The first area of Lisbon that we explored was Belem because it has many museums and famous monuments. We were lucky as the museums are free on Sunday mornings so we get to see Museums of Maritime and Archaeology for free. Afterward, we couldn't wait for lunch to eat the well-known pasteis da nata (egg custard) from the famous cafe, Pasteis de Belem. I had tasted these custards in Taiwan before as they were very popular a few years back. Chinese also have its own version of egg custard (蛋塔) which doesn't have the black spots. The custards were delicious! Syd insisted going back for more but Sera and I held him back by telling him the danger of cholesterol... NOT! :p We didn't get anymore that day simply because the line at the cafe was tooooooo long!
Guess what? Belem also has a Golden Gate Bridge! (See the bridge directly behind Syd?) It has a different name, Ponte 25 de Abril, but it's designed by the same architect. One of the famous monuments in Belem is the huge sculpture behind us, Padrao dos Descobrimentos (Monument to the Discoveries). It's to celebrate the Portuguese who sailed out to the unknown in the 15th and 16th centuries. I thought for sure that the figure at the tip of the monument must be Vasco da Gama but it turned out to be Henry the Navigator, the sponsor of the Discoveries. Well, it makes sense as expedition requires financial support (like everything else). Vasco da Gama is still one of the figures in the monument though. (More details of the monument: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Padr%C3%A3o_dos_Descobrimentos)
PS. I forgot to mention that Lisbon is built on 7 hills so ladies, leave your heels at home. Tennis shoes are the best foot gear.
No comments:
Post a Comment