retiredmartin

March 2024. Belem. Portugal.

Our flight home from Lisbon left at 10pm, so with bags dumped we could have a whole day of tourism and toping .

And trains. A local rail service from main station Cais do Sodre to Belem (7 minutes) that must have seen the tourists coming as it seemed to work out more per mile than Sheffield-Manchester.

Belem is the West Kensington of Lisbon, home to multiple architectural delights, notably Padrão dos Descobrimentos, the memorial to the navigators and explorers.

A startling piece of work, but will they be able to add a depiction of BRAPA when he completes his epic circumnavigation of the Good Beer Guide ?

Belem had the bulk of the tourists, probably the cruise boat crowd, and the only hawkers (Lisbon caps, 5 euros) we saw all trip.

The tourist route takes you along the coast to the medieval tower on the sand,

closed for refurbishment/conversion into a Brunning & Price today.

We enjoyed the busker with electric violin,

For 2 pints, what tune is he playing* ?

Loads of museums in Belem, but the big queue is for Jeronimo’s Monastery.

I’d always wondered where the cry of “Jeronimo” originated.

Not much interest in the Presidential residence; we’d just missed the changing of the guard.

Tourists, students and locals competed for space in the Starbucks; we found the one authentic cafe with lottery machine and an octopus that may still have been alive.

Back in the centre Mrs RM reckoned she deserved an artisanal ice cream after 21,000 steps, and she was right.

And then, the uphill walks began…

*Clue – it’s a grower.