Lisbon Day 3

Today started a little late. Chris developed a bit of a fever last night and didn't sleep very well so I let her sleep in until she woke up mid morning. We were going to be riding the train today so she thought she would be OK if we took our time and did not overdo it.

We walked down to the train station and caught the train to Belem, a nautically flavoured suburb of Lisbon and ancient point of departure for the explorers.

Our first stop was at the Padrao dos Descombrimentos, a commemorative monument honouring the early Portuguese explorers and royalty including Henry the Navigator and Vasco de Gama.

There was a terrific mosaic tile square depicting the early voyages and and fabulous views from the top of the monument.

From here we walked past several marinas to the Torre de Belem, a 16th century fortification. Unfortunately the line for entry was very long so we passed up going in.

We walked a few blocks to the Museu de Marinha, a really nice marine museum which chronicled the  nautical history of Portugal from the early explorers to the present day.

The real feature I enjoyed was the great number of ship models from the ages along with the historical storyline.

Next door was the Mosteiro dos Jeronimos, a Unesco World Heritage site. It was founded in 1501 to trumpet Vasco de Gama's discovery of a sea route to India.

Just down the street on the way back to the train station was the Museu Nacional dos Coches. This former royal riding stable now houses a collection of 17th to 19th century ornate coaches used by royalty and religious leaders.

Chris was still feeling OK so we decided to continue our train trip west to Cascais, a seaside resort town on the ocean. A few beaches, lots of hotels, shops and bars.

We wandered around for a while and then stopped by a local wine shop for a beverage before hopping the train back to Lisbon.

We climbed back up the hill to our apartment, finishing our 17,000 steps for today.

We went to a little restaurant in the alley behind our place for tapas. We managed to get in even though they were totally booked. We arrived early (7:45) and promised to leave by 9:00 when the regular diners showed up. Great food at a reasonable price.

Will try to get rested for tomorrow's trip to Sintra.

Here is an idea for Niagara-on-the-Lake - TukTuk wine....