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- Jun 28, 2024
- ☁️ 21 °C
- Altitude: 5 m
- PortugalLisbon DistrictSanta Maria de BelémAjudaPraça do Império38°41’46” N 9°12’22” W
The round about where the tram stops
June 28 in Portugal ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C
Although it’s completely nondescript, the roundabout that the trams and buses use to collect passengers and retrace their routes is the center of Belem. Just behind it is a beautiful sprawling botanical garden. To it’s west, the famous Mosteiro dos Jeronimos and to it’s east, the Rue de Belem. A short ride (or walk away) are so many museums as well as the Padrao dos Descobrimentos, the Belem Tower, food trucks galore, 2 marinas, and tourists traps.
It’s as if someone took Decatur Street in New Orleans and the mall in DC and smashed them together (complete with the familiar smells of both areas).
Once an agricultural and fishing village, Belem built its population over the centuries by becoming a hub for global shipping trade, a strategic defense location, and a summer favorite for the royals, their court and the wealthy.
The sheer size of the Padrao dos Descobrimentos is astonishing. It’s a monument to the explorers, poets, clergy, and politicians that made Portugal’s colonization possible throughout the centuries.
Further down the river, the Tower of Belem is an intricate and artistic battle fort. Also astounding in size, the old soldier in me wondered what the sentries must have said as they lived on nearby ships and braved the elements while watching its elaborate construction. “Oh sure, add another nautical rope carving. Take your time! we don’t actually need it to guard our fair city and our muskets are sooo much better than cannons anyway”
I spent some time watching the sail boats on the river today. It made me wonder if my son’s love of sailing is something he inherited from our wayfinding ancestors. I see familiar faces everywhere here - the same nose as my grandpa or the same cheekbones as my mom. My great-grandparents left Portugal over 100 years ago - it’s easy to imagine what they might have seen if they ever walked these same streets. I don’t feel any farsickness (longing for far-off places, especially those you've not yet visited) yet but perhaps that will change as i move out of the city and further up the coast.
Tomorrow ill go back to the Mosteiro dos Jeronimos and take a tour of the inside. Ill also jump in one of those historic trams and explore the sights of lisbon beyond Belem.
i sampled Pasteis today. They are wonderful. Like crème brûlée in a tiny perfect pie crust.
The picture with the chandelier is my hotel room. I think this building was a manor or summer home once and they converted it into a hotel. It feels very glided age or bridgerton adjacent.Read more
I love Portugal. I am very envious of your trek. I’ve wanted to do that for years. One day. Enjoy the solitude and quiet and let it guide you. ❤️ [Megan Ramirez]
<3 [Tracey]
I would like to visit Portugal. Grandpa Roderick would tell me he would take me one day. I'm so sad that day never came. In his honor, I will make sure to visit this beautiful place of my ancestors. ❤️ [Michelle Roderick]