big mysterious building we had spotted. As it turns out, this was Reservatório da Mãe d’Água das Amoreiras, an old freshwater reservoir downstream of the aqueduct. It had just re-opened after a lunch break so we took a look inside.
The entrance was only 2€ for students and included access to the rooftop, where we were able to look at the surrounding area. We could even spot Ponte in the distance.
After that it was already lunchtime, so we went to a nearby supermarket and had some fruit & sandwiches at Jardim das Amoreiras, the park next door. I took some pictures and then sent my drone up once more for some pictures of the reservoir and surrounding area.
After re-energising we walked a couple of kilometres to the actual aqueduct where we again paid a 2€ entrance fee that was well worth it, as it allowed us to walk across the canyon and see the scenery as well as a very fascinating traffic system with different roads and railways. I even set up my camera to do a timelapse of the traffic flow beneath us. If you look closely you can see how within minutes a traffic jam develops.
The aqueduct itself has not been in use for a couple of decades, but we were still able to take a look inside.
After having seen this area of Lisbon we wanted to get back into the city centre and visit Bairro Alto, the old part of town. It consisted of many low-rise, historic buildings and had bars & restaurants inside, making it a very lively area that at night turns into the spot for partying.
Having walked many kilometres we figured it was time for dinner. The destination was Boa Bao, an Asian restaurant recommended to me by a Portuguese friend from uni. In fact, we had wanted to go there on our first evening but it was fully booked, which is why we went to Fabbrica di Pasta Fresca. However, this time we were in luck and got a spot.
After having eaten we were tired from the day so we decided to return home to re-energise.
Tchau!