Belem
December 22, 2010 Written December 23 & 24 Friends and Families , This is the next part of our Great Lisbon Adventure. Tuesday, December 22,Belem The small city of Belem lies just on the western edge of Lisbon and holds some of the most historic locations. It was from here that sailors set forth for the Atlantic and far away lands. For us, it was an easy trip on Bus #28 from Cais do Sodre, near our apartment. Our museum quota was two-per-day, and we exceeded the goal by 50%! The Maritime Museum was founded in 1863 and is located in part of the Jeronimos Monastery building. Counting the more modern hanger-like building that houses the royal yachts, there are almost twenty rooms filled with thousands of artifacts tracing Portuguese seafaring over the last three hundred years. Several of the rooms held models of historic ships, each model crafted in amazing detail. An upstairs room even held a display of current Portuguese fighting against Somali pirates, with a captured pirate skiff and displays of the Portuguese sailors who helped the United Nations pirate patrols. Patrolling this part of the world was not new to the Portuguese navy, as they had been patrolling the Gulf of Aden since the mid-1850's! Of course, the displays of royal yachts were also unique, including the King's yacht, powered by 80 oarsmen and last used for a visit by the Queen of England. After all this walking around, we made a stop in the gift shop and had to have a coffee and pastry, hoping for the rain to calm down. Our next stop was only the length of the Monastery away, but that five-minute walk could have gotten us plenty wet. Eventually, the rain did let up and we walked down to the Jeronimos Monastery. There, by the entrance to the ornate chapel, is the crypt of Vasco de Gamma himself. The rest of the visit was a long pleasant walk, both inside the ornate building and in the cloister courtyard. We could almost imagine spending a life inside these walls. We enjoyed the contrast inherent in a site where explorers left to wander the uncharted seas and where contemplative monks withdrew inside an ornate cloister. Lunch The next required stop was lunch. There were plenty of local restaurants but it seemed some were crowded, so had no room, while others were empty so offered no interest. In the end, we found a place with just one table left and we were glad we opted for a crowded place. The food was local, generous, and served by friendly waiters. We were seated just outside the kitchen and could see the cook put out plate after plate from a kitchen smaller than our own. A great show. Any visit to Belem has to include the National Coach Museum, even though this put us past our daily goal of just two museums. The collection of 17-19th Century royal carriages is housed in an elaborate 18th Century building that was originally the national riding studio. The degree of opulence was impressive but the simplest carriage was also interesting since it was the very carriage where the king of Portugal Carlos I and his son the crown prince were assassinated in 1908. It made me think of seeing the Kennedy assassination limousine up close. Different history, same concept, but in Belem there were no crowds at all! Tomorrow would be "fish and tiles", an historic port town on the edge of Lisbon. But that's another story. John and Marianne |