The Iberian Jet Set (Part 4): The Tiled Glory of Downtown Lisbon and Belem

- November 22-23, 2016, Tuesday to Wednesday.

- On the early morning of Tuesday, I had a rushed trip to the airport, but still early for my flight. Since countries under the Schengen agreement have a borderless agreement, flights from one Schengen country to another do not need to pass through the immigration. This saved me a lot of time, and more time for me to rest while waiting for my flight. I flew via TAP Portugal, and the flight lasted almost two hours from Barcelona to Lisbon. Portugal is one timezone away, which makes it 8 hours behind the Philippines (since it's only 7 hours behind in Spain.)

- Before I rode the metro to the city proper, I also claimed my Lisboa Card at the tourist info booth at the airport. I pre-purchased mine online, and showed them the online receipt. The Lisboa Card is a handy card that gives you unlimited train, bus, and tram rides, plus free entrance privileges or discounted entrance fee privileges in chosen museums and landmarks in Lisbon. These are just some of the benefits of the card. There are many types of  Lisbon Cards, depending on the number of days, but I chose the 3-day card since most of my sightseeing would be done during my first two days in Lisbon, right before my academic conference.

- The moment I reachd the city, there were two things that I immediately noticed. One, Portugal is famous for its tiles, so much so that the streets of Lisbon are mostly covered in tiles of different kinds (There were cobblestones too, but tiles were generously used.) The tiles streets made me think that I was walking on one giant and glorious bathroom (because you know, the bathroom is usually the most-tiled room of the house.) Two, since Portugal and Spain are two of the most mountainous countries in Europe, slopey rodes are quite common. However, in Spain most urban centers are quite flat (or at least they make it look that way) making it easier to walk. In Lisbon, the hilly and mountainous areas reach the city. Put slopes and tiles together, and you get this one unique and sometimes difficult experience of walking around Lisbon (it's even more difficult when it rains, and I got to experience that as well.) Despite these observations, I knew that Portugal had its own vibrance brought about by the sea and the moutnains (or at least in Lisbon, the mighty Tagus River and the mountains.)

- I later reached my hostel, Lisboa Central Garden ("Lisboa" is the Portugese name for "Lisbon,") and upon reaching the hostel and my room, I knew that I had found my home in Lisbon. Apart from the amenities, what impressed me the most was that the room was hotel level, but the price is hostel price (in short, the rooms looked fancier than they're worth.) Coincidentally, I was given a room with an orange-and-white motif (and my friends know how much this makes me happy,) and I also got the private room so I had my own bathroom. Another thing I liked about the hostel was that it was close to the metro station (Marques de Pombal Station,) and it is also a good 15- to 20-minute walk to the main downtown area (i.e. the touristy area.)  

See my orange room!!!! (It looks dark but that's just because I did not turn on the desk lamps for this photo. The desk lamps add a lot of illumination to the room.)

- It was early afternoon when I started exploring Lisbon, and I had not even eaten lunch. Since a friend recommended a restaurant to me in the Baixa area (the main gridded downtown,) I walked from my hostel all the way to the downtown area, passing by some tourist spots along the way. The first place that I passed by was the Praca dos Restauradores (the "c" in "praca" is actually spelled with a tail or a cedilla, making it pronounced as "prasa" and not "praka.") The plaza ("praca" is Portuguese for "plaza") is called as such not because it had a lot of restaurants as some people think, but rather this plaza was dedicated to the "restorers" ("restaurador") of Portugese independence from Spanish colonization. The plaza was inagurated in the 1600s, and the obelisk in the middle, in the 1800s.

Buildings lining Avenida da Liberdade.

Portuguese sidewalks look something like this.

The obelisk in the middle of the Praca dos Restauradores. 

- Walking further south, I was met with another plaza - the Rossio Square or Praca de Dom Pedro IV. The plaza has been around since the 1200s, with restorations and upgrades throughout the century. One of the most distinct "upgrade" was when the plaza was paved with the distinct black-and-white patterned mosaic. This black-and-white patterned mosaic is a common design used in open squares in Portugal and former Portugese colonies like Macau (click here to read about my trip to Macau.) This is why many people say that when one travels to Portugal, don't only look up or straight ahead, but also look down (because the pavement can have really interesting designs and patterns.)

