The glory days of Lisbon,

in my humble opinion,have not been surpassed since the city's Golden Age,when during the reign of King Manuel [1495-1521],the city thrived beyond belief thanks to Portugal's navigator Vasco Da Gama,who discovered the sea route around the Cape of Good Hope to India and east Africa, and Portugal had it made,colonised large chunks of America,Asia,Africa and became one of the biggest sea -faring empires of all time. The Tower of Belem was built as a lighthouse and fortress to protect the city.The Portugal's most important historical monument, Mosteiro Dos Jeronimos was constructed, the opulence of which cannot be equalled in the whole of the country.The cloistered garden surrounding the monastery is quite enchanting.In 1755 a disaster struck,an earthquake and a fire destroyed most of Lisbon and since then the good old days have never returned. In 1902 Mr Eiffel [yes,that Mr Eiffel] built Santa Justa Elevator,that takes you to the very top of the city, from where the view is magnificent. Lisbon has the longest bridge in Europe,The Vasco Da Gama bridge,17km in length.It also has the longest suspension bridge,Ponte 25 De Abril [ 25th of April Bridge ],2.4km long. Since I was in Lisbon last a money-changing shop has opened on Rua Augusta, No 293,if I remember correctly,in the hub of a tourist area.But do not go here if you want money changed on the day.The two dumcocks behind the counter have no idea what they are doing.And God knows I was watching them and listening to them for 17 long minutes serving one single customer.[I walked out without having any money changed.]But then Rome was not built in a day. On the way back to the ship I was caught in he mother of all downpours.Bad as it was then, little did I know that much,much worse was to follow.