October 3, 2017
….not much to report, a lazy day ….planning the next part of the trip (we did not do the due diligence we normally do before the trip as it was up in the air that we would actually go until the last few days). It is amazing how much help it is to have the trip planned out beforehand as trying to do it on the fly is tough!! Also, finished a book I was reading (The Fire Maker by Peter Mayan an interesting read indirectly about GMO’s…)
Dinner at the Alfama Cellar, rice and octopus for me and osso bucco for Annie ….again she made the better choice >>> so far the fish dishes seem to be overly salty and definitely not delicious ……this was a well-rated Tripadvisor restaurant…hmmm!!! Anyway still a nice night and we had a final beer on a bench watching the world go by and listening to a Fado artist from a nearby restaurant ….there seem to be dozens of them around here.
October 4, 2017
Next morning breakfast at home and time to do some sightseeing >>> today we are taking a city bus (20 minutes) to Belem, a district to the west of central Lisbon which lies next to the waters of the Tagus River estuary.
A statue dedicated to Vasco de Gama …..commissioned by the Portuguese king to find a maritime route to the East, he succeeded by being the first European to reach India by sea….. an instrumental moment in the history of navigation and a major reason Portugal developed the lucrative spice trade.
Our primary goal is to visit the Mosteiro dos Jeronimos. Originally designed as a modest monastery, the wealth from the spice trade transformed the project into the most extravagant religious building in Portugal. The original time planned to construct the monastery was only eight years, but as the 5% tax on colony imports brought in greater wealth the plans grew, and grew. The monastery was finally inaugurated by Felipe II, the Spanish ruler of the Iberian Union, in 1604, almost a century since the foundations were laid……perhaps over budget and behind schedule, nevertheless it is a pretty impressive place. Interestingly it was situated on the banks of the Tagus River overlooking the docks of Belem…..since that time the geography has changed and now it is some 300 metres south of where it was 500 years ago !!!
Once again the eagerness of the tourists got the best of us as even though we were there by 9:30 the throngs were ahead of us….undeterred we lined up, got our tickets (about 20 minutes so not bad) and we are good to go….(sorry about the wires in the pics, but Lisbon is tough to navigate photo wise what with the cranes and tram wires…)
…if you go to Belem and don’t go to Pasteis de Belem…..
…….well, you are missing out: Many of the traditional Portuguese cakes and tarts have sweet yolk based fillings and originate from bakeries that were close to major monasteries. The reason is that the egg whites were used by the monks to starch religious clothes, giving the yolks free to the bakeries close by. Hence the home of the Pastéis de Nata is next to the Mosteiro dos Jerónimos!
This is a serious business …the line stretches for half the block each and every day…at 1 Euro a tart it seems you can do quite well..
After grabbing a soup & sandwich we spent the balance of the afternoon doing a walkabout of the Belem waterfront before taking the bus back to Alfama.
The striking Ponte 25 de Abril suspension bridge spans the Tagus River at its narrowest point and connects Lisbon on the north bank with the suburbs on the south. The bridge closely resembles that of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, not a coincidence, as the bridge was constructed by the same company. The name of the bridge commemorates the revolution of Portugal freeing it from the Salazar regime on April 25th, 1974.
The Padrão dos Descobrimentos (the Discoveries Monument) is one of the most iconic monuments of Lisbon, and was constructed to promote national self-confidence, whilst honouring the great Portuguese explorers. It reminds me from a distance of Soviet style architecture, but up close there is incredible lifelike detail to give each of the characters their own distinct personality. The monument is cleverly designed to give the appearance of the bow of a boat overlooking the estuary.
The Torre de Belem (Tower of Belem) is a fortification that once guarded Lisbon and the mouth of the River Tagus. The small Manueline styled tower was the first sight of home for returning Portuguese sailors during the 16th century, since then the tower has become the icon of Lisbon. It is a little underwhelming but hugely popular with both locals and tourists !!!
What is singularly impressive is the promenade which extends along the river in what would be considered prime real estate for condos and all that stuff in North America ….yet here commercial greed has been held at bay and people peacefully walk, run, cycle, fish in a clean well constructed and safe environment >>> not many major cities in North America can make such a boast !!!
This is not a rich country but the highways look good, trains, metro and ferries work well and are inexpensive and the Portuguese have universal health care similar to that of the UK…..and yet the USA insists on pushing for an exclusive rather than inclusive health care system, refuse to improve their infrastructure etc., etc., >>> as for Donald Dicktator, the folks we have spoken to only shake their heads in disbelief and cannot believe that the “silent majority” isn’t protesting and pressing their elected officials to dislodge him….hard to give them an intelligent answer, other than that is the regime that Americans want to live under…..enough editorializing for today.
Thought about walking back but it was another hot day …..so onwards to the metro and back to Alfama the easy way >>>> btw check out the local McDonald’s > no big sign and actually a pleasant terrace to enjoy your Big Mac…
…. on the way back we decided we did not want to play the restaurant game and picked up some BBQ chicken etc. at the Pingo Doce for dinner chez nous. It is kind of cool to just open the windows and have the music come to you…
…and what better way to end a dinner than with a Pastéis de Nata >>> I think Moosie was guarding the goodies:
Another nice Lisbon laidback day….