Miradouro Santa Catarina

Here's a quick post. This is from the Miradouro Santa Catarina. It's about a 5-10 minute walk from our apartment (uphill). It's not very touristy, mostly because the view doesn't include much of the city. It mostly looks south, across the Rio Tejo. But it's nice, and tends to be populated by locals, young men selling and smoking marijuana, and old men playing cards.

This is actually along the way to the Miradouro. It's a typical "street". Too narrow for cars, ending in a wall, precipitous drop in elevation, and the "street" continues on below. Also, there's a peek-a-boo view of the river there.

The view SE

Telephoto of the town across the river. I believe that is Barreiro, but I'm not 100% sure.

Here's the look SW, across the Miradouro. That's the Ponte 25 de Abril in the distance (25th of April Bridge). It is pretty similar to the Golden Gate bridge in form and color, although it isn't as dramatic. Oh, it's named that because the 25th of April is considered the date the "Carnation Revolution" officially overthrew the dictatorship and began the transition to democracy. The bridge's previous name? Ponte Salazar, of course.

Just to the east of the bridge is this statue: Cristo Rei (Christ the King). In case this is ringing any bells for you, yes, it was based on the much more glamorous statue in Rio de Janeiro. Also, it was a gift to Salazar from Franco. Aww, isn't that sweet. Anyway, it's still there, and you can go across and stare at the view over the river to Lisbon.

A view of the Miradouro back the other direction (east). See that mound of rock with the little bronze dude sitting on it? It's a neat statue. Two pictures follow.

So, here's the overview. The plaque (which was harshly reflecting the sun's rays when I took this photo) explains something about the statue, but I'm not sure if the name on it is a dedication or the artist.

Here's some detail on the face and the little bronze dude. It almost reminds me of a Goya painting.