Saturday October 7th - Lisbon/Belem

Saturday October 7th - Lisbon/Belem

Today we journeyed out to one of Lisbon's metropolitan areas named Belem near the port of Lisbon and home to Pasteis de Belem, a local bakery/patisserie featuring the renowned Pastel de nata custard tart.




We met up with Antonio and Francisco Goncalves, old friends from our time in Chapel Hill and natives of Lisbon. Francisco was a high school classmate of our son Max who now lives in Wales. They have maintained a close relationship over the years, and Max will be visiting Francisco in November.


After our repast we walked down to view the waterfront park and monuments. 


This is a monument to Portuguese explorers. Both Magellan and Vasco da Gama were of Portuguese descent.


Lisbon has borrowed from San Francisco with the modern addition of a suspension bridge modeled after the iconic Bay Bridge.



One of the most famous landmarks in Lisbon located along the Tagus riverbank is the Torré de Belém, a medieval fort that served to protect the coastline from foreign invaders, operated as a customs house, and later was used to imprison opponents of King Miguel I in its medieval dungeons.











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