Lisbon, Portugal

After an amazing stay in Croatia, it was time to move to our final destination - Lisbon, Portugal.  We only had a short time in Lisbon, but were bound and determined to absorb as much of the culture as possible so we planned our time carefully.  We arrived at our hotel late in the evening and the only room they had left was a suite.  Of course, we were only staying at this particular hotel for one night, so we got to enjoy the unexpected luxury for about 8 hours.

The next morning we got up to start the speed-tour of Lisbon.  We walked from our hotel to Rua Augusta to catch the tram to Belem.  The tram was completely packed and for a few minutes I though Sue was going to pass out.  Luckily, she didn't and we exited the tram in Belem to see one of the most beautiful buildings I have ever laid my eyes on: Jeronimo's Monastery:

Jeronimo's Monastery

 

Towers on Jeronimo's Monastery

 

Ceiling inside Jeronimo's Monastery

 

View of Jeronimo's Monastery from across the street

 

We also took in Belem Tower and the surrounding grounds before heading by train to Cascais:

 

 

Belem Tower

 

Belem Tower turret

 

Mosaic map of the world (hard to see with people standing on it)

 

Port in Cascais

 

Back in Lisbon we took the #28 tram up and down the steep hills to see the palace and the view from the top of the city.  It was pretty herky-jerky on the way up, but it sure did beat walking!  We encountered a local who was intent on discussing US politics with us very loudly.  We heard all about his views on Romney/Obama and how the US was in a bad place with no choices.  He wished us good luck with the election in November and got off the tram at his stop.  We'd clearly been identified as Americans at that point, so we embraced the stares and smiled!

 

View from the top of the city

 

View from the top of the city

 

Back in the city center we went to Commerce Square to see the statue of King Jose and the arch that connects Rua Augusta to the square.  Of course, we treated ourselves to ice cream cones along the walk and snapped some great shots like all the other tourists!

 

Statue of King Jose

 

The arch to enter Commerce Square at Rua Augusta

 

I was sad to see the trip come to an end, but it was time to head back to the States, get some things done in Atlanta and start my roadtrip North.  Details on that in future posts.