Day 9 - Belem

We agreed to sleep as late as we wanted this morning, but we were all up and dressed before 8am.  After breakfast we drove to the Belem section of Lisbon (to the west).  We initially went to the Belem Tower, which is not very tall, as towers go, but right on the water and very ornate.  We got in just shortly after they opened and it wasn't crowded. 

Tower of Belem

Inside the Tower of Belem

View from the Tower

Inside one of the rooms in the Tower

The staircase to go up (or down) in the Tower

King Raymond!

After leaving the tower, we walked toward the Jeronimos Monastery.  On the way, we passed the Padrão dos Descobrimentos, (the Monument to the Discoveries).  This stunning, huge monument is made up of a group of sculptures that represent the prow of a caravel (a small sailing ship constructed by the Portuguese to explore the Atlantic Ocean). Leading the ship is Prince Henry the Navigator and behind him are many other great Portuguese discoverers. 
As we were continuing our walk, we saw people selling tickets to various boat tours, so we decided to book a sunset cruise for this evening.

This and next two pictures are the Monument

Our plan was to tour the Jeronimos Monastery. However, when we arrived at the Monastery, we found that it was a two hour long line just to get in, so we decided to pass.  Instead, we wandered in and out of the little stores in Belem, being sure to sample the pasteis de nata - a very popular and delicious Portuguese pastry, which was created in Belem.  Finally we went back to our car and back to our apartment.  We decided to have lunch at the same restaurant we ate in two nights ago, and got the same waiter, Ricardo, again.  He remembered us and took very good care of us.  Then back to the apartment again to pack up.

Jeronimos Monastery

Monastery door

Watching them make the pasteis de nata (and next photo)

Yum!!

Wandering the streets of Belem (and next photo)

Lori and Sue stopped to buy some artwork and then found these two guys waiting for us.

Belem Marina

David's sardines

Lori and Sue had omelets for lunch

Our new favorite Lisbon restaurant!

David fell in love with this grocery store and they had one right under our building (which is behind him!)

We got down to the Marina an hour early. The weather was gorgeous so we just relaxed.  We met up with the other passengers and walked to the boat.  Our cruise went west up the Tagus River to the ocean, turned around and sailed up along the Lisbon city center.  Then we went to the other side of the river and came back.  The guide told us about what we were seeing and served champagne at the halfway point.  It was the highlight of my vacation, so beautiful and relaxing!

Monument of Discoveries as seen from the water

Belem Tower from the water

This bridge was designed to resemble the Golden Gate Bridge.  The dolphins were painted to welcome the dolphins back from the ocean.  They hadn't been seen often until the pandemic.

Commerce area

Our cruisemates, and tour guide Paolo

We took dozens of sunset pictures.  Here are just a few.

Tower of Belem at sunset

After the cruise we drove a few miles to a really cool area with lots of restaurants.  We chose one and had a terrific dinner. 

Sue's chicken

It's been a fabulous trip!