Belem

Today it was Belem's turn. This used to be a seperate town a few clicks further down the river, but over time it has been assumed into the overall location of Lisbon.

There are any number of ways of getting there, particularly if you start from Placa Comercio. Taxis, buses, tuk-tuks, they are all very keen to take your fare. But our Lisbon card got us onto a train that shot us down the coast to Belem in no time.

I say coast, but it is not the sea. It's a river that is several kilometers wide and gives every appearance of the seaside. Stepping out in Belem one is struck by its seaside kind of display. Parks and ice cream vendors, playgrounds and esplanades.

There is also some very popular attractions there. The enormous Monastery of San Jeronimo is one. It was initially to be built and financed by a 5% levy on the spice trade that the great Vasco de Gama (remember him?) established with his voyages to India. Well that proved so lucrative that the building program was extended for an additional 50 years. Nothing was too much trouble and no expense too great in the building of this monastery and it shows, believe me.

Then the monks were thrown out in a forced secularisation of the country sometime around 1833. What is an out of work monk to do? Since the monastery was annexed as a school many stayed on as teachers. As it happens they were also pretty good at cooking pastries and making wines, and a great many of the Portuguese bakeries and wineries owe their existence to this period of their history.

One in particular stands head and shoulders above the rest. The Pateis de Belem has a secret recipe for making their delicious baked custard tarts and they are unrivalled.

Making a grand statement on the foreshore is the Monument to the Discoveries. It stands like a massive sandstone slab with carved figures climbing upwards towards the sea along its sides. The inside has galleries and an interpretive centre full of information about who discovered what. 

The cross river ferry with the suspension bridge in the background. 

It's a very sleek catamaran and births virtually at the train station for the convenience of commuters.

Near the ferry birth is a cafe and bar.

I particularly liked that they provided deck chairs to relax in as well. A nice touch.

A typical street scape in Belem.

There is a wonderful park on the foreshore, with walks and statues and shady spots.

The formal Palace Guard outside the residential palace of the President of Portugal.

 Pasteis de Belem, the most famous pastry shop in the world.

You can buy custard tarts lots of places, but seriously they are not like these.

The queues outside to buy and the queues inside to take a seat are always long.

And it is surprisingly cheap to dine here.

 Bedlam in Belem at the pastry shop.

Inside there is seating for 400 in several adjoining rooms.

They are always full with more waiting.

But oh so worth the wait. Staff are just brilliant and the goodies they sell defy description.

Don't even think about just getting one. 

Crispy and mega yummy you will need to buy a couple or suffer in silence waiting to order another.

The Monesterio San Jeromino in Belem

Glorious high vaulted ceilings.

The tomb of Vasco de Gama.

The cloisters of the monastery.
Very ornate and beautiful.

Vaulted ceilings around the cloisters.

This tour group was keen and got into cozzies up for the occasion.

This funny little Chinese temple was in the park.
It is actually an old fashioned bandstand, but none was playing this day.

The Monument to the Discoveries on the Belem foreshore.
One side has all the guys who made the discoveries.
The other side has all the guys who backed the guys who made the discoveries.

Statues of discoverers marching forever forwards.

Plenty of tour operators at Belem.
Anything from powered scooters to Segways to the ever present tuk-tuk.
There was even an amphibious bus which drove along the street, down the ramp and sailed away. 

The Torre de Belem.
A fort built in the river Tagus to keep watch, but very ornate for a military structure I think.

The Monument to the Overseas Combatants, a war memorial next to the military museum. 

There is a ceremonial guard on duty which get changed at around 6 pm each day.