July 27th, 2022
Hello Readers,
The past few weeks have been pretty hectic going from country to country. Although I have been updating my travels on my instagram feed @eternaltravelerblog, I wanted to hop on here and share with you all one of my favorite cities that I visited that offered more than what I expected.
Throughout these past few weeks, switching languages has been something constant that I have been having trouble adjusting to. From going to Icelandic, then to Italian, then to French, then back to Italian, then Spanish and now finally Portuguese, switching from language to language has been a bit difficult but I am slowly adjusting to Portuguese these days even though I only know a few words.
Yesterday, I made a pit stop in Lisbon, Portugal and did a tour to be able to see the most in the 24 hours that I spent there. I am going to go over some of the main attractions that I visited and some amazing treats that I was able to taste in this city.
So, the day started off with visiting the Lisbon Cathedral. Some of the members in my trip started the Camino de Santiago in Lisbon so we went to drop them off and wave goodbye to them bright and early as they rode off on their bikes. This Catholic Cathedral started being built in 1147, so it’s stood the test of time, still being a big tourist attraction today. Throughout the years, the Cathedral has had changes done due to changes in style of buildings and architecture as time went on. Although the Cathedral has a lot of history in its walls, there was a lot to see a very little time so I was not able to go inside, but rather admire it from the outside.
One of the ways to get around the city to visit attractions in by tuk tuk (by far one of the most memorable ways that we got around on this trip). The best way to describe a tuk tuk is like one of those bicycle carts that holds about 6-7 people but a tuk tuk runs on gas. So, it was very entertaining to go on highways next to huge trucks on our small tuk tuk cart.
The first stop on our tuk tuk cart was Jerónimos Monastery. This monastery was done being built in 1601, and it has been named a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Although the Monastery has a beautiful and very detailed outside that deserves some time to be analyzed, there was another attraction nearby that was a must for me. There is a shop two minutes away where they sell the sweet pasteis de Belem. It is a little pie with custard on the inside and it is a very popular treat for locals and tourists alike. We ended this stop by getting piña coladas that came in an actual pineapple, which was perfect to keep cool under the bright Portuguese sun.
After cooling off and spending more time on our tuk tuk we arrived to the Torre de Belém. The tower was built in seven years, with the final product being unveiled in 1521. This tower was also named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the early 1980s. The tower is a tall defender of the Tagus river, showing how territories were protected in the past. There is a little beach next to the tower where people were dipping their feet in, including me. After getting some pictures in the very cold water and admiring the tower we hopped back on our trusty tuk tuk to go to the next stop.
Shortly after, we arrived to our next attraction which was a building with detailed and intricate carvings. This building is the Padrão dos Descobrimentos or the monument dedicated to the discoveries. Around the base of the building there are important figures that made important discoveries for Portugal, some of them being routes around the Earth to new lands. From this stop we were also able to get a clear view of the bay and hear some musicians that were playing music there, making it a perfect way to spend the evening in Lisbon.
The last place we visited before dinner was the Castelo de Sao Jorge. The castle was founded in the 10th century when the king Dom Afonso Henriques captured the city. In the 20th century the castle had to be restored and rebuilt after it was very heavily damaged from an earthquake. Today, some remains can still be seen (such as the bathroom and some ovens), and you can climb to the top of some towers to get amazing views of the city. Also, we made a few peacock friends, one which I have featured below. They are very used to humans so they loved posing for pictures and videos. I can’t forget to mention that there were also some baby peacocks with one feather sticking up from their heads, making them some of the most precious baby peacocks I have ever seen.
Our final stop of the day was dinner! We were all starving from a long day touring Lisbon that dinner was an event that we were looking forward to! We had made reservations four months ago to go a restaurant named Restaurante Casa de Linhares-Fados. It is a restaurant known for its delicious food and a performance of traditional Portuguese music. The food was delicious, featuring different types of fish and meat, and the performance of music was jaw-dropping. It was truly an experience that I will never forget.
After having such a full day exploring the city, it was the best sleep I’ve had in a long time. I hope you all learned a little something about Portugal and enjoyed some of the pictures I was able to capture. Obrigado for joining me on this journey around Portugal.
Until next time,
Sincerely,
The Eternal Traveler