Monday, 26 November 2012

Remembered facts from my walking tour!

After thinking on it, I realized I did learn some things in my walking tour! For example on Nov 1 1755 there was an earthquake that wiped out Lisbon. It was a 9.2 on the Richter scale and lasted for almost 9 minutes. Because it was a holy day people had lit candles in their homes so if the buildings weren't destroyed in the earthquake then they burned down. The people who survived the earthquake ran down to the beach where they thought it would be safe. There was no water on the beach and then a 40+ foot wave came and killed them. Over 40% of Lisbom's population died that day. The earthquake was so powerful it could be felt in the Netherlands and the waves hit all the way on Ireland's shores. The king abandoned the city and left it to rebuild on its own. So his statue which stands at the port and looks like it is welcoming all the boats coming in is actually standing with the whole city at his back.

The typical Portuguese man is said to be balding but with lots of hair everywhere else, an open collar with a crucifix showing, a big belly, facial hair and a glass of port in one hand. The guide told us if you find a restaurant with a man like that inside it is probably going to be good.

Portuguese has a very similar history to spain.  First the Romans settled, then the Moorish, then the Christians....but they also have the addition of French roots so the Portuguese language has some french sounds.

If it weren't for the Portuguese importing Codfish from Norway, Norway would be bankrupt (or so my tour guide says).

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