Hayden and Célia's Web Site

No sooner had we returned from our fantastic New York holiday than it was off again - this time to join Célia's parents on their holiday in Portugal for a weekend. This trip proved especially memorable because the day before we left, which was Célia's birthday, Hayden proposed - and it was on this trip that we spoke to Célia's parents to ask for their blessing! This photo was taken at the underground station that leads to the Expo centre, called Oriente

The map gives you an idea of the scale of the development and building it next to the water's edge lends to the feeling of openness you get from being there. Point 28 is where we caught the cable car, which travels along the red line. This complex was built especially for Expo '98 and centres around the theme of water and the oceans. The development is not only impressive because of the architecture of the buildings and its scale - but also as a result of amazing displays like the Oceanarium.

Unfortunately this picture doesn't really reflect the true size of this fish. In reality it was about 2 metres long and really wide - in addition to being really ugly off course!

Having never seen a stingray from this close before we couldn't resist the temptation to take a photo of this one.

You can't see the photo too well, but sitting on the rock is a penguin - fast asleep.

The sleeping sea otters above were definitely Célia's favourite. Note how peaceful they look and how their little front paws are held together almost as though they're praying! In all the time we spent at the aquarium, which was around an hour and a half, they never woke up despite all the people ogling them.

Another impressive building in the complex, this one has what look like glass cubes built all along the top of the pillars. This pic was taken from the cable car that joins the two ends of the Expo and travels over the water. We decided to take the cable car right after taking a 3-D ride at an exhibition about a famous Portuguese poet who was shipwrecked on one of his adventures. The simulator was meant to recreate the shipwreck, so as you can imagine mum was a little nervous riding the cable car straight afterwards!

And after all that adventure there's nothing like a good lunch to help re-energise. This was taken at an Irish Pub where Hayden, true to his roots, had a Guinness! (and sneeked off occastionaly to catch the latest from the last day of the premiership season)

This is the Atlantic Pavilion, which looks like a giant space ship. Unfortunately the exhibition is shut, but the building is still used for shows and other exhibitions.

Here we have mum and dad in front of the Vasco da Gama shopping centre, which is right next to the Expo. Oriente station is underneath the shopping centre, so we simply had to walk through the centre to get to and from the Expo - it had nothing to do with a need for retail therapy, really!

After being ferried around Lisbon and its surroundings, such as Estoril, we had dinner at a typical Portuguese "tasca". Unfortunately we happened to be in Lisbon on university graduation day, when most of the local universities held their ceremonies - which meant that the place was really loud and noisy with all the celebrants. It was good fun though and the food was delicious! The photo of Hayden with famous football player Eusebio was taken at around 11pm in front of Benfica's original Stadium of Light (See Euro2004 Section for a more up to date view, and the return of Eusebio)

On Sunday we decided to head off to Cacilhas on the south bank by ferry to meet some friends for lunch. Previously the site of the royal palace, this is the Praça do Comércio. Today they are government offices and it's from here that the ferries leave. The archway is the gateway to the city centre and is decorated with statues of historical figures, including Vasco da Gama.

This is the view of the Praça do Comércio from the ferry

This photo is a view of Lisbon from the ferry.

This is a cruise ship that was in port at the time - what can we say - we were so jealous that we had to get a photo of it!

The bridge is the Ponte 25 de Abril, which was originally named Ponte Salazar after the famous dictator who had it built in 1966. It was renamed to commemorate the 1974 revolution that restored democracy to the country. The bridge was inspired by San Francisco's Golden Gate bridge (as if that wasn't obvious!) and stretches for 2km (1 mile).

This is a photo of Cristo Rei, , which stands at 28m (93ft) and is mounted on a huge pedestal.

Aah - isn't that sweet! Taken from the other side of the river with views of Lisbon in the background, this is Célia with her mum.

We couldn't resist taking a photo of this Pension. Unfortunately you can't see this very clearly, but it's behind the store with the Coke sign and is called "Pension Célia" - who knew she had such business interests!