Lisbon: Day 2

After a late breakfast we set off to explore Lisbon. The first "port" of call was the Praca do Comercio, a large square on the waterfront (Tagus River) with an enormous Statue of King José I. The King on his horse is symbolically crushing snakes on his path. On the Northern end of the square is an elaborate archway. From here there are good views of the Christ the King Statue (like the one in Rio)& the suspension bridge (like the one in San Francisco).

Next stop was the cathedral, The Patriarchal Cathedral of St. Mary Major (Sé de Lisboa) or simply Lisbon Cathedral. Originally built in 1147.

From the cathedral we continued to climb the steep hill to the Castle of São Jorge (Castelo de São Jorge). It is a Moorish castle occupying a commanding hilltop overlooking the historic centre of the city of Lisbon and Tagus River. The strongly fortified citadel dates from medieval times.

Kristin has lost 10Kg today, not by walking up the hills of Lisbon, but sending home a package. We grabbed a box on the street,  packed it with clothes and souvenirs, used a whole roll of duct tape and sent it home to Australia. (Very expensive to send it home though).

After our postal adventure we caught a tram(#15E, thanks Mary and Dick for the travel cards) to Belem, whose name is derived from the Portuguese word for Bethlehem. We saw the Belem Tower, one of a pair of forts either side of the Targus River, built in the 16th century.

Next up was the Monument to the Discoveries (Padrão dos Descobrimentos) a 52 metre-high slab of concrete, erected in 1960 to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the death of Henry the Navigator. The monument is sculpted in the form of a ship's prow, with dozens of figures from Portuguese history.

From there we crossed the gardens to the Jerónimos Monastery (Mosteiro dos Jerónimos) located along thePraça do Império (Empire Square). Vasco da Gama's tomb is in the chapel.

Belem's other claim to fame is the famous Portuguese tart (pastel de Belem), an egg tart made with flaky pastry. Kristin is trying to limit herself to 5 a day! We then took the tram back to the Praca do Comercio.

We ate dinner in 2 venues, starters at Rica Bucha (again) and mains at Xapuri. Both excellent. We even tried the local aperitif,  Gnjinha or simply Ginja, a liqueur made by infusing ginja berries, (sour cherry) in alcohol and adding sugar together with other ingredients. To me, it tasted like a cherry flavoured cough medicine, what is it with these Europeans and shots that taste like medicine?

On our walk home,  we passed a square that had an outdoor  classical concert, as a part of some festival.

Cheers,

A & K.