We finally made it to the stop just outside of Praça do Comércio and managed to squeeze ourselves out of the trolley and onto the street. Once in the Square, we located the stop for trolley line #15E that would take us to Belém. We chose this option based on Rick Steve's suggestion that it was more scenic, if slower, than the coastal train running mostly parallel to it. Well, so did every other tourist, apparently. This trolley, though bigger and more modern than the previous one was even more packed with people. To top it off, both trolleys cost almost double the price of the metro and coastal trains. I had not planned for this the evening before when I loaded €5 on to each of our Viva Viagem transit cards, thinking that would get us to Belém and back. Nope. The #15E cost €3 itself! We did not have that left after the €2.25 trolley ride down the hill, so I had to scrounge together €6 in cash and we had to purchase tickets on the trolley, rather than swiping our cards. Of course, so did every other tourist who hadn't planned ahead, like I thought I had. It took a good three or four stops on the trolley before I could squeeze my way back to the middle of the trolley to the ticket machine (why was it not in the front like I'd expected?!) and purchase tickets. And then another three stops before I waded my way back to where Russ was standing. I guess the upside was that we were halfway to Belém by that point.
After exiting the trolley in Belém, the first order of business was to go straight to Casa Pastéis de Belém- the birthplace of the pastel de nata custard tart. This café began making the pastéis de nata, or pastéis de Belém as they are known here, in 1837, after acquiring the recipe from the monks at the nearby Monastery of Jerónimos. Being the birthplace of this delicious treat, the place is mobbed by people (tourists) even at lunchtime, which is when we finally arrived. We had been forewarned by our friends, and Rick Steves, that the line to order at the counter gets particularly long. And they were right. So we opted to go inside and try for a table. Upon entering, we noticed the front seating area looked very tiny, and was completely full. It didn't look like there was anywhere further to go, except for the kitchens, and possibly the bathrooms. But I had seen a sign indicating a maximum occupancy of 400 people, so I figured there had to be more tables somewhere. There was no way the small rooms we had seen would hold 400 people! We persevered; heading into the bowels of the building, past the kitchens and the bathrooms, until we found a large dining room with a line of its own and a bouncer letting groups in one at a time as tables became available. Thankfully, the line moved fairly quickly and within 15-20 minutes we has a table and ordered our pastéis de nata and café com leite. And, no, I am not ashamed that we had pastéis de nata for breakfast and lunch... But these were definitely not the best pastéis de nata that we had. In fact, while still good, they were at the bottom of the list of all the places we tried. I think that is often typical of places like this, though. They become famous for being the original, but then others tweak and improve recipes and end up surpassing the original in quality, which clings to its roots. Overall, I'm glad we tried it though!
Next up was the Monastery of Jerónimos across the street. This large and exquisite monastery was built by King Manuel I as thanks for the discoveries Portuguese explorers had made, and was partially financed by a tax on spices imported from India. The location of the monastery was chosen because it was near to the small chapel that sailors would pray at before embarking on their journeys. The style of architecture is Manueline, an ornate, decorative style unique to Portugal, blending late Gothic and Moorish features, as well as other cultural influences stemming from the Age of Discovery.
We opted not to purchase the joint ticket with the archeological museum housed in the same building, as it was already getting later in the day and we had other sites to see. We had expected to purchase a joint ticket for the Monastery and the Tower of Belém, but they do not sell it at the Monastery, only at the Tower. Something that was not mentioned in Rick Steves guidebook...
Across the street from the Monastery, we found a lovely garden, the Jardim da Praça do Império, and took a quick rest (our feet were still sore from all the walking the day before!) before setting off to our next two sites
Slightly rested, we set off toward the bank of the Rio Tejo and the Monument to the Discoveries. The monument was originally created for the World's Fair in 1940, and was re-erected in this site in 1960 to honor the 500th anniversary of the death of Prince Henry the Navigator. The monument takes the shape of a Portuguese caravel ship, which made voyages across the ocean possible. On the very front of the monument is Prince Henry the Navigator holding a model of the caravel and a map. He is followed behind on one side by King Manuel I, who financed these voyages, and poets and artists who glorified them. On the other side stands Vasco da Gama, Magellan, and Pedro Cabral, along with monks and crusaders who Christianized foreign lands. Of course, as we view this monument and contemplate all the splendor that the "Age of Discovery" brought to Portugal, we must also remember that these foreign lands were not "discovered." People were already living there, and Western involvement and colonization had lasting negative impacts on these peoples. We viewed the monument from the outside, but opted not to pay to go inside.
No, we didn't end up in San Francisco! That is the 25th of April Bridge, which spans the Rio Tejo and was built by the same company as the Golden Gate Bridge. It is the deepest bridge in the world, with the foundations sunk 260 feet into the riverbed. The bridge, built in 1966, was originally named for the dictator Salazar, but was renamed for the date of the 1974 revolution.
Continuing along the riverfront, we made our way to the Tower of Belém. This tower was the last thing that sailors saw as they departed Portugal and the first thing they saw upon their return. When it was built, the tower was actually mid-river and the Rio Tejo reached almost to the Monastery of Jerónimos. At the center of the river, the tower served as a customs house, as well as a place to check incoming ships for disease before entering Portugal. We viewed the tower from the outside, but opted not to go inside, both because we had not been able to purchase the combo ticket at the monastery (mentioned above) and because we were getting quite hungry.
We headed back toward the Monastery, but this time opted to take the coastal train instead of the infuriating trolley from the morning's journey. Oh. My. Goodness. Why didn't we take this before?! It was faster, half the cost, more comfortable, and, in my opinion, way more scenic. I don't know what Rick Steves was thinking...
We took the train all the way to the end of the line at the Cais do Sodré station on the western edge of Lisbon center. After exiting the station, we crossed the street to the Mercado da Ribeira, also known as Time Out Market. The building houses a market and a food court full of trendy food stalls curated by Time Out magazine. The back wall of the food court is full of stalls for Lisbon's top chefs. We opted for one of these stalls run by Henrique Sá Pessoa, and both ended up ordering the same delicious pork sandwich.
Thoroughly exhausted and stuffed we headed back to our apartment for a good night's sleep before our next day of adventures.
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