12 June 2013

Lindo maravilhoso!

After being on your leave the worst part is to get back to work again right? No matter what you do it's always that thought in your head "I don't wanna work today, maybe I just wanna stay just take it easy cause there's no stress" :))

It makes it easier when you have a nice layover ahead of you. BUT then again, you always worry about the people you're gonna work with... This flight was one of those you pray to have every time! :)

From the moment the Purser came into briefing room I knew it's gonna be a nice flight...
It's important to have nice seniors, ones who make jokes, ones who know how to talk to a bunch of people who never saw each other before, ones who don't act like they are above you etc... The rest of the crew was great as well, some interesting people you have something to talk about, smart funny willing to explore, my kind of company hehe:)






 
Street art has long been a part of Lisbon's culture.
Until the 18th century, there was a tradition of all-white buildings.
After the earthquake of 1755, richer areas began to incorporate colour and tiles into walls and pavements. Early graffiti was perhaps the poor man's equivalent.
Following the democratic revolution in 1974, this self-expression increased.
Now, tags and scribbles cover the streets.



So we took a long walk from the hotel up to the Castle and had a dinner in Bairro Alto afterwards...



Castelo de São Jorge
 
Lots of history between these walls makes it amazing as it is...
Placed on top of the tallest of Lisbon's seven hills, overlooking the city and Tagus river, the castle stands there for centuries.
 
The castle’s name originated as a tribute to Saint George, who’s most popular legend revolves around his bravery to save a virgin from the claws of a dragon.
The devotion to this patron saint of England was passed by crusader knights from the British Isles who accompanied D. Afonso Henriques, first King of Portugal, in the reconquest of the Lisbon city in 1147 from the Moors, during the Reconquista.








 
 
A traditional form of public transport in Lisbon is the tram. Introduced in the 19th century, the trams were originally imported from the USA, rarely called the americanos.


 
Bairro Alto (literally the upper quarter in Portuguese) is an area of central Lisbon. It functions as a residential, shopping and entertainment district: it is the heart of the Portuguese capital's nightlife

In popular belief, fado is a form of music characterized by mournful tunes and lyrics, often about the sea or the life of the poor, and infused with a characteristic sentiment of resignation, fatefulness and melancholia
(loosely captured by the word saudade, or "longing")
In 2011, Fado was inscribed in the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists.


The next morning only two of us went to see some more sights so we went to Torre de Belem, walked around, saw a Jeronimos Monastery, found a Botanical garden (sorry to say but it's not worth 2euros).

All in all it's been a very nice 24 hours, except me sneezing every 3 seconds (those damn spring allergies) I have one more memorable layover behind me. :)

 
Torre de Belém or the Tower of St.Vincent is a fortified tower that was a defense system at the mouth of the Tagus river and a ceremonial gateway to Lisbon.
 
 
Belém is famous as the place from which many of the great Portuguese explorers set off on their voyages of discovery. In particular, it is the place from which Vasco da Gama departed for India in 1497 and Pedro Álvares Cabral departed for Brazil in 1499.





 
The Jeronimos Monastery is the most impressive symbol of Portugal's power and wealth during the Age of Discovery.
King Manuel I built it in 1502 on the site of a hermitage founded by Prince Henry the Navigator, where Vasco da Gama and his crew spent their last night in Portugal
in prayer before leaving for India.
It was built to commemorate Vasco Da Gama's voyage and to give thanks to the Virgin Mary for its success. Vasco da Gama's tomb was placed inside by the entrance, as was the tomb of poet Luis de Camões, author of the epic The Lusiads in which he glorifies the triumphs of Da Gama and his compatriots.


 
 
UNESCO has classified both, Jeronimos Monastery and Torre de Belem as a World Heritage monuments!






It is definetly one interesting, history rich and beautiful country everyone should visit in their life! Lisbon is one of the oldest cities in the world, and the oldest city in Western Europe, predating other modern European capitals such as London, Paris and Rome by hundreds of years.
So discover some Vasco da Gama spirit in yourselves and go, travel! :)

Some interesting facts I have read about Portugal are...
-it was one of the earliest colonising nation of Europe
-the first Pirate code was invented in the 27th century by the Portuguese buccaneer Bartolomeu Portugues
-in 1761 Portugal became the first colonial power to abolish slavery, half a century before Spain, France, Britain or USA.
-it is one of the most socially conservative countries in Europe - abortion was only legalised in 2007 

After all I want to thank Beatriz for the tips she gave me, think we've been everywhere :)
And have one question for you as well - would you recommend Madeira for vacation? I love the pics I see online and always had in mind to go there for a few days while visiting Portugal...? :)

Beijo e boa noite! :***

 

20 comments:

