Day 6 - Belem

July 08, 2018

Jeronimos Monastery

Today we woke up a little earlier and got ready to go to Belem. It has been an adventure for my kids since we had to take the metro, to get to the train station. It was crowded so we considered our options, bus or uber. Believe it or not, uber is always cheaper but because we were standing near a bus stop that said Belem, we ended up taking the bus. It is like a 20-minute ride from Lisbon. When we got there and got out of the bus, we felt the sun hitting our faces. We walked around to see the Jeronimos Monastery which is near the Tagus river. It was secularised on December 28, 1833, by state decree and its ownership transferred to the charitable institution, Real Casa Pia de Lisboa. The monastery is one of the most prominent examples of the Portuguese Late Gothic Manueline style of architecture in Lisbon. It was classified a UNESCO World Heritage site along with the nearby Tower of Belém, in 1983.

Belem tower

There must have been a wedding going on because there were a lot of people wearing fancy outfits and riding horse carriages. We walked to the monument of The "Padrao dos Descobrimentos" which is an imposing and iconic monument dedicated to the adventurers and explorers who helped establish Portugal as a 14th-century superpower. We sat there for a while watching the sailboats. After that, we walked to see the tower of Belem. It is impressive from outside but not enough to stand in line for a long time, pay for the entrance and see empty walls. The kids were more entertained watching the fish. The Belem tower was built between 1514 and 1520 in a Manuelino style by the Portuguese architect and sculptor Francisco de Arruda. It was used to defend the city. Years later, it was transformed into a lighthouse and customs house.

Monumento a los descubridores

After that, we went to check out a fancy hotel, mostly to go to the bathroom and to enter a cool zone. I asked at the front desk if they had a room available. She replied that they only had suites for 890 euros a night, with breakfast included. I sure hope so at that price, Gregory said. We left and then we found a nice shady area to have our lunch. After that, we walked towards the planetarium. They had a late show in Spanish so we did not stay. Then we thought about going to the botanic gardens but Gregory read that it wasn't worth it so we all voted for drinks in a cafe across from the monastery. I was so tired that I was able to take a short nap resting my head on the table. Thank God for Gregory who does all the research about transportation and prices. We took an uber back home and asked the man to drop us at the Market where there was a flea market. At first, all I could see was trash but if you look carefully you can find very interesting things. Gregory looked for old keys, coins, and books. Daniel decided to buy a mineral typical of each country as a souvenir. Sunshine bargained for some earrings and me, well, not sure yet what to get from each place. I mostly spent my time looking at pictures and postcards. They were fascinating, many were pictures from the early 20th century written with beautiful penmanship. I like to imagine their family stories, who they were, what they did, where they travel... I didn't buy any at the end because I'm not sure I will find old postcards everywhere I go. We decided to walk back home, again, thank God for google maps and Gregory who guided us home. We needed to go to the grocery store but we were so tired that we settled for pasta and salad for dinner at home.