Rossio Train Station.

Rossio Square; that's the status of King Pedro IV.

Bronze fountain from France. Also notice the mosaic pavement.

Igreja do Carmeo (Church of  Our Lady of Mount Carmel) from flat ground; the church is on top of a hill.  

Entrance to Baixa.

- I finally reached the downtown (Baixa) area, with the gridded area filled with souvenir stores, branded stores, restaurants, cafes, and specialty stores. Before exploring a lot more, I first needed to have lunch at a restaurant called Ena Pai, which is a small Portugese restaurant at Rua dos Correeiros (a street just beside Rua Augusta.) I had arroz de tamboril (seafood rice caserole,) and carne del porco aletejana. The restaurant was recommended to me because the food was great and the price was even greater!!

Arroz de Tamboril.

Carne del porco aletejana. 

- After my lunch I continued to the end of Rua Augusta to see the Rua Augusta Arch. This arch was built as a celebration of Lisbon's reconstruction after the 1755 earthquake. Outside the arch is the big plaza called Praca do Comercio ("Commerce Square" in English.) The plaza used to be the Ribeira Palace courtyard (with the location of the Rua Augusta Arch and its surrounding buildings as the site of the former palace). The palace was also destroyed during the earthquake, and the old palace yard was remodeled as the new plaza. Contrary to what many believe, the body of water in front of the plaza is not the sea, but the great Tagus River.  

Rua Augusta Arch, the site of the old Palace Ribera.

The equestrian statue of King Dom Jose I.

You can see the Cristo Rei (Christ the King) from across the Tagus River

- Neart the Praca do Comercio is the Igreja de Nossa Senhora da Conheicao Velha. It is a 15th century church converted from an old Jewish temple. The church facade was also one of the only things that survived the 1755 earthquake. Unfortunately, the church was closed when I arrived, weird enough visitors' guides to Lisbon say that the church is open everyday.

The church with the long name.

Details of the church facade.

- After visiting the church, I went back to the gridded Baixa area to find the Elevador de Santa Justa. As the name suggests, even though you don't know Portuguese, the Elevador de Santa Justa is an elevator, but what makes it awesome is that it was made in the late 1800s! This old elevator because it was hard to reach the higher part of Lisbon (particularly a district called Barrio Alto, or "High Neighborhood") from sea level. If not using the elevator, peolpe can drive up or use the stairs. However, this elevator, with a small fee, is a convenient way to reach Barrio Alto; the Lisbon Card also covers the entrance fee to this elevator so I didn't have to pay. Also, Bairro Alto reminded me of so much of California's very own San Francisco (click here to see my visit to San Francisco.)

Elevador de Santa Justa from the lower downtown area.

View from the top (the church at the left is the Se de Lisboa or the Lisbon Cathedral. 

You can see Rossio Square (the one with the obelisk.) 

Ruins of Igreja do Carmo fron the elevator overservatory.

The brown structure on the top of the hill is the Castelo de Sao Jorge.

There's a walkway fromt he elevator to Bairro Alto.

- The closest thing to the top of the elevator is the Igreja do Carmo that I mentioned earlier in this post. The destruction of this 14th century church and convent was also caused by the massive 1755 earthquake. Now, apart from the ruins of the church as the main attraction, there is also a small arcghaeological museum.  

What remains of the cathedral.

I am not sure what they're supposed to represent.

Saint Joanni Nepomuceno.

Portuguese tiles.

A slab of stone with Arabic words; this was from the Islamic era of the Iberian Peninsula.

Apparently, the early modern Portuguese (and the Spanish too actually) treated mummies as souvenirss. This one was from South America.

More tiles!!

King Ferdinand II.

- From the Igreja do Carmo, I dashed my way to find another special church, the Igreja de Sao Roque. This church with a simple facade is actually a very important one. For one, this church was one of the first Jesuit churches not only in Portugal, but also one of the first in the world. The church, completed in the 1500s and partially destroyed by the earthquale of 1755. Another reason for its importance is because of the treasures inside the church. Despite the simplicity of its facade, it is well ornamented inside, mainly by gold from Brazil during the times when Brazil was still under Portuguese rule. Apart from the church, the side part of the church is a museum with artworks and old religious paraphernalia from old Portugal and the different colonies like Macau and Brazil.

