Portugal: Lisbon & Belem

On our second full day in Lisbon, we tackled parts of the city itself. We ate breakfast at a cafe named after Queen Amelia (which our Charlotte Amelia was excited about!) and tried the famous Pasteis de Belem, a custard pastry that originated in Lisbon. Charlotte preferred the chocolate croissant.

We then caught the trolley to Belem, a neighborhood of the city where the Monastery of Jeronimos, Belem Tower, and the Monument to the Discoveries are located. This was one of the more difficult forms of public transit we encountered in Europe -- it was unclear how to purchase tickets and we didn't realize when we boarded the back of the very crowded trolley that the ticket purchase/validating machine was at a different set of trolley doors. We couldn't get to the machine due to the number of people on the trolley! We ended up riding without paying (ugh, I was sick and nervous about it!!) for the first and only time in Europe.

A large square in Lisbon as seen from the trolley to Belem

The Monastery is an impressive place to visit! It is a very long building and very ornately decorated on the outside. We paid to enter the church itself, but decided not to visit the cloisters (although we heard they were beautiful). The church is the resting place of lots of kings and queens, and most notable to us, Vasco da Gama.

Outside the Monastery of Jeronimos

Interior of the church at the Monastery

Resting place of Vasco da Gama

After leaving the monastery, we crossed the street and walked through a lovely park (including a huge fountain that caught beautiful rainbows in its mist... and sprayed us a little when the wind blew).  On the far side of the park, alongside the waterfront is the Monument to the Discoveries. It's a large tower that commemorates the Age of Discovery (15th and 16th centuries), which was heavily influenced by Portuguese explorers (including da Gama, Magellan, Diaz, Cabral, etc). The paved area on the approach to the monument is neat, as it's a large mosaic compass rose and includes maps of the areas explored by the Portuguese.

Looking across the park toward the Monument to the Discoveries

The Monument to the Discoveries

Playing with our shadows in the beautiful winter sunshine

One side of the Monument, depicting many of the explores from the Age of Discovery

We then walked further along the waterfront to visit the Tower of Belem. This tower, which was both for defense and to be a ceremonial gateway to Lisbon, was built 1515-1519. It is considered to be one of the last things in Portugal that the explorers saw as they left their home to sail into the great unknown. We had a little snack picnic on the grass and enjoyed people-watching and the view.

Belem Tower

Sitting on the grass and reading about the area's history

We then walked back toward the Monastery, and found a nice cafe in the Maritime Museum nearby. We didn't actually visit the museum, but the food and gift shop were worth a visit.

The next activity was to take the bus for about a 45 minute ride back across town, past the Alfama, to the Lisbon Oceanarium. Charlotte fell asleep on the bus, and wasn't super happy to wake up initially! There was a cool fountain at the entrance to the aquarium, which you could walk under (like a half-tunnel of water).

Fountain outside the Oceanarium

The aquarium was great! It was designed around a large central tank, with large additional areas and tanks on each of the four corners of the building on two separate levels. We saw lots of animals, and Charlotte ended up having a great time.

Looking into the large central tank at the Oceanarium

Otter!

Charlotte loved that we gave her the freedom to wander on a "rainforest" trail by herself (we could watch her from below). She must have done it 5 times!

That evening, we went back to the Mercado Da Ribeira, where we had gotten money earlier in the day in our failed attempt to pay for our trolley ride. They had a huge food hall there called "Time Out" with lots of different food options! We tried a few different stalls, and finished with Charlotte's favorite (dessert, of course). She even got a free paper bib with it, which was cute.