The last leg of my European adventure! I was particularly excited for this trip as my dad and little brother would be meeting me in Portugal! We had hired a car too which I think is the best way to see a country since then I can truly say I have seen the whole country. Plus, let's be real, at this point I am done with waiting on public transportation.
We had a late start to our day since the boys were jet lagged and I had arrived late yesterday. An obligatory start to our day was eating the famous pastel de nata. We had the egg custard tarts from the most famous place in Lisbon - Pastéis de Belém bakery. There was a long line for both the sit-down area and takeaway so we opted for takeaway to eat in the park. The pastries were very delicate and good. I really liked the custard and want to find out how to make them. Compared to my airport pastel de nata I had yesterday to set the standard low, it was very good and so fresh. The exterior was buttery and flaky and the interior warm and smooth.
The first place we drove to was Jerónimos Monastery. The monastery is a UNESCO World Heritage Site that was built in 1502. It was built combining elements of both the Gothic and Moorish style. We waited at least 30 minutes to get inside for what was a rather small area. The main part of the monastery was a large open courtyard. You could only walk along through the archways and not in the middle. The place was very open and I liked the arches and style of architecture. That was all to the monastery and I have to say it was much smaller than I expected. I was expecting more ornate rooms off to the side or just more to see than the large open courtyard.
Next Greg and I walked to the Belém tower which was across the train tracks. The Belém tower is a fortress that once served the purpose of guarding the Lisbon harbor when it was built in 1515. Now it just stands as a monument on the Lisbon skyline. You could go inside the tower but I just really didn't feel that was necessary given that you had a better view from outside. Greg and I were eying the piña coladas in a pineapple but they were charging 15 euros which was not worth it in my mind.
Lisbon has a couple monuments that make you feel like you are elsewhere. The first is their bright red bridge that looks exactly like the Golden Gate Bridge and was built by the same builders. The second is the Sanctuary of Christ the King that was built based on the Christ the Redeemer Statue in Rio de Janeiro. The builder had seen the statue in Brazil and then decided he wanted to build one facing the city of Lisbon. That is exactly what this statue does. It is situated high up on a hill overlooking the city. We took the elevator to the top where we had views of the red roofs and what I call the Golden Gate Bridge.
For dinner that evening we ate at restaurant Odaan which was a Nepalese and Indian restaurant which someone had given me a recommendation for and had very high reviews on Google. The food was interesting in that it was different from the Indian food I am used to. I attributed that to perhaps the Nepalese flair. It was pretty good food, just not the exact flavors I was craving. We had a little room after dinner so we walked to a gelato shop called Gelato Italiano where we have some really excellent gelato. My pistachio gelato was to die for it was so good!
I missed my family so much and hadn't seen them since March so I was very excited to be with them. Having Greg around made it extra fun to have someone to constantly tell jokes with and giggle all the time. I was so happy to be with them again! ,
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