Day 13 - June 10, Lisbon

We had a private driver and car today, which was a good thing. It was National Portugal Day. National Portugal Day honors the country, its people, and Portuguese communities around the world. The date also marks the anniversary of the death of the renowned poet Luís de Camões in 1580. And since it was a national holiday, there were people everywhere.

Our driver/guide was Paula, a Lisbon native. She was hilarious – loved to laugh and give us shit (we returned the favor). We had to wait a while before the car arrived as they (there were 3 cars) were at the wrong terminal, but once we got into the car – we were off.

The first place we visited was the Jeronimos Monastery (Mosteiro dos Jerónimos). It is located in the historic riverside district of Belém and is a breathtaking masterpiece of the Manueline architectural style (Portuguese late Gothic) and a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site. A large portion of it was under rehabilitation, but we got to go inside a portion of it. It was commissioned by King Manuel I in the early 1500s to celebrate Vasco da Gama's successful sea route to India, and serves as the final resting place for legendary figures like the explorer Vasco da Gama and the epic poet Luís de Camões. It features intricately carved stonework, maritime motifs (ropes, armillary spheres), and a stunning two-story cloister. We spent about a half an hour in the monastery before moving on to The National Coach Museum.

The National Coach Museum was first established in 1905 as the Royal Coaches Museum (Coaches Reaes Museum), and it houses historic horse-drawn coaches and carriages that belong to the royal houses of Portugal from the 16th to 19th century. The collection comprises around 9,000 objects including elaborate (and expensive) ceremonial and gala vehicles and equestrian accessories. The collection of vehicles provides an understanding of the technical and artistic evolution of animal-drawn transport used by European courts until the advent of the automobile. The collection includes coaches, landaus, carriages, sedans, baby carriages, litters, and chairs. Additionally, it features harnesses, vehicle accessories, uniforms, musical instruments, a collection of arms, and oil portraits of the monarchs of the House of Braganza.

We then went on to the riverfront to visit the Bellem Tower. Built in the 16th century, the Belem Tower was built to defend Lisbon from enemy ships. Around 1515, architect Francisco de Arruda designed the iconic monument, and it served the purpose of being a fort that protected Lisbon from incoming raids along the Tagus River. It also marked the beginning of voyages of sailors.

We proceeded down the riverfront to the Monument to the Discoveries. At 170-feet tall, the monument was established in 1960 on the 500th fifth anniversary of one of the country’s great discoverers, Prince Henry the Navigator, who discovered the Azores, Madeira and Cape Verde. It is a group of sculptures that represent the prow of a caravel (a small sailing ship constructed by the Portuguese to explore the Atlantic Ocean). Leading the ship is Prince Henry the Navigator, followed by many other great Portuguese explorers who played key roles in the major discoveries of Portugal’s history.

It’s very impressive. There was some sort of ceremony being conducted nearby for the national holiday, and a naval ship anchored not far out into the bay. While we were at the Monument of the Discoveries, cannons were fired from the ship and three, rather old, airplanes circled above us. That was pretty cool.

Paula then took us off the itinerary and drove us up to the section of the town in which she grew up. We drove by and got a glimpse of the São Bento Palace, which is the seat of the Assembly of the Republic, the parliament of Portugal. The building has been home to the succession of Portuguese national parliaments since 1834. We also drove by and glimpsed Belém Palace. The palace is officially known as the National Palace of Belém and is the current official residence of the president of Portugal, the head of state of Portugal.

We ended up in a place call LX Factory under the 25 de Abril Bridge, which is a suspension bridge connecting Lisbon with the municipality of Almada on the south bank of the Tagus River. It has a main span length of 3,323 feet, making it the 48th longest suspension bridge in the world. Its southern anchor point is adjacent to Christ the King monument (Cristo-Rei).

