Touring the Belem Neighborhood
Tuesday was another very full day spent on our feet. We are getting good at maneuvering through the public transportation system. We took a taxi, bus, train, tram and cable car. Luckily, we did not take the metro, as we found out later that they were on a 1 day strike! Guess this government isn't much better than ours :-)
We spent the day in a neighborhood about 3 miles south west of downtown Lisbon - Belem (Bethlehem). This area is right at the mouth of the Tejos River and the Atlantic, so it was very marine centric.
We took the train into Belem, but it was a commuter train that did no stop at our stop, so we had to work our way back across the tracks and learn their timetable and train stop process. We figured it out and were able to get back into Belem within a few minutes. Once in Belem, we walked right past the Presidential Palace and headed to this famous pastry shop for breakfast- Casa Pasteis de Belem. This place has the most famous custard tarts called Pastel de Belem. They have a closely guarded recipe that only 3 people know and I think that has made their shop popular.
Then we started our touring day at the Monastery of Jeronimos. King Manuel created this giant structure as a thank you to the discoveries of the Portuguese explorers. It was financed from the taxes that were on spices brought back from India and it sits on top of an old sailors church. Many sailors sailed out of this area so they would pray the night before in this monastery. From there we walked over to the Royal Coach Museum. This houses all the horse dawn carriages that were used before cars overtook the transportation mode. The last Queen of Portugal decided to preserve her coaches in this building attached to the palace. It was a nice stroll through the building. Some highlights: the first coach that carried King Phillip II in 1600 had a Puke bucket as the roads were so bumpy he would often get sick. Also, we saw the coach that was used in 1957 that carried Queen Elizabeth the 2nd.
At the opposite end of the Monastery was the Maritime Museum. This was a full dedication to their explorers - lead by Prince Henry the Navigator! It was a huge place filled with ship replicas and actual royal barges (small rowboats). One of highlights there was also the royal barge that was used for a royal wedding and also when QEII came to visit in the 1950's. They needed about 24 people to row at a time!
Keeping with the maritime tradition, we then walked over to the water and saw the huge Monument of Discoveries. This was a monument erected in 1960 to honor Pr. Henry the Navigator at his 500th anniversary of this death.
We had worked up an appetite by this time, so we stopped at a pizzeria along the water and split a delicious Italian pizza. We also have noticed that they do not have a lot of beer diversity here. They have one light beer on draft - Super Bock. It is actually pretty good. Guess they all stick to wine?
Then we continued down the water to see the Belem Tower. This is a huge structure meant to protect their water entrance. We had great views of the water and also the Lisbon "Golden Gate Bridge." There is the sister bridge to San Frans golden gate in this city. It was constructed first here, but it was the same architect and I think San Fran liked this one they wanted one of their own - I need to do further research on this though so don't quote me :-)
After this long day, decided to come home and rest for a few before heading back into Belem for this super awesome dinner! We have been using trip advisor to locate restaurants this place went above and beyond any of our expectations. it was voted top 5 in Lisbon, had maybe 8 table tops and was really a wine shop with some really delicious menu items. We asked for a wine list and the guy brought James a pair of binoculars! They have wine up on a high shelf and said just to pick a bottle as they were all $20eu or ask the server. We had rack of lamb, Portuguese veal steak, tuna and pork cheek. They were all made to perfection and the chef came out to talk about the dishes. It was phenomenal.
Today we are going to check out the Tile Museum and other museums in Lisbon.
We spent the day in a neighborhood about 3 miles south west of downtown Lisbon - Belem (Bethlehem). This area is right at the mouth of the Tejos River and the Atlantic, so it was very marine centric.
We took the train into Belem, but it was a commuter train that did no stop at our stop, so we had to work our way back across the tracks and learn their timetable and train stop process. We figured it out and were able to get back into Belem within a few minutes. Once in Belem, we walked right past the Presidential Palace and headed to this famous pastry shop for breakfast- Casa Pasteis de Belem. This place has the most famous custard tarts called Pastel de Belem. They have a closely guarded recipe that only 3 people know and I think that has made their shop popular.
Then we started our touring day at the Monastery of Jeronimos. King Manuel created this giant structure as a thank you to the discoveries of the Portuguese explorers. It was financed from the taxes that were on spices brought back from India and it sits on top of an old sailors church. Many sailors sailed out of this area so they would pray the night before in this monastery. From there we walked over to the Royal Coach Museum. This houses all the horse dawn carriages that were used before cars overtook the transportation mode. The last Queen of Portugal decided to preserve her coaches in this building attached to the palace. It was a nice stroll through the building. Some highlights: the first coach that carried King Phillip II in 1600 had a Puke bucket as the roads were so bumpy he would often get sick. Also, we saw the coach that was used in 1957 that carried Queen Elizabeth the 2nd.
At the opposite end of the Monastery was the Maritime Museum. This was a full dedication to their explorers - lead by Prince Henry the Navigator! It was a huge place filled with ship replicas and actual royal barges (small rowboats). One of highlights there was also the royal barge that was used for a royal wedding and also when QEII came to visit in the 1950's. They needed about 24 people to row at a time!
Keeping with the maritime tradition, we then walked over to the water and saw the huge Monument of Discoveries. This was a monument erected in 1960 to honor Pr. Henry the Navigator at his 500th anniversary of this death.
We had worked up an appetite by this time, so we stopped at a pizzeria along the water and split a delicious Italian pizza. We also have noticed that they do not have a lot of beer diversity here. They have one light beer on draft - Super Bock. It is actually pretty good. Guess they all stick to wine?
Then we continued down the water to see the Belem Tower. This is a huge structure meant to protect their water entrance. We had great views of the water and also the Lisbon "Golden Gate Bridge." There is the sister bridge to San Frans golden gate in this city. It was constructed first here, but it was the same architect and I think San Fran liked this one they wanted one of their own - I need to do further research on this though so don't quote me :-)
After this long day, decided to come home and rest for a few before heading back into Belem for this super awesome dinner! We have been using trip advisor to locate restaurants this place went above and beyond any of our expectations. it was voted top 5 in Lisbon, had maybe 8 table tops and was really a wine shop with some really delicious menu items. We asked for a wine list and the guy brought James a pair of binoculars! They have wine up on a high shelf and said just to pick a bottle as they were all $20eu or ask the server. We had rack of lamb, Portuguese veal steak, tuna and pork cheek. They were all made to perfection and the chef came out to talk about the dishes. It was phenomenal.
Today we are going to check out the Tile Museum and other museums in Lisbon.
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