Well this is it ladies and gentlemen, the last FULL day of our grand adventure!!
Even though we'll get a last glimpse of the city before we head out to the airport tomorrow, today is the last day we have to go sightseeing and soak in what we can of Portugal before we say our final goodbyes.
The morning started out with us sleeping in again - I know it might sound lazy of us, but frankly we didn't care - and then we made ourselves some breakfast, watched a little of the Olympics, and headed out! After waiting at the bus stop near our hostel for what seemed like an eternity, we finally made it on and rode over to the Coaches Museum was. Inside there is one of the biggest collections of carriages and we were super excited to see what they all looked like! Unfortunately, however, we hadn't really been keeping track of what the days were - just the dates - and turns out that today was a Monday. Mondays are the worst days to go visit museums of any kind because it is the day throughout Europe that most museums take off. So, as soon as we showed up at the doorstep and read the hours sign, we suddenly were hit with this realization and did a couple of forehead slaps. Our last day in Lisbon and we probably won't be able to get into ANYTHING. Awesome.
But we didn't give up just yet and turning sadly from the carriage museum, made our way across the street to the coastline to try and seek out the other sight we wanted to visit - the Tower of Belem. Before we made it there though, we had to walk a ways alongside the side of the Tagus River and were very glad we did! We got to see some Portuguese fishing boats, tons of little fishies feeding off the algae-caked sides of the harbor walkways, we saw the huge Golden-Gate-esque bridge that connected our side of the river bank to the other, we glimpsed the grey outline of the huge sculpture of Christ known as the 'Cristo-Rei' (which was modeled after the statue of Jesus in Rio de Janeiro and stands about 260 ft. high) on the opposite coast, and we even got to gaze up at the really cool-looking monument/tower known as the Padrão dos Descobrimentos or 'Monument to the Discoveries'.
The monument was created to honor the exploration age (15th-16th centuries) of Portugal and features many statues of explorers, monarchs, scientists, etc. all facing out towards the water with Henry the Navigator at the edge. Also, in front of the huge tower is an equally large marble compass/map that was given as a gift from the South African government. It shows the entire world and features some images from 16th-century maps as well as place names and dates!
After we finished walking around the monument, we broke for a little snack of a delicious pastry left over from the night before. Seriously people, go to Portugal if for nothing else but the pastries! They are AMAZING!!! Then, when our tummies were happy, we continued on our way over to the Tower of Belém. When we arrived, we were definitely impressed. The tower is so neat!! It literally is surrounded on all sides by water and emerges out of the blue waves like an imposing white giant.
The tower was built in the 16th century and was constructed for defending the Tagus River as well as a gate of sorts into Lisbon. Unfortunately, like we had expected, it too was closed for visits. But many of the other tourists were hopping over the chain blocking the entrance....and so we followed suit. Even though we still couldn't get in the building itself, we at least were able to walk onto it and sneak a peak at the cool, old door...
Afterwards, we wandered over to where there was a little beach and set of stairs that led right down into the water! We took a few minutes to dip our feet in and work on our tans (ok, really it was just me...darn Toms! Givin' me such a horrid tanline!). We also were quite entertained with how the waves would come up along the stairs. Because the stairs were curved in a semi-circle, the water would flow in, slam into the stones and then create this rippling spray as it moved along the steps. Tibby said it reminded her of how the water was in Jaws when the shark pulled the barrels through the ocean...of course, I immediately thanked her for the reference to a ferocious, man-eating monster while I have my toes in the water! Nonetheless, we hung out in the sun for a few minutes more before making our way back towards the bus stop. We also caught a glimpse of the huge and gorgeous Jerónimos Monastery which also houses a lovely museum inside. *sigh*
Anyways, once we caught the bus we got off back at our hostel and for lunch decided to try and finish up some of the food we had bought at the grocery store nearby. We made BLT's - just without the L - along with fried zucchini, some hard-boiled eggs, and fruit juice! Not too shabby! Afterwards, we decided to try and squeeze in one more sight before having to face the music and pack up for tomorrow. We decided to try and see the Castle of São Jorge which was located at the top of this hill not too far from our hostel. At first we tried to take one of those cute trams up and I gotta say even though we missed the stop to get off, we had tons of fun at one point watching a couple of young boys suddenly jump onto the back of the tram and precariously ride it up for quite a ways before hopping off and sauntering away like nothing had happened. It was soooo funny!!!!
Also, some lady standing next to us gave us both some Lisbon postcards - maybe because we were giggling so loudly or just being silly tourists, who knows. But she didn't ask for anything in return so we said thank you and smiled brightly at her before she disembarked. When we began to realize that the tram was heading back down to the station we had got on at, we tried to ask the driver to let us back on and try to catch the right stop again. But she was having none of it so, instead of paying for another ride, we decided to hoof it. Actually it wasn't as high as I had thought it would be, but it definitely gave our calves and thighs a good burning workout! When we did reach the castle - which involved a few wrong turns here and there, but some pretty sweet pictures! - we bought a couple of tickets to enter and just strolled about, enjoying the amazing sight! It was seriously cool. Although remains from Romans, Celts, Phoenicians, Greeks, and numerous other ancient peoples have been discovered on the site, the Castle as it is today is of Moorish origin. However, additions and renovations took place throughout the Middle Ages so essentially it's a Medieval castle. It's name was given by the 14th century king of Portugal who had married an English princess and comes from the warrior/saint, St. George/São Jorge, who was a popular figure in both Portuguese and England. Overall, it's still looking pretty darn good for having such a long history! And we were able to walk all over and through it - even up into the towers and on the fortified walls! They even had some old cannons still set up and there were at least half-a-dozen peacocks strutting about - some of them with their chicks!! I've never seen a peacock baby chick before, but both Tibby and I agree they are pretty darned cute!!
Later, when we had our fill of the old remains, we wandered down the hill, stopping in some souvenir shops on the way. Everyone was very nice, but we both particularly loved talking to the owner of a Portuguese tile shop. He was so friendly and welcoming and personally helped Tibby pick out some Port Wine that was made locally - even compared the bottles to car brands in order to help her decide which one to get and gave her some tasty samples! He then spent a good long while talking to us about his tile-making business and how he was never in the store because he was always in the workshop! How lucky are we, huh?! He also talked to us about US politics, languages (he knows 5 by the way), and various other things. He even recommended what to look for in a good restaurant, but we already had plans to finish our store-bought food back at the hostel. So with a heartfelt goodbye, we left the warmth of his shop and headed back down the hill.
Both Tibby and I agree that it is times like those and people like him that make traveling so awesome. When you get to reach out and connect with folks you never would've met back home - whose lives are so unique and different from ours, but with whom you can find a likeness of soul. I definitely will miss that when we leave.
But before I get all sappy-sobby here....
When we finally made it back to the hostel, we whipped up the last of our groceries. We made the last two turkey burgers (which were quite tasty actually!), some more zucchini, and Tibby's version of home-fried-potatoes! Afterwards, we had a little chat about all that we had done and see and how we both have learned alot about ourselves and each other. No, we didn't cry, but it was good to have that conversation and realize how lucky we both are to have had an experience like this. Of course, we couldn't spend all night talking and eventually we hunkered down in our room and loaded up all our belongings for the last time! It definitely took some time and genius-level packing skills, but we got it done! Then, with a prayer we wouldn't miss our alarm tomorrow we closed our eyes and went to sleep in a European bed for the very last time...
