If you could sum up the history of Lisbon, it might be displayed in this iconic fortress, the Torre de Belém on the Tagre River, built in the 16th century combining Moorish, Gothic and Romanesque styles. Unfortunately this fortress was never successful in keeping out invaders since Portugal was usually invaded by land! At one time it was also used as a political prison.
Lisbon is the current capital of Portugal but during the Napoleonic Wars, Rio de Janeiro was the capital for 13 years. After we dropped off our Smart rental car at the airport, we took a taxi to the Corinthia hotel where we would go from being individual travelers, to part of a 92 person tourista hoard. Every few years, we like to take a cruise and this usually means becoming a member of a hoard. This was Lisa’s second river cruise and Douglas’s first.
Our city tour started the next day with 3 buses holding 92 people that will be on the Douro river boat cruise. One of our first stops was coffee and pasteis da nata at a local bakery. The flaky crust and sweet egg filling – that tastes a bit like creme brulee- is found in every coffee and pastry shop in the country. Only 3 people in the world know the original recipe created in 1837 by monks in the monastery and the original pastry is sold exclusively at Belem at Pasteis de Belem. When we passed by there on our way to visit St. Jerome’s Monastery (The Jerónimos Monastery ) the pastry line was several blocks long.
This pastry is a national treasure! And most likely the second most photographed European pastry after the croissant.
The Monastery’s monks provided assistance to those that were traveling the seas and Vasco de Gama and his men spent the night in prayer there before departing on their expedition to the Orient in 1497. Vasco is also buried in this church. The garlic you see above the confessionals was used to ward off evil spirits. Since this monastery focused on sea farers, there were nearly a dozen confessional booths for returning sailors to absolve any sins they might have committed while exploring the world and attempting to make as many Portuguese babies as possible.
Monument honoring the ‘Age of Discovery’ with Henri the Navigator leading the way. Marble tile being repaired near this monument.
Most of Lisbon was destroyed in 1775 when an earthquake and tsunami hit on All Saints Day. The Alfama District which sits on a hill was preserved and is the oldest remaining section of the city. We stopped at 2 wine bars to experience this area and enjoy the architectural tiles.
Had spit-roasted chicken peri-peri and creamed spinach for lunch at the famous Restaurante BonJardim. Thanks for the recommendation Spencer!
Then we took a tuk-tuk to the National Azulejos Museum and spent several hours dreaming about how we might cover our entire house in beautiful tile! Or in Douglas’s case, how we could become tile business barons. In Portugal, they use tile to decorate everything from walls of churches and monasteries, to palaces, ordinary houses, park seats, fountains, shops, and train stations. Azulejos date as far back as the 13th century, when the Moors invaded the land that now belongs to Spain and Portugal. It is typical for the Portuguese to tell stories about their history, religion, and culture through decorative tile.
Our last night in Lisbon was a soccer match between Lisbon & Porto. Our guide recommended that we not go out on the streets since things could get a bit wild but we opted to take the chance to experience more of this beautiful city. We did get tied up in traffic so our bus driver dropped us of on this amazing view of the old city. On our way back to the hotel, we took a taxi and for the second time we found our lives in jeopardy in the back seat of a car being driven by aggressive old men who spend half their time yelling at pedestrians, bicyclists, other drivers and most of all…Uber drivers that kept yelling, “kamikaze! kamikaze” at, and the other half of their time tempting fate on four wheels.
