We hopped on the 15E tram to Belem (pronounced Bay-len - they appear to pronounce "m" as "n" here) about 10 am (being made extremely aware of the pickpockets who frequent this tram). We arrived at the magnificient Monastery of Jeronimos (see below) - it is interesting to note that Jan and I did not think we were particularly interested in all of the churches around Europe, yet we spent 2 hours wandering around and marvelling at the architecture and painstaking detail (and this was not our first nor last church). They had an excellent exhibit at this church which chronicled and compared a timeline involving the Monastery of Jeronimos, the history of Portugal and the history of the world. It was fascinating and we could have spent the entire day here.
We then walked over to the Monument to the Discoveries (see below) which shows that exploring and conquering the world was a team effort - did you know that Portugal was once the Global powerhouse? We then walked along the waterfront to the Belem Tower (see below) which protected Lisbon's harbor.
After our visit to the Belem Tower, we stopped at Pasteis de Belem (see below) for the famous custard tarts. We have tired these tarts at various places in Lisbon, but these original tarts are by far the best. Apparently the recipe is a secret known to only 3 people.
We came back to our hotel for a siesta and then ventured out around 8 pm to find a fado performance and dinner. Fado is the traditional folk music of the Portuguese where they sing about their emotions (apparently mostly sad). We stopped at a couple of recommended places but they were completely full (who would think on a Friday night?) so we found another place. The fado performances were quite good, but the food was not. Jan ordered grilled sardines (a local speciality) - very difficult to eat and many bones - too bad the table beside us didn't order first, the lady took her sardines apart like a surgeon. I ordered the fried pork and clams (another local specialty) - not great as one might expect when you saw this on the menu but I had to try it. Oh well. You can't win them all. We topped off our night with coffee and donuts at Cafe Brasileira near our hotel - they were delicious. We are leaving Lisbon tomorrow and taking a train to the south of Portugal - the Algarve and the small fishing village of Salema.
We came back to our hotel for a siesta and then ventured out around 8 pm to find a fado performance and dinner. Fado is the traditional folk music of the Portuguese where they sing about their emotions (apparently mostly sad). We stopped at a couple of recommended places but they were completely full (who would think on a Friday night?) so we found another place. The fado performances were quite good, but the food was not. Jan ordered grilled sardines (a local speciality) - very difficult to eat and many bones - too bad the table beside us didn't order first, the lady took her sardines apart like a surgeon. I ordered the fried pork and clams (another local specialty) - not great as one might expect when you saw this on the menu but I had to try it. Oh well. You can't win them all. We topped off our night with coffee and donuts at Cafe Brasileira near our hotel - they were delicious. We are leaving Lisbon tomorrow and taking a train to the south of Portugal - the Algarve and the small fishing village of Salema.
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| Monastery of Jeronimos |
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| Monument to the Discoveries |
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| Belem Tower |
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| Jan at Pasteis de Belem - best custard tarts |
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