Hola todos,
We started off the morning with a bus to Belém. (Yes, again! We had to go to the places that were closed yesterday.) We wanted to get an early start to beat the crowds and long lines. And, since it was Kaitlynn’s last day, we needed to get our busy day started!
Mosteiro dos Jerónimos (Jerónimos Monastery)
Lisboa Card savings: 1.85€ bus, 10€ entrance
Because we had the Lisboa Card, we were able to jump straight into the entrance line instead of buying tickets first and then hopping in line. But don’t mistake this for a fast pass—we still had to wait about 50 minutes to enter even though we got there right when the monastery opened. The line hadn’t died down by the time we exited, so I can't say that we should have waited. If anything, we should have arrived maybe an hour before opening? But then we still would have waited for an hour. Well, the view was nice and the weather was great, so it's hard to complain either way!
The monastery was stunning, and was a continuation of what I learned is called Manueline (or Portuguese Gothic) design. This was the same style as the Convento in Tomar, and you could see a lot of similarities between the two buildings. That design style is also repeated throughout Portuguese architecture and once we learned how to identify it, we spotted it everywhere! I've used the word "stunning" too many times during this trip blog, but I would use it again here. The monastery was stunning, and totally worth the wait.
We then waited in a separate line to see the church that is connected to the monastery. That wait was only 20 minutes, and the church is another example of more of the same design style. Vasco da Gama, the Portuguese explorer, and Fernando Pessoa, a famous Portuguese author, have their tombs there.
Pasteis de Belém (reprise)
We went back to Pasteis de Belém for lunch to grab some savory bites and one more pastel de Belém. We missed the line, too; when we came back from the park where we picnicked, the to-go line was probably twice as long.
We took the bus back to Lisbon to check out the remaining items on our list.
Pantãeo Nacional
Lisboa Card savings: 1.85€ bus, 5€ entrance
This is the National Pantheon, which is a big cultural and historical monument in Lisbon. It looks very similar to the Capital Rotunda in the U.S. Capitol and has stunning views of the city from its top floor and terrace.
There is the flea market right outside the Pantheon, so we walked through that and window shopped a bit. There is an eclectic mix of stuff, but we had to move along to our next site!
Museu Nacional do Azulejo (National Tile Museum)
Lisboa Card savings: 1.85€ bus, 5€ entrance
We bussed over to the Tile Museum to check out its various exhibits. This was one of the things I was most excited to see—part art museum, part history museum, it would be something a little different than anything else we had seen in Portugal thus far.
The museum had a whole bunch of exhibits of different tiles that have been found throughout Portugal, organized by time period and artistic style. It ended up being more art museum than history museum. Compared to all of the other tiles and tile murals that we had seen preserved in actual castles and monasteries, it was a bit underwhelming!
Monastery and Church of São Vicente de Fora
Lisboa Card savings: 1.85€ bus
Finally, we checked out our last monastery in Lisbon. We got there right when it was about to close, so we were only able to go into the church portion. This one was more austere and simpler in contrast to some of the more ornate churches we had seen. At this point, I could have gone without touring this church. I think the Jeronimos Monastery from this morning just stole the show!
We walked back into the main part of town to finish up some souvenir shopping and grab some dinner. We grabbed food at an amazing local place that our tour guide from the first day, Claudia, recommended to us!
And, of course we got gelato on the way home. The gelato shop was right near the parliament building, so we got to see that as an unexpected addition to our tour.
A successful final day for the whole group, I think!
Step tracker: 176,791 steps
Lisboa Card savings: 50.15€ (our 3-day "plan" cost about $45 USD, so it paid for itself today!)
Besos,
Tina the ExploraDora
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