Lisbon

   From the start of our trip, today was the day I looked forward to the least.  It’s not because of the weather or the walking.  It’s because in our planning we found that it is very difficult to get from Seville to Lisbon.  There are no trains, flights were time consuming when you account for trips to and from an airport, check in times and security and boarding times, a bus ride would have been 7-7.5 hours, and the price of a one-way car rental into another country was crazy, so we hired a car.  It was more affordable and with one person sitting with the driver, the three of us in the backseat were more comfortable than you would have guessed.  

  As we drove, our driver pointed out miles and mile of olive trees.  At many restaurants here when you sit down, the waiter brings over a plate of olives, much like some bars in the US provide peanuts.  We also saw miles upon miles of grape vines.  “They make mostly white here”.   We passed a semi truck carrying a load of bark which our driver explained was cork.
  The sky was very hazy.  He explained that the haze was from the Canadian fires.  Portugal recently sent 270 firefighters to assist the Canadians.  
   The landscape is dry.  At one point he told us there had been many melons growing here but now there are none.  Melons need lots of water and there is none.     
   We made a rest stop at a gas station  on the boarder of Portugal and Spain - literally in the middle of nowhere.  There was a convenience store, a small restaurant and petrol.  Inside there was a tv showing Trump and General Milley with headlines scrolling which included the words ‘documentos.’
  As entered Lisbon we saw the famous Cristina Rei overlooking the Lisbon Harbor.  
   After checking in to our AirBNB we still had time to take in a few sites.  Our first stop was the Rua Augusta Arch (Arch d Triumph) just two blocks away.  We then walked to the river and visited the Praca do Comercio, a huge harbor facing plaza.  In the middle of the plaza is a statue commemorating King Jose I who rebuilt the city after the great earthquake of 1775. 
  We walked, we visited other Plazas, including Rossio Square which had the most unusual tiling on the ground, ate dinner outside and went back home. 

                   It’s really relatively flat

Taken from the internet