LISBON 2013

Lisbon was the second European city Anne and I visited to attend a Rotary International convention. We had to accept a booking far from the center of Rotary events but found the hotel and its location well suited for our secondary goal of exploring Portugal’s capital.

The dome is the convention center, right on the river’s edge.

The castle didn’t look all that far. But we were more than half a mile from the base of the hill, where we started to climb.

The Monument to the Discoveries is a tangible link to Portugal’s magnificent maritime history.

The fabulously ornate Jeronimos Monastery was placed on UNESCO’s list of World Heritage Sites in 1983.

A 17,000-item maritime museum with life-size ancient ships seems fitting for a nation whose empire was based on seafaring.

Anne and Clint at Belem Tower.

The center of Lisbon’s 10-lane Avenue of Liberty, created out of a park.

Lisbon’s old-world charm can be found just a block off wide, traffic-filled thoroughfares.

The city’s oceanarium integrates the salt-water environment of the Tagus estuary.