Lisbon – Day 2 – Belém and Baixa
Saturday, 11-Apr-2015
Tags: Travel
We went to Belém on Saturday. We’re not sure if Belém is part of Lisbon or a separate town but it is a 20-minute tram ride west along the southern coast of Lisbon.
The first place that we went was the Tower of Belém (Torre de Belém). As described on the
golisbon web site:
Built in 1515 as a fortress to guard the entrance to Lisbon's harbor, the Belem Tower was the starting point for many of the voyages of discovery, and for the sailors it was the last sight of their homeland. It is a monument to Portugal's Age of Discovery, often serving as a symbol of the country, and UNESCO has listed it as a World Heritage monument. Built in the Manueline style, it incorporates many stonework motifs of the Discoveries [e.g.rope motif] , sculptures depicting historical figures such as St. Vincent and an exotic rhinoceros that inspired Dürer's drawing of the beast. The architect, Francisco de Arruda, had previously worked on Portuguese fortifications in Morocco, so there are also Moorish-style watchtowers and other Moorish influences. Facing the river are arcaded windows, delicate Venetian-style loggias, and a statue of Our Lady of Safe Homecoming, a symbol of protection for sailors on their voyages.
The main floor featured 16 cannon positions around the portion of the tower facing the water. Below this floor was the dungeon for political prisoners.
There was a circular staircase down to the dungeon where you frequently came across good-looking tourists.
There was also a circular staircase up to the top (with several floors in between). The staircase was up-down flow-controlled electronically. The view from the top of the tower was impressive, including looking down on the lower floors.
From the top, looking back east (towards Lisbon proper) and the 25 de Abril Bridge.
Just east of the tower is the
Discoveries Monument (Padrão dos Descobrimentos). (You can see it in the distance in the picture above.) We didn’t go in and up, but the design of the building was interesting and on both sides was a carving of a group of explorers on an abstract ship (the west facing side is shown in the following picture).
We then walked to the Monastery of the Order of Saint Jerome (Mosteiro dos Jerónimos). Excerpts from
golisbon:
The Jeronimos Monastery is the most impressive symbol of Portugal's power and wealth during the Age of Discovery. King Manuel I built it in 1502 on the site of a hermitage founded by Prince Henry the Navigator, where Vasco da Gama and his crew spent their last night in Portugal in prayer before leaving for India...much of the design [is] characterized by elaborate sculptural details and maritime motifs. This style of architecture became known as Manueline, a style of art that served to glorify the great discoveries of the age.
The cloisters. Each column is differently carved with coils of rope, sea monsters, coral, and other sea motifs evocative of that time of world exploration at sea.
Another good looking tourist.
The tomb of Vasco da Gama.
Coming back on the tram from Belém, we stopped at Praça de Comércio in the Baixa neighborhood. We had a late and light lunch at one of cafés in the square.
Taking the metro back to the Saldahna neighborhood. A few blocks southwest of our hotel is the very formal Parque Eduardo VII, which has a very high viewpoint and then slopes down to Praça Marqués Pombal. In this picture, the castle on the hill (from yesterday) is on the far left, and the water straight ahead of course.
We chose to eat dinner close by again, this time at Cave Real. We had a mixed fish for two, which included salmon, bream, shrimp, and clams, so very good, and served at the table out of a metal wok-like pot it was cooked in. We actually drank a whole bottle of white wine from the Alentejo DOC wine area.
We could not decide what to split for dessert, and on the waiter’s suggestion had a sample of cheese cake, pumpkin custard, and classic egg custard.
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Larry and Eileen Samberg