Saw this guy on the way to Igreja de Sao Roque.

Gold gold golllddddd from Brazilllllllll!!

Mother Mary shrine.

Shucks, even the organ is gold coated!!

Can't have too much gold!!

Old epitaph.

St. Ignatius of Loyola.

Priest clothes from Macau (notice the Chinese design.)

Lacquerware from China.

From Palestine.

Priest clothes made of gold!!

The facade of the church doesn't say much.

San Francisco anyone? (But no, this is Bairro Alto.)

- I went back to the Baixa area after my visit to Bairro Alto. People have told me that I missed the full life of Bairro Alto because that region is also known for its night life (i.e. parties and bars, etc.) Well, I'm just not into those things so it didn't matter. I just spend the rest of the early evening shopping for souvenirs at the Baixa area. As with my observation in Barcelona, many souvenir stores are manned by South Asians (i.e. Indians, Pakistanis, Bangladeshis, and to a lesser extent, Nepalis.) In one certain store, I figured that the South Asians there were Hindi (and Bengali) speakers, so I immediately talked to them in Hindi. As they were quite shocked to see a non-South-Asian to speak Hindi in Portugal, they immediately gave me really good discounts (this is even an understatement - talk about discounts less than half the selling price; all the souvenir stores in the area had more or less the same price, so I guess you could say that I hit the jackpot.)  

Rossio Station at night.

- The following day was reserved for a special district of Lisbon called Belem. "Belem" is short for "Bethlehem" (though the place is never called Bethlehem per se.) The Belem area is probably the most historically important region of Portugal, and an important place in world history too; the Belem district is where many Portuguese navigators started their worldwide journeys during the early modern era (some of these explorers include Ferdinand Magellan and Vasco da Gama.)

- The Belem District is a few kilometers outside the downtown area of Lisbon, and cannot be reached by the usual metro. However, the Belem district can be reached quickly in two easy ways. One way is the city tram (the modern 15E tram) that can be caught in Praca do Comercio. Another way is the Cascais long distance train from the Cais do Sodre transportation hub (it's a hub for the metro, ferry, and long distance trains,) with the Belem as one of its stops. I chose the latter, but it sort of backfired. Apparently, the Cascais train sometimes skips the Belem station at certain times of the day (and despite meticulously planning for my trip, this is something that none of my sources brought up.) At least, the station after it isn't too far, and I just had to walk for 10-15 minutes before I reached the Belem cultural area. The tram would've been a better choice becaus it always stops at the Belem area. However, the frequency of the tram isn't as regular too, as the tram usually operates every 15-30 minutes, depending on the day or time of the day.

- After my mini-mishap with the Cascais train, I was able to reach the Belem Tower around 8 in the morning. I could say that I had better timing this time than the Barcelona one. At least the sun was high up, but still early enough to not have other tourists around; I planned a photoshoot session with the Belem Tower as it is one of the most iconic landmarks of Lisbon. Although there were no tourists around, my challenge for the morning was the heavy wind. Not only was it because of the season, but also because the Belem Tower is right by the Tagus River bordering the sea, and further on, the Atlanic Ocean.

- The Belem Tower was built as both a defense system and a grand welcoming landmark to Lisbon. One interesting fact was that the original Belem Tower was built on a small island off the coast of Lisbon. However, the river was redirected after the earthquake so the Belem Tower now sits at the river bank..

The Belem Tower and me with my makeshift Portugese costume.

A model of the tower.

Cristo Rei and the 25 de Abril Bridge from across the river.

- Since I was at the Belem area too area, as most landmarks open at 10am, I found a small area with a few souvenir stores, a restroom (it was freezing that morning), and my decent breakfast - pasteis de nata (Portugal's custard tarts.)

Pasteis de nata with coffee.

- I went back to the Belem Tower and waited until the tower would open. At 10am, unsurprisingly, I was one of the first people to go up the tower. Since part of the tower was being renovated, I could only climb to some levels.

See the waves crashing in.

Inside the tower, thwere are a lot of cannons.

Up the stairs to the main open area.

This is what welcomed the explorers.

Portuguese emblem.

Cristo Rei and 25 de Abril Bridge. 

A very very narrow walkway. I almost didn't fit.

Stone rhinoceros head.

Stairs down the towers.

