We met Paulo in the lobby of the hotel at 9:00 am as scheduled. Today we are going to drive east to Évora. The title is "Tour of Enchanting Évora and Arraiolos.
On the way out of Lisbon, we drove over the Tagus river on "25 de Abril" Bridge (April 25) which connects Lisbon on the north bank to Almada on the south bank. The bridge was inaugurated on August 6, 1966 and was originally named the Salazar Bridge after the dictator of the time. The name "25 de Abril" commemorates the Carnation Revolution when Salazar was thrown out. A train platform was added in 1999. It is often compared to the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, because they are both suspension bridges of similar color. It was built by the American Bridge Company which constructed the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge, but not the Golden Gate.
On the south side of the bridge stands the Sanctuary of Christ the King. Inspired by the Christ the Redeemer statue of Rio de Janeiro, in Brazil. Inaugurated on 17 May 1959, it was built due to the promise made by Cardinal Patriarch of Lisbon. He visited the Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro in 1934 and promised to build one in Lisbon if Portugal stayed neutral during World War II...which it did.
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| Chapel in the base of the statue |
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