PORTUGAL & SPAIN : LISBOA - THE LAST STOP

 Looking down on Lisbon (Lisboa as the Portuguese pronounce it) having ridden the ancient Elevador de Santa Justa up three levels and climbing up three more levels to the top. A beautiful view, but I hate heights!

 Boats, cars, buses, motorbikes, trams and pedestrians make Lisbon a very busy city. It did not get dark until 11 pm and with the temperatures soaring at 40-42 degrees, many people were trying to find cool spots to sit and relax.

We found a cool place with a view of the harbour and great food, too!

Torre de Belem

We visited the famous Pasteis de Belem where they have been baking the delicious pastal de natas and other wicked treats for over 100 years. The best ever, I have decided. Not long out of the oven., the pastry was crispy and the egg custard still warm. Mmmmm! People queue out the door and around the corner to sample these treats!

We visited the Maritime Museum at Belem. Mr. O. fell in love with another map! We even had to buy a copy for his ever growing map collection. He was listening to the lady on the far left, tell the history of the Portuguese and Spanish accumulation of land and the explorers' discoveries and conquests.

We also visited another museum where they told the history of Lisbon in an hour! We walked around the well designed museum with individual  audio devices that told the history. Very interesting! Lisbon suffered a terrible earthquake in 1775 that killed over 15,000 people. It suffered many aftershocks and even a tsunami!






We travelled on the red bus around Lisbon, but this day ended up being too hot for us to sit on the non-airconditioned bus and walk around in the heat. We returned to our hotel and the comfort of our air conditioned room to pack for the early rise the next morning to head back to our apartment in Maputo. What a fabulous three week holiday we had! We learnt lots of historical facts, made new friends, met up with old friends, ate new foods, listened to different music, used euros for the first time and had loads of fun! I can't wait for my next adventure! I wonder where it will be?