Belem V: Coaches 2

Belem IV: Coach Museum.

This was an interesting museum. royalty coaches throughout the years.

Belem III: the man, the myth....

The Portuguese nobleman Vasco da Gama (1460-1524) sailed from Lisbon in 1497 on a mission to reach India and open a sea route from Europe to the East. After sailing down the western coast of Africa and rounding the Cape of Good Hope, his expedition made numerous stops in Africa before reaching the trading post of Calicut, India, in May 1498. Da Gama received a hero’s welcome back in Portugal, and was sent on a second expedition to India in 1502, during which he brutally clashed with Muslim traders in the region. Two decades later, da Gama again returned to India, this time as Portuguese viceroy; he died there of an illness in late 1524.

Belem II

The Monastary of St. Jerome
The second most interesting church in Lisbon

Belem...

A hot, crowded bus ride on a hot day took me to Belem which had numerous interesting sites.
My first site was th discovery sculpture which was a homage to the great Portugal Navigators of gone past.
The second was Portgual's Torre de Belem which was a castle used to defend the harbor.

Street Theater...

I had time to kill so I sat outside the cafe in the square and watched street performers doing their excellent thing.

A 100 year old cafe...A Brasileira.

A short walk downhill from Sao Roque is a cafe that has been a meeting place for over 100 years and it’s a milestone, since it was once the choice of Fernando Pessoa, the greatest Portuguese poet. Back in the days, it was a meeting point for writers, artists and journalists. The inside is decorated by old carved wood and burnished metal décor.
And a great Pastel de Nata

Sao Roque II: Saint Rock

My new patron saint. St. Rock, 'nuff said.

Sao Roque I

Here was the first interesting church I visited. Beautiful wood painted ceilings and many chapels in gold or gold leaf. St John the Baptist chapel was transported from the Varican in Rome.

Sao Roque: History

The Igreja de São Roque (Church of Saint Roch) in Lisbon was the earliest Jesuit church in the Portuguese world, and one of the first Jesuit churches anywhere. It served as the Society’s home church in Portugal for over 200 years, before the Jesuits were expelled from that country. After the 1755 Lisbon Earthquake, the church and its ancillary residence were given to the Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Lisboa (the Charity House of Lisbon) to replace their church and headquarters which had been destroyed. It remains a part of the Santa Casa today, one of its many heritage buildings.

Exhausted!!!!

I woke up about 9:30 am and still could not get out of bed. My calves were killing me.  I took some meds jump in the shower, stop down stairs at Starbucks and hung out in the common area to work on the blog. I finally got going about 2pm.
I took the tram up the hill this time instead of the stairs. I picked up some white chocolate, then stopped at Sao Rock Church before heading to a wonderful old cafe watched some street performing, took a walk and then a cab for some take out sushi before heading home.

Night's end...

I went out to a bar in the Barro Alto, the new city for a drink and then some sushi for dinner before retiring home...
The bar called the Chinese Pavilio is filled with tone of couriosity items everywhere. Good selection of drinks and wonderful 20's photos.
The sushi place was excellent an very reasonable.

To the Cathedral

The Patriarchal Cathedral of St. Mary Major (Portuguese: Santa Maria Maior de Lisboa or Sé de Lisboa) or simply Lisbon Cathedral is a Roman Catholic Cathedral located in Lisbon, Portugal. The oldest church in the city is the see of the Archdiocese of Lisbon. Since the beginning of the construction of the cathedral, in the year 1147, the building has been modified several times and survived many earthquakes. It is nowadays a mix of different architectural styles. It is classified as a National Monument since 1910.

The most interesting of the Churches in Lisbon with a cloister still under excavation.

Castle Sao Jorge...

The São Jorge Castle (Portuguese: Castelo de São Jorge; is a Moorish castle occupying a commanding hilltop overlooking the historic centre of the Portuguese city of Lisbon and Tagus River. The strongly fortified citadel dates from medieval period of Portuguese history, and is one of the main tourist sites of Lisbon.

Walking around...

I spent some time just relaxing on a park bench.

I visited a couple of churches no photos as nothing stood out. I then headed to the Castle San Jorge.

Lisbon 1st. Stop...

The archaeological museum.
The Carmo Convent (Portuguese: Convento da Ordem do Carmo) is a historical building in Lisbon, Portugal. The medieval convent was ruined in the 1755 Lisbon Earthquake, and the ruins of its Gothic church (the Carmo Church or Igreja do Carmo) are the main trace of the great earthquake still visible in the city.
A wonderful ruin in the center of town a nice first stop. 

Destination Hostel

My room is fine like a good budget room.  Nice size, good towels, ok wifi and of course little lighting.
It is in a great building and center of everything.

The room...nice

Lisbon...

I arrived early morning on. TAP flight out of Newark. The business class seat was good but the TV was terrible. Who cares, I was excited and had a good sleep. I got in at 6am it was still dark out so I took a cab to the Hostel. This is my first hostel experience so I did not know what to expect. The hostel is in a train station and I had to ring a bell to get enter.
Of course, my room would not be ready until the afternoon.  The hostel has a common area of chairs and sofas. I took to a sofa a fell asleep a few hours. About 9 am, I got up and began exploring the town.
Bruno and another young guy were great in helping me store my luggage and said they would try and get my room ready early.  I got a map and off I went....