Sept 17-Lisbon



Train Station

Train arrives early in Lisbon, after crossing rough tracks in the middle of the night. I am so excited to have arrived that I hurry off of the train and into the station. While eating breakfast, I realize I've left my journal in the bed. I run back to the train, and luckily my compartment hasn't been cleaned yet and so my notebook with all my contact info in it is still there. Takes me over an hour to figure out where and how to buy a transit pass. Lock my stuff up and catch bus to Belem, my hostel doesn't open 'til 2 pm and I've got hours to kill. It's hot here, too.


Praca Commercio

I wander around Belem, it's still early and everything is closed. I'm trying to find the Torre de Belem.  I pass by a garbage and pull out the banana and contemplate throwing it in, but feel guilty about that and so peel it and try to salvage an edible part to eat and then toss the rest. Eventually, the gate opens to the tower. Shortly after, my battery dies and I run out of film, so leave to go find both and to eat lunch. I go back across town to train station to pick up my luggage (since I finally realized I could leave my stuff in "left luggage," I do it all the time now) and go back to find the hostel, which is in the same neighborhood as the Praca Commercio.  They aren't ready yet, but let me go onto another floor to shower (been a couple of 90+ days and I've been wearing the same clothes) and lock up my luggage for me.  I go back to Belem, I had bought an entrance ticket to the Mosteiro dos Jeronimos.  Both the Mosteiro dos Jeronimos and Torre de Belem are Manueline, which I think is a late gothic-style with a seafaring motif.  The Convento de Cristo and Templar Castle in Tomar are also really good examples of this style.  It's fairly specific to Portugal.

Rooster

I stand in the long, but quick moving line to try the original Pasteis de Belem, and then wander over to an underkept botanical garden (due to austerity measures resulting in staff cuts) and find this rooster.






Street Angels

Later, I check into my room and wander around the waterfront area while I wait for it to be time for dinner. (I remember having good conversations and eating a fantastic cake.) Come across these boarded up entrances painted over with angels, and stop by a port shop.  In the morning I mean to come back to the shop that sells only tinned fish, but end up taking the elevator up to Alfama district, and have to rush back to check out of hostel by noon.