Lisbon, Portugal

Beautiful City of Lisbon-Atlantic Ocean

 Statue Tribute to the Portuguese Explorers

Early Lisbon Church

Old Lisbon Cathedral Entrance

Portugese First Flight across the Atlantic

Beautiful Monastery and Church in Lisbon

Portugese Beach Performer

We travelled over the border into Portugal, visiting Fatima

 before arriving in Lisbon. This was another area of the world

 that we knew little about, so we were excited to see the country

 and the capital city of Lisbon. Lisbon is the largest city in

 Portugal located on the Tagus River, which is the longest river 

on the Iberian Peninsula. The Tagus enters the Atlantic Ocean 

about 8 miles from Lisbon. One of the incredible sights was a 

gigantic statue of Christ (similar to the statue that overlooks Rio 

de Janeiro) looming over the bridge that spans the Tagus River.

 Truly breathtaking. 

Lisbon was almost completely destroyed by an 

earthquake, which was followed by fires and tsunamis 

in 1755. The death toll has been estimated at 60,000

 people. Luckily, the oldest area escaped the 

earthquake. Otherwise, we wouldn't have enjoyed the

 magnificent Lisbon Cathedral. The most prominent

 monument is the Jeronimos Monastery which was 

classified as a World Heritage Site in 1983. 

Lisbon is BUSY!! The City has a population of 

564,000 people living in 33 square miles. More than 

1/4 of Portugal's inhabitants reside in the metro

 area of Lisbon which is only 3% of the nation's 

total area!! It really made us appreciate all the

 elbow room we have in Iowa. 

Life is for living

Namaste

Renee and Denny