Jared & Michelle's Fulbright Adventure: Belem, Lisbon!

The rain finally stopped for a day on Saturday, so we took this opportunity to visit Belem. It is in the west coast of Lisbon, on the opening of the River Tagus and the Ocean. When Jared studied in Lisbon 2 summers ago, it was his favorite part of the city and I was very excited to see it. Belem is famous, as it is the place from which many of the great Portuguese explorers set off on their voyages of discovery. In particular, it is the place from which Vasco da Gamadeparted for India in 1497. The area is surrounded by gardens, parks, statues, and fountains; as well as several museums, the Torre do Belem (Tower of Belem) and the Mosteiro dos Jeronimos (Monastery of the Jeronimos). We did not have time to visit everything and are already planning to go back to the museums another day. However, we did spend lots of time in the Monastery.

The outside of the building is sculpted with all different figures and is amazing to see in person.We just looked at the building for a while because there was so much to take in. Inside, you are welcome to walk through the sanctuary of the cathedral, which held the tomb of Vasco da Gama as well as several other royal tombs. The sanctuary was beautiful! The ceiling had arches, which are held up by great columns that are themselves, sculpted beautifully. The alter was magnificent to see and like the one in Toledo, I just looked at it for some time and am sure I did not see it all. To go into the choir loft and the rest of the Monastery, we had to pay admission, but I am so very happy we did! The courtyard is a square with 2 story cloisters on all sides. These cloisters are decorated in aches and sculpting that takes your breath away! We also saw the old dining hall, prayer room, and confessionals. There, of course, was a small museum area and a gift shop too!

We also saw the Monument of Discoveries, which celebrates the Portuguese and their voyages into the unknown world! It was quite pretty and we saw it at dusk, so the lighting was beautiful. Also, there were some people dressed up as Native Americans in the square in front of the monument wearing deerskins and playing wooden flutes and rain sticks! The songs they were playing totally cracked us up because a few of them were “The Sound of Silence” and “Fernando”! It was hilarious!

Across the street is the Torre do Belem, which started to be built in 1515. The Tower is situated at the main entrance to Lisbon from the sea and was built partly to manage traffic, but partly to guard the Monastery as well.

And of course, we also stopped at the 160 year old pastry shop called Pasel de Belem! Mmmmm! This shop is the place that invented the only real Portuguese pastry. It is a little cupcake-looking thing that is filled with sweet custard and has a flakey crust on the out side. You can eat them with cinnamon and/or powered sugar on top if you’d like!