See that seagull not caring about the world.

- After visiting the Belem Tower, I walked all the way to Parado dos Descobrimentos, a monument erected in 1939 to honor the Age of Exploration during the early modern centuries (15th, 16th centuries, roughly.) However, it was being renovated and with scaffolding all over the monument.

On the way to Padrao dos Descobrimentos..

Scaffolding, scaffolding everywhere.

Sad me because of the scaffolding.

- Behind the Padrao de Descobrimentos is the Jeronimos Monastery (Mosteiro dos Jeronimos) and the National Archaeology Museum. The monastery and the church connected to the monastery were built in the 1500s and ended in the 1600s. Plenty of famous people were buried there, including Portugal's Luis de Camoes (Portugal's answer to UK's Shakespeare and Spain's Cervantes) and Vasco da Gama. The National Archaeology Museum (photos not allowed inside) found its home in the western wing of the monastery.

What I initially thought was the monastery was actually the National Archaeology Museum. The monastery is the building to the right that I wasn't able to take a photo of completely. Boo.

What kind of ducks are they.

The side entrance of the monastery. (But the actual entrance is in between the museum and the monastery.)

This guy was entertaining a group of students having their field trip in the monastery. 

Inside the monastery. The monastery, like the Belem Tower, was built in the Manueline style.

Cloisters.

Rocking my Nehru vest inside the cloisters.

View of the church from the second floor; the second floor can be accessed through the monastery.

Luis de Camoes.

Vasco da Gama.

- After visiting the monastery I tried to find my lunch, and found a nice restaurant near Jardim de Belem (it's the park right beside the monastery.) I had grilled octopus with potatoes. I found it strange that I actually wanted to eat octopus for lunch because I don't normally eat octopus (though I have tried a few times in the past) simply because I like the octopus as an animal and it's my favorite marine creature. However, the photo of the grilled octopus seemed delectable so I decided to have it.

I'm sorry dear octopus friend, but you were so good to eat.

- After lunch I had a brief visit to the statue of Alfonso de Albuquerque at the Jardim de Albuquerque (right beside Jardim de Belem.) Albuquerque is another familiar name in world history textbooks as he is well-known conqueror.

Alfonso de Albuquerque.

- Beside the Jardim de Albuquerque is the Nacional Coach Museum (Museu Nacional dos Coches.) It is a museum dedicated to the collection of fancy royal carriages and old "cars" (like old ambulances and firetrucks) that the royal family of Portugal used. Although the museum was established in 1905, the building that houses the cars was built in the 1700s as a horse-riding area by the royal family who lived in the Belem Palace beside the Royal Coach Museum.    

Inside the National Coach Museum.

What carriage drivers wore before.

Coach details.

Old ambulance.

Old firetruck.

Also an old firetruck.

Queen Maria Amelia, the last queen consort of Portugal.

Her ceremonial cape.

The museum from the second floor.

- Speaking of the Belem Palace, it was the next place I visited. The pink-colored Belem Palace is the official residence of the president of Portugal. However, there is a museum at the side of the palace that can be visited by tourists, which, of course, is dedicated to the history of Portuguese presidency.

Belem Palace.

Flag of Portugal 

One of the official gifts of Brazil to Portugal.

Photos of the earlier presidents after the Portuguese regicide and the establishment of the republic.

President Anibal Silva, the president before the current one, President Marcelo de Sousa.

Official bling bling.

The issue of the newspaper that showed the "new" Portuguese national anthem, which is still used until today.

- After my visit to the palace, I decided to leave the Belem area, although there are other things that I know I missed but were quite far from the main route, such as the Ethnology Museum and the Ajuda Palace (the palace used after the destruction of the Ribeira Palace.) I would have visited them had I more time.

- I caught the tram 15E (as it has a station near the palace) and rode the modern tram all the way to Infante Santo Avenue to visit the Museu do Oriente, which is a museum dedicated to the conquest of Portugal in Asia. However, I seemed to have gotten lost and I walked too much, so much so that I ended up walking all the way to the Cais Rocha tram station, which is the next tram station. However, it appeared to be a blessing in disguise (as the Museu do Oriente wasn't really my priority) since I reached my planned next destination after the supposed visit to Museu do Oriente. Instead of Museu do Oriente, I found myself in front of the Museu Nacional das Arte Antiga (or MNAA; in English it's the "National Museum of Antique Arts.") Compared to the Museu do Oriente, the MNAA was a bigger priority, since the MNAA was a palace before being turned into a museum. The building that houses the MNAA used to be the Palacio Alvor, and turned into a museum in the 1800s. Because of that, you can say that the museum was huge!!

