Solo travel adventures - LISBON - Day 3

How to start your last day in Lisbon? Definitely not with rain in the morning!

When I opened the curtains to let the sunshine in the room and enjoy the view while drinking my morning coffee I was surprised to see heavy clouds and puddles on the streets instead. For today I planned to visit Belém district with beautiful views of Atlantic ocean so I was a little bit disappointed.

But I can't change the weather (as much as I would wish to) so I will make the best out of this rainy day!

I have packed my jumper, jacket, umbrella and camera and started my adventure.

Belém district is around 7 km far from the hotel so I took a taxi this time. It costs me around 7 EUR which is not bad at all when you try to avoid public transportation.

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The taxi driver stopped right in front of The Jerónimos Monastery. I was speechless for a moment as I didn't expect it to be so big!

The Jerónimos Monastery was originally built as a small chapel in 14th century. The chapel is associated with the early sailors and explorers and it was where Vasco da Gama spent his last night before his voyage to the Far East.

Upon his return and the found new riches in Africa and the far east, King Manuel I began the construction of a new monastery to show the glorious wealth that the age of exploration brought to the Portuguese empire.

I must say that it is the most impressive building that I've seen in Lisbon.

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The monastery is listed as UNESCO world heritage now. Inside are the tombs of the royal family, Vasco de Gama, and Luís de Camões among other Portuguese notables from the time it was built.

The sacristy of the church of Santa Maria de Belém is one of the most beautiful architectural spaces in the Monastery of Jerónimos. The Church houses the tombs of Vasco da Gama and Luís de Camões, a Portuguese poet and writer.

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On the west side of the monastery building you can find The Navy Museum. It is a maritime museum in Lisbon, dedicated to all aspects of the history of navigation in Portugal. I will definitely go there next time.

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On the right side of the monastery there is The Tropical botanical garden. I have found it on the way to Pastéis de Belém bakery that began making the original Pastéis de Belém in 1837, following an ancient recipe from the Jerónimos monastery. It is an egg pastry so I didn't try it but I've found it amusing to see so many people queuing just to try this local dessert.

Have you tried it? I heard it is very delicate.

But back to the botanical garden. Initially I was not planning to enter the garden but I really liked these tall palm trees that you can see from far away so I paid 2 EUR entrance fee and started to explore the place.

It was raining when I was there and I was happy to find a tree that I could use as a shelter and take a picture of these ducks with the palm trees alley in the back.

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When I entered the garden I didn't know they were everywhere. And so many of them! This group was heading directly to me and it turned out they only wanted to show off in front of the camera. After I took the pictures, they turned around and disappeared in the garden.

It was like they would be telling me: OK, so you're here now and we let you to take some pictures of us but then leave us alone!

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The garden was created in 1906, as a data collection field for agriculture in the Portuguese colonies.

There are statues that represent the native population of Portuguese colonies. This is not my favorite part but these two statues caught my attention as the rain made them look like they were crying.

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The plant collection in the garden consists of species with historical connection to the age of discoveries of the Portuguese explorers. I really liked Erythrina Speciosa flowers. They look beautiful covered with rain drops.

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There are supposed to be some exhibitions in the castle located in the garden but it was closed during my visit.

Overall I must say that I visited botanical gardens that were more beautiful. I hate to say that this one seems not to be so well maintained. I believe there is a lot of potential in the garden but you can see the lack of money invested in the maintenance at the moment.

Slightly disappointed with the garden I went straight to the Padrão dos Descobrimentos and Tower of St Vincent also know as Belém tower.

Padrão dos Descobrimentos is a monument on the northern bank of the Tagus River estuary. It was built in 1940 with its main architect Cottinelli Telmo to celebrate the Portuguese discoveries and to symbolize the starting point for the caravels. It represents the prow of a ship transporting the most prominent figures of 16th century. In 1960 it was made in stone on the Praça do Império in Belém.

As it is situated very close to the Atlantic ocean the wind was much stronger than anywhere in the city. Together with some other tourists we were trying to keep our umbrellas straight. It was not easy and almost all of us eventually gave up. I saw a few broken umbrellas too!

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From Praça do Império you can enjoy the view of The 25 de Abril Bridge. It is the largest suspension bridge in Europe and the 20th longest in the world. Often considered as a twin sister of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.

I was hoping not to fall in the river as I was very close to the edge but the drive to take desired pictures was stronger than my fear 😊

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The distance between Padrão dos Descobrimentos and Tower of St Vincent might be less than 500 meters but I had to take a break and drink a glass of rosé in a trendy bar nearby😊 I was completely wet and exhausted from the wind so I didn't have to think twice before I entered the bar. And hey, you can have a glass of wine on vacation anytime, right? Even at 4 PM!

After an hour I asked for a bill and I continued to the tower. I was very lucky as I arrived just on time before the last entry.

Because of the weather there were not that many people so I could enjoy strolling around (as much as you can enjoy strolling around in such wind)

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The tower was built in 1515 as a fortress to guard the entrance to Lisbon's harbor. Years later, it was transformed into a lighthouse and customs house. It is listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage monument.

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The ground floor of this architectural gem has 16 windows with cannons. The visit also includes a tour of the pits and holes where the prisoners were thrown into.

The tower has five floors which lead to a roof terrace. The spiral staircase is very narrow and you have to wait for a green light to climb or descend. There are 93 stairs to reach the tower. I normally don't like such narrow paths as they make me anxious but there is a very good air circulation so I didn't mind.

The names of floors from bottom to top are: The Governor’s Hall, The Kings’ Hall, the Audience Hall, the Chapel and Roof terrace.

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View from the top of the tower to the western part of the city. I love purple Jacarandas! Thank you @leeart for helping me with the name of these trees!

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View to the Atlantic ocean with a storm coming in our direction 😊 Time to move, quickly!

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By the time I came down the staircase it started to rain again. But more heavily as before so it was time for another glass of rosé 😊 I have never had rosé from Portugal and I'm so happy that I tried it here! It is my new favorite drink!

The waitress was so kind to arrange a taxi for me to get back to the hotel.

This is the last day of my Lisbon adventure and I'm flying back home tomorrow.

I am working on my top 5 favorite attractions and vegan travel guide which I will share with you soon so stay tuned!

Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed it!

All pictures are taken by Nikon D3200 AF-S NIKKOR 18-55 mm 1:3.5-5.6 G II.

Cheers,

Martina