Light over Lisbon (a short sketch)

Light over Lisbon:
Last, of the 20th Century’s World Fair’s
(1998)



I said to myself, Dennis, you love to travel. You got a little business, and a professional job, and you’re 51-years old. The time is right. This is the last of the world fairs for this century. I sat on that thought for a week or so. Then I said, lets do it; meaning me. And so I took a flight to Lisbon, picked up a few books prior to my departure, one on traveling within Lisbon, and around it, and a book called: “The Night in Lisbon,” by Erich Maria Ramarque; very interesting; about WWII. Not that it would have a lot to do with my trip. But I like getting into the mood. And such things help me set the mood for my adventure. Books and great authors like Hemingway, who loved Paris, and Mary Renault who loved Greece, and Ramarque, who loved to write about Europe, they all have thus far inspired me to travel. After reading these books and then visiting the places I had read about, some of its history, visiting the location is much more interesting. You seem to know it, it belongs to you somewhat.
This was not the first time I used books, and great authors to pave my way mentally to visit a once in a life time geographic location in the world, such as Lisbon, and a once in a century World‘s Fair. I guess if the World’s Fair wasn’t going to be there, my interest would not have been as passionate as it was.

When I arrived in Lisbon, I went as usual, to my hotel first. And as usual, I could not really sleep. I figured out my system for jet-leg though. I usually try to adjust either by taking a thirty-minute nap after arrival at my destination, or look at the clock, and adjust to the time of the location, tired or not—and go about a normal day’s events. For an example, if it is 9:00 PM when I get to the hotel, then I get ready for bed. If it is 3:00 PM, I go get a cup of coffee, and plan a light day to follow. If it is 6:00 AM, I get another cup of coffee, make the day even lighter, and take that thirty-minute nap—if I can—later, and if it is 10:00 AM, I look for a nice location to have brunch, thus, my body seems to adjust, and again plan on smaller events.
This first day, in Lisbon, I went to the Tower of Belem, it was a reminder I to me that this area of the world once was a world power. It was built around AD 1515.
I think what I liked about Lisbon the most was that it had a little of everything at a halfway decent price; that is to say, a little of San Francisco, some of Rio, and a lot of the old winding streets of Paris, or Malta; and a number of grand churches. But this is not why I came, even though it was one of the best hidden secrets in Europe. It was because of the last World’s Fair, of the 20th Century.
About a year after I had attended the Fair, I heard that only about 100,000 Americans had went to visit the fair. Most were Europeans, to my understanding, and now that I think of it, it is pretty much on the mark, I didn’t notice many if any, Americans when I was there. I am not sure why, but there was, very little advertisements on it. I had found two articles on Lisbon’s World Fair to be, about six-months prior to it, was in some newspapers, and one particular article in a magazine in St. Paul, Minnesota. And that was all I ever heard of the fair. Maybe they didn’t want Americans there, who knows.
They did a marvelous job in cultivating the landscape for the project: old ships were colorfully decorated in the dock area, anchored down, and throughout the fairgrounds clowns and a monitorial, a tower several stories high, I went into it, and its grand aquarium, the biggest in Europe at the time, along with its many expositions of cultural foods, movies, travel guides and so forth, making it all available for the public or interested persons.
Although I liked the Worlds Fair, what I felt was lacking was the rides; or at least the kids, I guess the new World’s Fairs are more centered on business than family, something I learned.
The Midway area for what I am used to seeing at a fair—and nowadays they take the word fair out of it, and use the word ‘Exposition’, was more of a plaza type area for world cultural venders, as I’ve previously mentioned. Perhaps I was naive, but I asked myself: ‘…what happened to the roller coasters, the merry-go-round. No candy frost and very little circus type atmosphere.
It was more on the scale of an international United Nations get together I told myself. Very clean too clean; no hot dogs, peanuts, or candy; but some real nice well looking restaurants, yet, too conservative for my liking. But maybe that is how it is suppose to be. I guess I was judging it by the movie Elvis put out called: “It Happened at the World’s Fair,” which he acted and sang in during the early 1960’s.

That day at the fair the second day in Lisbon of five, I had lost my travelers checks, which were replaced the next day; either someone pick pocketed me, or they simply dropped out of my sport coat sometime during my visit. But I was glad to leave after a full second day of it, go back to the hotel that evening and rest, and would take some side trips in the following three days left in Lisbon.

The fair was just something I had to do, like when I went to Japan, I had to go see an International Sumo wrestling tournament. It was costly, but it was great. But after a while it got boring, and so I had to go to Mt. Fuji.
Lisbon would remain one of the great cities I would tell myself and other folks later on in life, as I am now telling you; I could actually live there if necessary, and I’ve told myself there are only six or seven places in the world I could say that about.
Along with Lisbon’s great scenery, and foods, it has a marvelous history. Portugal’s Temple of Diana located in the town of Evora, about a hundred-miles from Lisbon, a monument the Romans were surely proud of, as well as the inhabitants of the area, to this day.
One of the other great features of Lisbon, especially by night is St Georges Castle [Costello de Sao Jorge] which I could see each evening and morning outside of my hotel window, a nice reminder of their beautiful stone work.
But the one thing I loved the most and I don’t know why, was the Elevator de Santa Justas. I went up it perhaps five-times to the top café, had coffee and pastry. It is a cast-iron tower, designed by Mr. Eiffel who designed the Eiffel Tower in Paris; the iron building in Iquitos, in Peru, and the Iron Market, in Haiti, so I was told, and experienced each in its locations.


Reedited, shortened, and revised from a previous article, written June, 2005 (5-2008)