Lapping Up Lisbon, Portugal, 16th to 18th Dec 2006

Lisbon, from the Castelo de Sao Jorge, at sundown. The pin-like silhouette on the further bank that upsets the otherwise monotonous skyline is the Cristo Rei (Christ the King), a figure of Christ looking over the city from the top of a church, arms outstretched, very like the one found in Rio de Janeiro.

The Praca do Comercio, all lit up at night. Too bad the riverfront is undergoing a facelift at the moment. Would have been a lovelier sight, because this square overlooks the River Tajo, which flows past the city en route to the Atlantic.

A sea otter, one of the more adorable denizens in the Lisbon Oceanarium, rubbing itself awake after a siesta. In the wild, they often sleep wrapped in kelp, giant seaweed, so that they wouldn't get carried away by the currents.

I could have spent the whole day by the otter pool observing their lovable antics, and would have been glad even if it were to watch them sloth the day away in slumber. Must stop before I start gushing, which is very uncharacteristic of me.

Seemingly the must-have in every main tank - a manta ray. They don't swim, they glide, and so effortlessly they make it look you start to wonder if it simply isn't just the current conveying them from one place to another.

The Monument to the Discoveries, celebrating Portugal's rich heritage of explorers, near Belem.

I was only looking where everybody else was looking.

Inside the Estadio da Luz, home ground of SL Benfica, and where Eusebio used to ply his trade in the 1960s.

Lisbon from where the Elevador de Santa Justa left us. The Elevador de Santa Justa is a street elevator which ferries travellers from street level to about forty-five metres above, and was designed by Gustave Eiffel. Yes, one would instantly recognise that last name anywhere in the world.

On the hill in the background is the Castelo de Sao Jorge, which we were on on our first day in Lisbon.