We were delighted with our apartment in Lisbon,very close to the transport needed,as well as the scenic areas of Cais de Sodre. We were in Alecrim Street which was a link to the waterfront area and the old suburb where the 28 tram left from. We were in the pink light area too with the road below us painted pink and home to a number of late night strip shows.Thank goodness for our triple glazing. Our landlady explained this was to keep us quiet from the late night antics.
Catching a' Hop on Hop off Bus' is the first step towards orientation of a new city so we were out and about early to make good use of our time today.There were several possible routes to choose from so we fitted in two of them which enabled us to see much of the scenic highlights of the city.
We also managed to fit in a visit to the nearby produce market for fruit and breakfast stuff before hopping on the bus as we were up early and we decided to check out the local produce on offer. It is a very big market and all under a big roof so easy to access rain or shine. Els recommended the 'Time Out' market adjacent for Tartare beef dish to die for! needless to say we sampled it before we left. Delicious indeed.
This was our second trip because I wanted to see the Monument to The Discoveries up close as well as the Torre de Belem and the Monastery of St Jeronimos out in the Belem district. It was a coolish day, overcast with a strong wind so my jersey came in handy. We were expecting warmer weather but hopefully it is due to warm up over the next few days.
Belem is in a coastal area and marks the meeting the meeting of the Targus river and the ocean so this area features lighthouses and promenades which allow for attractive walking spaces. The harbour has lots of yachts sailing in the blustery conditions, bigger racing yachts sailing upwards against the wind towards the suspension bridge. The area also boasted a spa, an up market art gallery,marinas,parking and food stalls.
There was an art installation of hearts on the walkway. It was created in the word LOVE to raise money for children with congenital heart defects in Mozambique. You purchased a metal lock and attached it to the sculpture it was an interesting place to wander about in and people watch from the walkway.
. We walked along to see the Tower of Belem which once stood on an island in the harbour and guarded the entranceway to the harbour. The queue was so long to get into the tower so we just observed the crowds and walked along to the Military museum which was not built when Brad was last in the city but it was an impressive memorial guarded by sailors in military dress. The monument celebrated 100 years of services by their service men and women.
The Monument to the Discoveries was erected in honour of Henry the Navigator in 1960 and marked five hundred years since Henry the Navigator explored and discovered new lands and territories for King John, his father and King of Portugal.
It is a stunning limestone memorial standing on the bank of the river and depicting the epic event with family, palace courtiers, monks and King John farewelling him on his epic voyage. It is a really eye catching memorial made in stone with carvings and symbols of importance. Each of the stone figures represents a real person present at the sailing. Around the monument is an eye catching mosaic design gifted by the South Africans called a Compass Rose and laid out the voyage,compass points etc.
Brad had been here before so she decided not to climb up the tower but people watch instead.
I decided to go up to the top of the tower as I could see people on the top level so I bought my ticket but found you went up by a lift so not too strenuous after all. What a great view of the coastline. The bridge to the south bank which was for a long time the longest suspension bridge in the world spans a a large stretch of water plus, the Tower also overlooked the pleasure gardens in front of the monastery with a view back over the city towards the hills.
The city has many maritime heroes and their conquests made them a leading global maritime nation in past centuries. The theme continued as we crossed the road bridge to see the Monastery of Jeronimoes, a Manuelian style construction and huge! It is now a place of several museums. Some parts were open to visit but the queues were immense so we decided not to go into inside as we have seen several other monasteries while with Victor in Sintra.
I did venture into the Church/chapel where I saw the sarcophagus of Vasco de Gama and the poet who described his epic voyage in verse.
We also wanted to visit the shop which was home to the Portugueses custard tart but the bus had passed it by before we realised and our opportunity was lost. Need to return for this delicacy. We were ready for a break, some lunch and a timeout slot at our apartment.
After the afternoon break we had a great trip exploring the old town of Alfama,an old Moorish quarter full of steep,cobbled streets and markets.
No comments:
Post a Comment