Lisbon Day Two

(Will be loading photos later so check back!)

We took care of some boring logistical stuff before really starting our day today. We are picking up a rental car in Sevilla on Thursday and this proved a little more complicated than we had anticipated. Original plan was to get the car in Lisbon, drop it in Barcelona on our way out. Until the rental car company tacked on a 450 E fee for a one way rental across the border, effectively turning a $400-500 rental into a $1200 rental. Ah, no. So we will get the car in Sevilla instead, but getting there is not easy since apparently no one feels the need to go directly from Lisbon to Sevilla.

Inside the cathedral at Jeronimos

Anyway, we decided it might be smart to take the metro to the bus station and get the tickets today, and then we would know how to get there, etc. Smart move, for sure, since there are no signs directing you to the bus station from the metro stop. We figured it out eventually, got our tickets and headed back downtown to take a trolley to Jeronimos Monastery in Belem. By this time, we needed lunch and the guys were on the hunt for toasts. Again. I clearly need new traveling companions. We passed up several places offering various seafood and rice dishes, and fried cuttlefish (which I now have a huge craving for, thank you very much), and fish stews...looking for grilled cheese.

Shoot me now.

The cloisters at Jeronimos Monastery

We arrived at the monastery too late to get both the cloisters and the tower in, but the cloisters and the cathedral were well worth the trip. The cathedral houses the tomb of Vasco de Gama, and we had to explain who that was to Ryne and WHAT ARE THEY TEACHING KIDS IN SCHOOL THESE DAYS?

I wanted to stop and get a famous Pasties de Belem (custard tart), but my gastronomic agenda continued to be hijacked (and what did they want for dinner later? PIZZA. WTF.)

Vasco de Gama's tomb

Next up: another trolley ride (and another cobblestoned hill trek) to the Sao Jorge castle, another Moorish fort above Lisbon. Wow. Despite the fact that none of us wanted to climb up more stairs, we did anyway. You can walk almost the entire way around the ramparts of this castle and the views of the city and the river were amazing. As the sun set we were treated to a chorus of peacock screaming; they were roosted in the trees around the castle.

The iPhone's pano feature - really cool view of Lisboa from Sao Jorge