Belém

We had planned to spend the day in Belém and tried to get up early to be there at a reasonable time. We realized that being four, taking a taxi would be more affordable (and faster!) than taking the train. We started the day by visiting the Jeronimos Monastery. So beautiful! I really enjoyed it, and we didn't even need to wait long to get in.

After visiting the monastery, we went to the Padrão dos Descobrimentos (Monument to the Discoveries). We hadn't even planned to go there, but once we approached we decided to get in. You have to pay, but you can get to the top of the building and inside there was a photography exhibition of the Portuguese colonies that I really enjoyed. The building itself looks massive, and it depicts an idealized view of explorers. I wouldn't say exactly that I like it, but it's certainly impressive.

Then we walked to the Belém Tower, but we didn't get in. It's been a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1983, along with the Jerónimos Monastery, but we had heard the inside is not that interesting, and I guess we were starting to be tired by then. The walk by the water was great, though. Seeing the fortification semi-surrounded by water was very cool.

We had lunch at a place by the water, À Margem, which wasn't particularly special but was very convenient, and then went back to the monastery to visit the church that we hadn't seen before because the lines were too long. Of course, we couldn't leave without trying the famous Belém cakes from the Pastéis de Belém bakery, even if none of us was really that hungry... I was full, but they were delicious!

Before leaving Belém, we checked out an Ai Weiwei exhibit, Rapture, at Cordoaria Nacional. This is an interesting exhibition center. It was a rope production factory until 1998 and is now a wide, spacious space for rotating exhibitions. We enjoyed the Ai Weiwei one. Dean and I had already seen some of this work in San Francisco, but it was still interesting to see it in a different space. Some of the pieces were new to us as well.

We took an Uber back to the hotel and Cristina and stopped at a store, Portugal dos Meus Amores, to buy a planter she had seen a couple of days before. I also got a couple of souvenirs.

For dinner, my dad took us to a place where they went the previous time they had visited the city, a hole-in-the-wall restaurant, Lisboa 33, that had excellent and affordable food. We ended the night at a bar next door, Duque da Rua, with live Portuguese music and a super fun vibe. Unfortunately, we arrived so late that we only enjoyed a few songs before the show was over! I would definitely come here again, though.Read more