"The city of the seven hills" a Lisbon Travel Page by bambino36

LISBOA.... I was born in Lisbon.. apparently by "accident"... my parents were in the city when it happens. Probably I wanted to see the city too...
I was raised in the north of the country in a village called Valença do Minho, near the Minho River in the border with Spain... si por supuesto que hablo castellano!!!

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City Flag, Lisbon

Anyway I came to Lisbon to work and I've been living in here for the last 17 years.
Lisbon, being the capital of the country, is a busy city. Apart from the natural movement of a big city it's possible to find very beautiful and quiet places within the city.
Lisbon has a lot to show to the visitors. From the animation of the technologically advanced discos by the Tejo (Tagus) to the tradition of Fado in the narrow streets of Mouraria. City of contrasts, reveals itself, but always keeps some mystery. Who arrives to Lisbon coming from the south acrosse the bridge, watches the Tagus with its sail boats and a white city that extends to the sea. The sunset, with its red rays, discloses the silhouette of a city with seven hills, which are won by the loved old eléctricos (trams).
But Lisbon is more than the city itself. The surrounding area, with Cascais, Estoril, Sintra, Mafra, Ericeira and in the south side Sesimbra, give Lisbon its singularity.
Lisbon, once the capital of one of the biggest Empires ever, home of the 15th and 16th century explorers, and the surrounding area are often over-looked by travelers in Europe. Usually, travelers come to Lisbon for a couple of days in the beginning or in the end of a trip to Spain. That's really too bad. There are still many places to be conquered by modern day explorers like you and me. Why not Lisbon and the surrounding area?

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S. Jorge Castle, Lisbon

The legend of the City of the seven hills
According to the legend the ancient Kingdom of Ofiusa existed here, and was ruled by gigantic serpents. The Queen of the serpents was half woman and half serpent but she wasn't tenebrous. She had ways and skills of little girl and an incredible power of seduction. This was the weapon she used to bewitch everyone arriving to the Kingdom. One beautiful day, in his long journeys, Ulysses, the greek hero, and his friends anchored here on the Tagus river. The Queen immediately fell inlove for Ulysses and intended to keep him in the Kingdom and marry him. Ulysses dissimulated to correspond to her love so that his friends weren't endangered and also that he could supply with provisions for the trip. As soon as they had obtained all the needed material for the trip, Ulysses fooled the Queen by sailing away to high sea. Enraged, the Queen launched herself in a desperate attempt to reach her lover and, faster than her tail allowed, she went to the sea. However, the Queen serpent never reached Ulysses. Still today we can see the marks of her struggling: the seven hills of Lisbon all pointing to the sea in search of a perpetual love...