Welcome to Lisbon - Portugal
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Lisbon has exchanged the sounds of the past - the cries of
Galician water-carriers and of bakers bearing huge baskets of bread or
the whistles of the knife-grinder - for the sounds of motor traffic and
the clanging of trams.
Some traditions, however, remain. We can still see varinas
(fish sellers) in the streets, dressed in long, black skirts, carrying
their wares in baskets on their heads; and we can still hear sung in
the little cafes of the medieval Alfama quarter the sad, romantic music
called Fado.
Vessels tie up at quays open to
the everyday life of the town, where the clang of the trolley cars
blends with the sound of ships bells. At dawn, fishing boats deposit
their catch at the towns front doorstep for noisy auction to Lisbon
dealers, while the varinas wait to fill the baskets they peddle through
the streets. Further within, the fish market gives way to the equally
colourful and clamorous fruit and vegetable market.
Lisbon is built in a succession of terraces up the slopes of a range of
low, rolling hills, which rise from the banks of the Tagus River and
the Sea of Straw (Mar de Palha - a reference to the sheen of the
water). Sections of the city vary considerably in height, especially in
the older areas along the waters edge, offering splendid views of the
river and the low cliffs that line the rivers southern shore.
Lisbon
has a mild and equable climate, with a mean annual temperature of 63º F
(17º C), which makes the city pleasant to visit at any time of the year.
Despite the modern changes, Lisbon, in many ways, retains the air of a
19th-century city and it truly has something for everyone!
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