Day 59 – 6 September 2023 – Lisboa (Lisbon), Portugal

On the bus at 8.30 am for a local guide tour of Lisboa & we drive down to the River Tagus, the same river that encircles the city of Toledo in Spain that we were at a few days ago & around 400 kilometres away. Lisboa is where the Tagus River empties into the Atlantic Ocean & is a busy port city, a cruise ship is at dock & container ships.

Our first stop is to look at an ancient fortress that stands in the river & was used to guard the city & collect taxes from ships using the port. It is an impressive structure with holes for cannons in the walls & stands surrounded by water. It is the last one left of a number of river forts that stood centuries ago & is called the Torre de Belem (Belem Tower). This tower is a UNESCO World Heritage site built between 1514 & 1519, it was built on a basalt outcrop that was out in the river. The huge earthquake that nearly destroyed Lisbon in 1755 changed the height of the river banks & the river channel so that now the tower is very close to the land.

Nearby is a statue of a seaplane that was the first to fly from Europe to Brazil in South America in the 1920s. A little further along is a monument commemorating the Portuguese seafarers that conducted so many voyages of exploration to the Americas, South Africa, Indonesia, and Japan during the 16^th Century. In front of the monument a tiled map of the world details the countries, cities & years that the Portuguese seafarers visited these remote countries. It is very insightful the distances that these men travelled in such relatively small boats. For example, the Portuguese seafarers visited Japan in 1541 and Timor, a former Portuguese colony, in 1512. For us this is astonishing, a full 250 years before Captain Cook made the voyage to Australia. Our local guide talks us through most of the main characters in the sculptures on both sides of the monument & why they are placed in the order where they are, again, most interesting.

From this vantage point on the river we also get a great view of the long suspension bridge crossing the River Tagus, it looks very similar to the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, USA (it was done by the same designer).  As we walk back from the monument we notice that the tiled pavement looks like moving waves. The artist that designed the mural on the square has been very clever in the design, it gives the viewer an optical illusion that the ground has waves, when in fact the ground is level, amazing design & very clever.

Across the road & formerly riverfront before the earthquake is an impressive very long building, it is the former Monastery of Jeronimus, built in the early 1500s & seized by the Government in 1833. It is now a public museum space & a UNESCO World Heritage site. We spent a nice time exploring this beautiful building & its large spaces, the intricate stone carvings are amazingly beautiful & the architecture is stunning. As we moved from area to area it was another WOW moment. This monastery has the buried remains of the royal family from that period plus eminent people, such as the famous Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama.

After we finished the monastery tour, Chad was waiting for us with a box of special Lisbon pastries from the “Pasteis de Belem”, these are the famous custard tarts that Lisbon is renowned for, the Jeronimus “Pasteis de Nata” from a recipe that was invented by the Jeronimus monks. They were delicious.

Afterwards we took a drive to the Portugeuse coast & an area called Cascais, this is the expensive coastal area (the Riverina) of Portugal & is full of luxury homes, luxury hotels & luxury shops. Our local guide does a great job explaining the highlights & the history of the area before we stop in the seaside resort area of Cascais and go for a walk. Tereza & I walk to the waterfront & have a look at the beach & buildings before returning back to the shopping area & stopping at a famous (our guide) gelato store called Santini. The gelato was delicious.

Our next stop is another special place, the Palace of Quelez, a former summer palace of the King of Portugal (also seized by the government). My goodness, this is an impressive building from the outside, but inside it is special, it is stunningly beautiful inside. The chandeliers are glass Murano, extremely ornate & beautiful, there are mirrors on the walls everywhere, the rooms are furnished with original items, all beautiful. Then we see the ballroom, my goodness, it takes our breath away, so large & beautifully decorated, even the ceilings are decorated & have beautiful paintings. We move from room to room, beautiful furniture, beautiful vases, clocks, plates, cups, glassware, all amazingly beautiful. Even the beds are ornately beautiful. Painted tiles on the walls add to the overall charm & character of the building.

Then we move outside, the gardens are amazing. There is a canal for rowing boats along with painted tiled walls & decorations, a tiled bridge, a monumental staircase. The fountains are beautiful as well that blend so well with the manicured garden & the palace backdrop. We are so blessed & privileged to be able to see something that is so beautiful.

Back to Lisboa & we pass more beautiful buildings, gardens & architecture on the way, we also pass one of the vintage streetcars that still circulate around Lisboa. Tonight we are bussed to the river for a ferry ride across the Targus River for dinner at a seafood restaurant close to the ferry terminal on the other side. We watch the sun setting behind the suspension bridge with some sailing boats in the foreground & a departing cruise ship in the background.

The Café do Rio is fully booked by two tour groups, the waiter waits for us with cold beer before entering the restaurant.  We indulge in a seafood feast, delicious seafood, around six different courses with vino tinto (red wine), vino Verde (green wine & very drinkable), soft drink, water & beers to wash it all down. We finish with a very nice port & ice cream for desert.  We can hardly walk out, we are so full. Back on the bus, we drive over the suspension bridge back to the hotel, the merriment continued on the bus, Chad played some of our age vintage songs so the merriment continued with a bus load of laughter & singing.  We fall into bed. A very long, wonderful day with some great memories.