But in the past two decades, more and more Americans have become intoxicated by a fusion of palaces bathed in pastels of rosebud pink and pistachio green; historical churches and museums whose facades are decorated with brightly patterned, hand-painted " azulejos, " or tiles; and Old World alleyways brimming with intrigue _ all rising dramatically above the Tagus River only 10 miles from the Atlantic Ocean at the western tip of the European continent.