  1. Beutiful post, lisbon looks so rustic and pituresque i need to go there in a near by future! keep updating soon xx

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    1. It must be rustic, it's in the same place since years BC... :D and it's a must to visit :)

      https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Come-fly-with-me/153189184862196

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  2. Ohhhh I feel honoured!
    I am very glad you liked Lisbon!
    Did you ate a Pastel de Belém? And what did you ate in that restaurant (I can't figure it out! :b)
    So it was a wonderful trip, it is a wonderful post full of information and photos! Keep writing and beijo e boa tarde! ;)
    xoxo

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  3. Oh and yes I fully recommend Madeira aswell Azores!
    Wonderful food, the landscape is unbelieveble, it has wonderful people (with strange strange portuguese accent), the nature is amazing and there's a lot of UNESCO patrimony over there. So please, go there, it is a must-go trip!
    If I can add, I will recommend you to go to Porto in the North of Portugal, it has also wonderful views with the Porto celleries and vines, the beatiful Douro River, fattening but delicious food and it is just like Lisbon, full of history and good vibes! ;)
    XOXO

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    1. Oh no you shouldn't say that :) now i HAVE to go there some day! and will go for sure, i'll travel Europe all the way! Porto of course (fattening food is just a plus in this story) :))

      I would put even more history but not everyone likes it like i do :)Honestly I don't know where we ate, first we wanted to go listen Fado so some guy on the flight suggested to go to the restaurant from the picture above, but it was expensive for most of the people so we just kept walking around until we found enough space for 9 of us to sit at the same table :D
      It was grilled fish (sea bass-one of my favorite!) but everyone took something else so we all tried everything! :)

      Next time when i come, maybe for longer than a day, we could have a drink somewhere together hehe :))

      Good night!
      xx

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    2. Yeah that restaurant is really expensive, but there are equally good ones in Lisbon. And I am glad you liked my city! :)
      And we def need to have a drink sometime!
      xoxo from Lisbon :)

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  4. I would pack you in a suitcase if i could :D

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  5. good city! keep wiriting, kisses from chezch

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  6. I just adore your posts! I can't wait for the next one!! :D
    Kisses from spain

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  7. loved the post tea! want more and quickly!
    xxx

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  8. I just love your posts, you are a much cultural person, I love your history informations, your accurate descriptions of the place and how you feel about things. Plese do never stop writing ur adventures in this blog
    love from france

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    Replies
    1. Thank you so so much, for reading and expressing your thoughts, means a lot! :)
      xx

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  9. can you please do a post talking about what happens in the ek graduation cerimony? i would really like to know more about that since you and evrybody else didnt talk about it. thanks kisses from canada

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    1. Hello Canada :)

      Post about a graduation would be pretty much boring so i'll just answer your question here... it take one whole day of your life basically :)
      You just sit there, watch a few movies, listen some stories, talk to senior crew members about your first few months of flying, they check your image and uniform (if you have to change something or not) and then you get your diploma. The best thing about that day is that you see people, friends you haven't seen for a few months, and you all do something together, go out or do a night safari like we did and have a great time with your friends! :))

      Kiss!

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  10. love your blog hun!

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  11. i just fucking adore, coming here and reading all your posts! you are defenitely the best blogger ever!
    keep writing, kisses from
    ps: have you ever come to spain?

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    1. hahahah thank you for this colorful description :)))

      yes i've been to barcelona but didn't write about it cause people i've been with mostly ruined my experience of that amazing city, so i'll write about it next time i go there ;)
      or when i visit madrid so i'll just combine those 2 :)

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  12. All the pics you take are wonderful! I personally loved the post so keep writing! :)
    Regards from Liban

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  13. Hello!

    My name is Flávia, I'm Portuguese and I'm so happy that you enjoyed my city! You missed PASTÉIS DE BÉLEM (it's absolutelty imperative to go there and try this cakes)!

    I'm going to Abu Dhabi in two weeks and I'm joining Etihad, so it's been very interesting to read your blog. I made one myself but it's in Portuguese, so if you want to practice some portuguese reading.. go ahead (http://upintheair43.blogspot.pt/)! Ahahah! I read somewhere in your blog that you wanted to learn portuguese. So nice! :)

    Wish you the best of luck and nice travels! Maybe we meet each other somewhere in the wrold or in emirates! :)

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    1. Hi Flavia! sorry for not replying sooner but here I am now... congrats on the job! hope you'll like abu dhabi, haven't been there yet (lazy ass) but when i decide i would love to contact you to show me around :)) and next time when i'll go to lisbon will ask you for advice as well ;)

      And yes, definetly wanna learn your language but it's so hard here when you live far from the city, you'll see when you come here and experience the job and life hehe but will take a look on your blog for sure!

      lots of luck and clear skies, xoxo

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