I had to be at the center because I wanted to cover up the people sitting on the stairs behind my big head. 

There was a gallery solely dedicated to various antique nativity-scene dioramas.

Another nativity scene diorama.

What the Belem district looked like before.

What hell could look like.

Folding screen door. from Japan.

Pensive Bodhisattva from either Japan or Korea (the museum wasn't sure.) 

Royal hair.

Furniture and tapestry art of early modern Portugal.

- I caught the tram 15E once again to Cais do Sodre. Seeing that I still have some daylight left, I took the ferry from Cais do Sodre to Cacilhas. Since the Lisboa Card doesn't include the ferry, I was issued a Viva Viagem Card by the ticket vendor. The Viva Viagem Card is the regular all-around reloadable contactless transportation card used in Portugal, sort of like Hong Kong's Octopus Card, or Korea's T-Money Card. Since I had some days left beyond the 3-day limit of my Lisboa Card, I could keep the Viva Viagem card and reuse the Viva Viagem card once my Lisboa Card expires after my third day in Lisbon.

- The ferry trip from the Cais do Sodre port to Cacilhas was a good 5 minutes more or less, just like crossing the Chao Phraya River from the Rattanakosin port to Wat Arun (click here), or from Tsim Sha Tsui to Hong Kong Island (click here.)

Taken during my short ferry ride.

View of Lisbon from Almada.

- From the Cacilhas port in Almada City, I took bus 101 all the way up the Cristo Rei statue (there are many bus stops in front of the station, so just find the bus stop where bus 101 stops; it is somewhere at the back.) Entering the Cristo Rei premises does not require an entrance fee, but going up the tower needs one. Contrary to popular belief, the Christ the King statue was based on Brazil's Christ the Redeemer statue, and not the other way around; people normally think it's the other way around because Portugal colonized Brazil. However, Brazil's giant world wonder was finished in the 1930s, while Almada's Cristo Rei was finished in 1969. Interestingly, behind the Cristo Rei is the 25 de Abril Bridge which looks a lot like San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge (click here to compare.) The bridge was opened in 1966, but named as the "25 de Abril" Bridge almost a decade later in honor of the Carnation Revolution that overthrew the Second Republic of Portugal. The bridge is also one of the world's largest suspension bridges.

Am I in Brazil now?

I sent a photo like this to my mom and I told her that I decided to have a side trip to Brazil. Nearly gave her a heart attack.

I also sent her this photo of the 25 de Abril Bridge that looks a lot like San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge. Told my mom that I flew from Portugal to San Francisco, then from San Francisco to Brazil. Again I almost made her panic.

Up the tower,

- After my visit to Cristo Rei, I took the ferry back to Cais do Sodre in Lisbon and rode the tram to Praca do Comercio at the downtown area. It was already sundown and decided to walk home. I passed by the Rua Augusta Arch and noticed an entrance to the arch behind it. Apparently, people can purchase tickets to go inside the arch and go up the arch for a breathtaking view of the Tagus River side and the hilly side of Lisbon!

Praca do Comercio and Rua Augusta Arch at night.

Inside the arch.

The contraption that operates the clock on the arch.

Praca do Comercio from up above.

Rua Augusta from the arch.

Se Cathedral at night.

Hanging out with the statues on top of the arch.

- I had dinner at Ena Pai once again and strolled back home. Lisbon was already Christmas-y, which reminded me how much the Filipinos like putting up their decorations a few months before December. As for me, I had to rest and prepare for my main agenda (and the main purpose of this Eurotrip) - my conference paper presentation. However, I also had the opportunity to discover another interesting district of Lisbon - Alfama! (Please don't forget to read Part 1 here, Part 2 here, Part 3 here, Part 5 here,  Part 6 here, Part 7 here, Part 8 here, Part 9 here, Part 10 here, and Part 11 here!!)

Merry Christmas, Lisbon!

"Boas Festas" = "Happy Holidays!!"