The Lisboa (pronounced, “leesh-boa”) Adventure

First day in Lisbon, the kids made it in with no problems, so now we’re off to see the city. Usually we take the Hop-On Hop-Off bus but today, we’re in a Tuk Tuk (pronounced, ‘took-took’). Currently the rage in a lot of European cities, Tuk Tuks are little 3-wheeled carts that originally got their name from the sound their motors made, tuk,tuk,tuk,tuk. Today they are anything from a 3-wheeled cart that seats two people, to an electric golf cart that seats six people. Ours is of the golf cart variety with seating for four adults. Unfortunately, two of those seats face backward but it still works.

The Crew (note the back seat for the Mrs.)

Our driver shows up promptly at 11am for our 3-hr tour (hmmm, sounds familiar) and the weather couldn’t be better. Today is clear and bright with a few clouds now and then, a little windy but no rain, that’s a good thing when riding in a Tuk Tuk (golf cart) on cobblestone streets and climbing or descending hills.

Lisbon cruise port. During high season there can be 6 or more ships in at one time!

City by the sea

I’m going to start selling red roof tiles!

Saint George’s Castle

Typical street in Lisbon

#1 son Justin and his girlfriend, Nicole

The crew in front of the Parliament building

Historic tram #28

View from the city

The young man that is to be our driver and in control of this high-performance cart, has been in Lisbon for about 12 years, originally from the Gold Coast of Africa, and has been in charge of one of these baby’s for about 1 year. He knows the city really well and has also mastered the finer points of driving a golf cart. He later shared with me that the constant swinging from side-to-side was intentional, it keeps the tire hot so they grip the road while doing power turns.

We drove past several monuments, government buildings, churches, cathedrals, statues until stopping in front of one of Lisbon’s most famous sites, Pasteis de Belem. OK, so not in Lisbon proper but a suburb called, “Belem”. The pastries made there must be spectacular because the line outside the door was easily 1hr long. Our driver, I think his name was Amonon, asked if we wanted a pastry. Of course, we said yes, but no way did we want to wait in that line. “No problem, my friends” He grabbed Justin and off they went through the exit, into the shop. Two minutes later they reappear with four, hot, flaky, wonderful pastry cups filled with a special custard. This man is getting a tip!

Tastes better than it looks in this picture. Very yummy!

Back on the road where Amonon shows his expertise in drifting the cart while pointing to sites with one hand. Collette was sitting on the back seat and said she kinda enjoyed the smell of burning rubber as we did a power slide around a corner. We did a perfect three-point turn and stopped in the last available parking spot outside the Trade Monument and Red Gate bridge.

The monument was built way back in 1940 to signify Portugal’s mission in the world, to make money by trading with everyone. (They were neutral during WW2 so they could focus on what was to come and not be bothered with what was going on)

Flip side

The Trade Monument (I think it looks like they’re trying to push the lead guy off)

The Red Gate bridge, my term, is an exact copy of the Golden Gate bridge in San Francisco. The only difference is that this version is higher and longer, but not by much. Interesting story about this bridge.  History has it that the engineering company for this bridge, the same one used in the US, designed and built this bridge for the negotiated price and delivered it complete six months early. On budget and ahead of schedule! Because of this they didn’t make a lot of money on delays and design changes, and so investors were not interested in working with them on another bridge project. With no funding for future projects, the company subsequently went out of business.

Red Gate Bridge

OK, the engine has cooled and we have a fresh set of tires so we can continue our tour.  The golf cart did a fair job of tackling the seven hills of Lisbon, especially downhill, that’s when I noticed the side-to-side movement to keep the tires hot and sticky. Golf carts were not designed to go 60mph. Still, it is one way of seeing everything in a city in three hours.

Finished our first day touring, saw a lot of things now we need to decide what to go back and see again. The golf cart was a unique way to get around, I don’t it had the same classic feel as a real Tuk Tuk. We’re back at the apartment, Collette hit the shower to wash the tiny bits of rubber out of her hair and get the smell of burning rubber off her clothes. The rest of us broke out the wine and celebrated life. It’s the simple things…..

Tomorrow we venture, on foot, through Lisbon.

Found a cool business opportunity-

You gotta love those Portuguese