At Last....

We spent our last day in Lisbon learning about the history and culture of this rather progressive city. You would never know that in 1755 this port city was the victim of a hurricane that toppled almost all of its buildings and killed more than 30,000 people. After that the leaders had several difficult decisions to make; abandon the city, level what was left of the buildings with ammunition and start over, and try to salvage what they could and start over in another place. This decision lead to a series of decisions that created the first ever known city plan to destroy, salvage, and rebuild this city into one of the greatest port cities in Europe. The building above was the first building planned as built as part of this progressive goal. It still stands today and houses government offices.
Stretching out from this great arched building were streets named for specific trades, silver street, gold street, carpenter street etc. This way merchants coming in off the ships were easily able to find the merchants they needed to do business with. Today the shops are still housed through this archway, however, they are no longer required to stay on a specific street and are intermingled up and down this streets offering tourists lots of options.
Although we may have spent a few hours this afternoon leaving our economic impact on these and other businesses, we spent the morning learning the deep and incredible history of this city and town on a tour that wound its way through the streets and monuments as well as along the port so we could see the then and now of this important segment of Lisbon's economy.
This evening we celebrated our last night together with a most tantalizing dinner and at Castelo de Sao Jorge (the Castle of St. George). Although we took a cab to the bottom of the hill we had to walk up the driveway and steps to the castle to reach the restaurant that is inside this strategic structure that survived not one but two earthquakes. While there we toured the castle and learned from Flavo about this history and strategic importance of this incredible structure. The castle was in serious decline by the 1900's but in 1910 it was declared a national monument and constant restoration has gone on to update and maintain the incredible beauty of this building. Inside the restaurant was a stone ceiling and tile work representing different royalty of the castle. Our meal was artistic to the eyes and the taste buds. We enjoyed local entertainment and cultural presentations that made this a night to remember.
Right now everyone is in their rooms packing. We are trying to balance the rules of the airlines with our various suitcases and it can be tricky. We will leave early in the morning, fly to Philadelphia and then on to Raleigh. We are hoping to avoid reports of hurricanes.
Although we will be home tomorrow evening and the day will be 29 hours for us, I will still have added entries to the blog with photos and writings of our group, so please continue to check us out over the next week. Our next entry should be from home. See you soon!

Making Our Way Home

It was an early morning for us as we got up and headed for the bus around 7 a.m. There was a slight chill in the air and a mist coming down from the sky, which was just enough to get everything damp but not enough to soak you. The grey day seemed appropriate for our mood this morning as we lugged our suitcases down the stairs to the mini-bus that was waiting to take us to the bus station. As we waited for the bus, Artur, in the uncanny way that he has, found a patisserie with fresh breads, pastries and coffee to help ease the effects of the grey day. When the bus arrived we loaded up our luggage and said good-bye to our host, who has given us his time, patience, and kindness over the last two weeks. Thank you does not seem like enough when you realize the impact this trip has had on our lives and hopefully our programs when we return. I hope one day we can return this incredible gesture. After our official goodbyes, we took our seats and settled in for the five hour ride to Lisboa (also known as Lisbon).
On the ride we noticed several things our hosts had told us about during our home stays. The closer we got to Lisbon the larger the farms, as a matter of fact they got so big we actually saw familiar irrigation tools and combines in the fields. We noticed small villages filled with goats and sheep that were so fat they looked like pigs.
When we arrived in Lisbon we went straight to our hotel and scouted the lay of the land as well as food, shopping, and history. Tonight dinner was on our own but as a group we decided to treat ourselves to something really American...Hard Rock Cafe. It is amazing that no matter where you are in this world some things never change.
Tonight everyone is settled in their rooms as I write this resting up for our final day of history, economics, and culture in this bustling metropolis. I am sure we will have more photos to share and educational opportunities tomorrow, so stay tuned we aren't home quite yet.