Back at the Four Seasons.
I spent the early part of the afternoon shopping in Lisbon with my new friends from Mexico City. I love people who bring extra bags just for shopping. We hope to meet again on another Duvine biking trip and have promised to email each other when planning.
After shopping, I went to Belém to visit the rest of the tourist sites.
Belém Tower built in 1515 and was the last thing the sailors saw as they left Portugal.
Monastery of Jerónimos built by King Manual (1495) of which the unique decorative style of Portugal takes it name.
Best gargoyles ever. You can't tell from the picture but these are all different animals including a monkey, a cat and a cricket.
National Coach Museum. This would have been much better if there was more light and didn't smell like mildew.
After seeing all the sights, I treated myself to some pastel de Belém from the famous Pastéis de Belém cafe. Here I met two interesting people - one from California and one from the Czech Republic. Each works a bunch and saves up money and then quits their respective jobs to travel for many months before returning to work again. Rinse repeat. Sounds like fun.
I spent the early part of the afternoon shopping in Lisbon with my new friends from Mexico City. I love people who bring extra bags just for shopping. We hope to meet again on another Duvine biking trip and have promised to email each other when planning.
After shopping, I went to Belém to visit the rest of the tourist sites.
Belém Tower built in 1515 and was the last thing the sailors saw as they left Portugal.
Monastery of Jerónimos built by King Manual (1495) of which the unique decorative style of Portugal takes it name.
The restored cloisters in the monastery are a perfect example of this Manueline architecture.
Best gargoyles ever. You can't tell from the picture but these are all different animals including a monkey, a cat and a cricket.
National Coach Museum. This would have been much better if there was more light and didn't smell like mildew.
After seeing all the sights, I treated myself to some pastel de Belém from the famous Pastéis de Belém cafe. Here I met two interesting people - one from California and one from the Czech Republic. Each works a bunch and saves up money and then quits their respective jobs to travel for many months before returning to work again. Rinse repeat. Sounds like fun.
The last thing to see in Belém is the 25th of April bridge and, way in the distance, the Cristo Rei. Do these look familiar? The bridge was built by the same group that build the Golden Gate so looks very similar and the Cristo Rei is a replica of the giant Christ statue in Rio.
WOW, WHAT A TRIP! You should be a travel writer, very funny and insightful...and you could get PAID to take these trips! I'm stuffed, exhausted and inspired from reading!
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