I saw 2009 and thought it was a misprint for 2008. Ooops!

There is a brand new museum in Lisbon. It's the Orient Museum (better translated imho as Museum of Asia)
I've never been to there yet, but I think is worthwhile to see.
It's in the river front, not very far away from Belem, but not at a walkable distance.
The link is http://www.foriente.pt/?lang=en

Barbarian Invasion (Part II)
I was roaming yesterday (8.30 pm) from Alfama (Santa Apolonia station) to Rossio and after 15 centuries after the original Barbarian invasions, it was nice to see hordes of tourists in both Alfama and Rua Augusta, with a multitude of languages beeing spoken.
I feel Lisbon is enhancing it's status of meeting point of civilizations. Only a few places in the world have this potencial (I may recall Istanbul as another one).
PS: Barbarian used in the original meaning of "somebody outside the Latin speaking world"

Did you hear any American accents among those voices?

Last Monday the "Crystal Serenity" (cruise ship) was docked just some 40 or 50 steps away from Santa Apolonia railways and metro station. It was huge, and Santa Apolonia building looks tiny compared in comparison.
I passed there with day light at it was impressive, but I returned after dark with all the lights on and it was just beautiful.
Yesterday, another cruise ship the "independence of the seas" spent 9 hours in Lisbon. It is even bigger, but is was docked in Alcantara (near the old bridge) and I didn't see it.

Yes, sure. Tipicaly only around 2% of tourists were Americans, but I thing the market of Cruise ships (see another post) is bringing more people from across the pond.
And many europeans (Spanish, French, Italians, Brits, Germans) and unspecified nationalities.

One thing that surprised us when we were in Lisbon last August was the lack of ships visible in the water. You'd think that it would be full of ships but we hardly saw any.

Nikki, did you attend Ana Moura performance?
Did you enjoy the show?

I didn't go to the concert, I think I had a conflict. Too bad, it would have been nice.

Lisbon had the coldest May since 1993. In this the proof of the global cooling?

Is it usual for there to be a lot of rain at the end of May in the North?

Last 2 years have been very untypical, however rain in April/May is not that unusual.
More rare would be heavy rains in June/July.

... and hurricanes hardly ever happen :-)

The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain.

Today it's the 1st Summer like day in Lisbon this year.

Hey lobo, just saw your fact about the chilly May. You're the Lobopedia!! I had "summer" things in one corner of my suitcase and let's say "chilly weather" things in another, with layering things in between. We were there May 14 to 23 and the I only dressed from the "chilly" side! The ever-present breezes contributed. Do they continue during the summer? My birthday is tomorrow: spend a minute on a sunny calcada for me, OK? Penny

We were in Lisbon April 22-23 aboard the Navigator of the Seas, the one that got "stuck" in the harbor while waiting for a stabilizer to be repaired.
Our only regret was that we couldn't get back into the city while we were anchored for the second day out in the middle of the river! We really loved Lisbon.
However, the weather was strange indeed. When we boarded the hop-on-off tour bus early in the AM, we headed for the open deck on top, as it was a beautiful, mild sunny day.

As we drove through the city, clouds began to gather over the mountains, and the further up in the city we drove, the colder it became. Some drops of rain fell, the winds gusted and I swear the temperature dropped 20 degrees - we were freezing!

Thirty minutes later, we got off at the Tower of Belem, the sun was out, the winds were gone and we were comfortable again. How do you dress for this?

Lobo:

I learned a great deal from this thread and others where you've been posting. We thank you.

Finally got to your wonderful country this May and we're grateful for the visit..it was nothing short of superb!

Your Lisbon is truly one of Europe's "best kept secrets"...and with Portugal being my last remaining country in all of continental Europe where I had yet to visit, it was even more remarkably enjoyable. It was my wife Roz's first visit also.

You and all of your warm and welcoming countrymen, have every reason to be proud to show and share with the world traveler a jewel of a destination.

I suppose we packed in what most visitors do, staying in Lisbon five filling days. We were at the VIP Eden facing Praca Restauradores, perfectly located for our daily forays into Rossio, Alfama, Baixa, Chiados, Bairro Alto (the elevador Gloria incline a few steps away from the hotel was so convenient!)...rode the rickety venerable tram to Alfama, and the slick trolley to Belem and its notable sites...bussed it to the Gulbenkian, found the sinagoga on Herculano, sampled the tasty variety of foods offered, rode the Elevador Santa Justa, took your advice to experience Fado at Calde Verde... a most pleasing venue, indeed.

All of the above before renting a car and moving into the beautiful Alentejo countryside...stayed in three luxurious Pousadas, at Arraiolos, Marvao and Belmonte in the Serras, with a welcome assist from their attractive Golden Age discounts (Thank you Government of Portugal!)...and ended the auto portion with delightful stays in Obidos, visiting Nazare'/Sitio, and finally the Golden Triangle of Sintra/Cascais,Estoril.

Our cameras were snapping incessantly! Will see the results tomorrow and share with this forum.

We came to Lisbon and to Portugal with the usual "blind date" trepidations...and left with nothing but love for our newfound gem!

Once again, thank you for your "man on the spot" information, Lobo. May your life be graced with truckloads of Pastels de Belem (and de Nata)!!!

Stu T.

Stu, I can't wait to see the pictures. Please let us know when they are up!

Thank you Tower, I feel touched by your kind words.