Lisbon "menina e moça"!

"Here the sea ends and the land begins"

At the beginning of March, I had the chance to wander through the streets of Lisbon, with my entire 12th-grade class, just as Ricardo Reis would have done in José Saramago's book, although alone, whose name is "O Ano da Morte de Ricardo Reis".

After a brief lecture at the writer's foundation, located in Casa dos Bicos, we went out into the street and follow in the footsteps of the main character of the book.

The first stop was at the centenary café/restaurant Martinho da Arcada (dated 1782), mentioned in the book, which is located on one of the corners of Terreiro do Paço.

Here we had some bad luck with the weather and so we continued along the arches of the courtyard of the palace, seeing the pier with columns in the distance.

Walking a little further we arrived at Praça do Município, where the Lisbon City Hall is located.

From here we follow Arsenal Street to the current LX Boutique Hotel, which in the past was the Hotel Bragança, referred to in Saramago's book. It was here that, upon arriving in Lisbon, Ricardo Reis stayed in the early days, in a room overlooking the river.

Going up Alecrim Street, we pass by the Eça de Queiroz statue until we reach Luís de Camões Square. Along the way, I was delighted with the details of the city, the trams that went back and forth, and the sleepers, all of them different and special...

The next stop was the viewpoint of Santa Catarina, where the statue of Adamastor is located.

Following the route, we passed by places referred to in the book as the headquarters of PVDE and Largo de São Carlos. In the end, we went down Chiado reaching Rossio, where the tour of Lisbon city ends.

"Here, where the sea ends and the land waits."