It looks just like the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. Well, the prime contractor for the bridge was United States Steel International Inc., based in New York, was prime contractor for the bridge. Morrison-Knudsen of Portugal Ltd., an American firm based in Boise, Idaho, was U.S. Steel's principal associate. Morrison-Knudsen had previously worked on the San Francisco Bay Bridge. The bridge was designed by Steinman, Boynton, Gronquist and London of New York, and Tudor Engineering Company of San Francisco. The steel was imported from the US. Four workers died, out of a total of 3,000 who worked on the site. Construction took a total of 2,185,000 man-hours of work. The total cost of the bridge came to US $32 million (US $225 million in 2011 adjusted for inflation).

LX Factory was a pretty cool, hipster-kind of vibe in Lisbon's Alcântara district. It is built inside a repurposed 19th-century textile complex. Located directly beneath the 25 de Abril Bridge, it features over 50 trendy restaurants, indie boutiques, street art, and the Ler Devagar bookstore. We ate a Portuguese lunch – green beans (which are cooked in tempura), cod fish cakes, a roll stuffed with chorizo and cheese, some olives and chicken in a creamy sauce.

It wasn’t really a quiet, authentic local experience that we were hoping to experience but it was okie dokie.

Paula wasn’t that good of a guide, but she was fun to be with for the day. She had some other things to show us, but it already was 3 pm, we were tired and the legendary Azamara White Night party on the boat was scheduled to begin at 6 pm, so we bailed so we could shower and get ready for the party.

Met Sandy and Debbie on the pool deck where the party is located around 5 pm – they already had gotten us a table in the shade. It was a fun night – everyone was dressed in white (except me – I don’t do white), a saxophonist played during the first portion of the evening when we ate. There is way too much food…. and wine whenever you want it. The East Pearl Band played for an hour, then Jose and his crew cranked it up with the boat’s band. Everyone danced.

So, if I haven’t mentioned Jose – he is our cruise director and a gay man from New York. He’s lovely, and he loves to sing and dance. His entertainment crew also likes to sing and dance. So they did for nearly two hours. Notably, the last four songs of the evening were pretty much gay anthems – Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive,” “It’s Raining Men,” “Born This Way,” “YMCA” and “We Are Family.”

Happy Pride Month!

A masterpiece of Portuguese architecture, the Royal Monastery of Santa Maria de Belém, commonly known as Jerónimos Monastery as it was intended for the Order of São Jerome, was classified National Monument in 1907 and inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1983. The church, with religious service and visiting hours, and the cloister, secularized in the nineteenth century, form the most visited heritage complex in the country.

The archways in the monastery around the courtyard, below

Guess who?

this coach is a rare example of the "Carrosse Moderne" - closed body with eight windows - that appeared for the first time in Paris. This belonged to Queen Maria Francisca of Savoy-Nemours, cousin of Louis XIV. It was brought to Portugal as part of a wedding dowry when she married Afonso VI in 1666. On the doors, two female figures flank a medallion with the queen's monogram. It was driven by a coachman.

This is golded in gold on the back of a ceremonial carriage. The theme os the coach is the connection of the oceans and represents an important maritime episode of the history of Portugal. Here you see Apollo signing the feats of the Portuguese and is flanked by two female figures, Spring with flowers and Summer with ears of wheat. In front of the globe, two old men, the Atlantic Ocean and the Indian Ocean, shake hands, symbolizing the passage of the Cape of Good Hope.

This is Bellem Tower. It became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983. aIt was a fort that protected Lisbon from incoming raids along the Tagus River where it sits. It also was the site where sailors started and ended their voyages. It is historically and artistically associated with the Jerónimos Monastery and the Portuguese Discoveries. Built between 1514 and 1519 on a basaltic surface, some distance from the north bank of the river, it combines two distinct architectural models: the tall tower, medieval, and the bulwark, a modern military structure.

This stunning monument was designed to commemorate the Age of Discoveries in Portugal. It was inaugurated in 1960, on the fifth centenary of one of the country's great discoverers, Prince Henry the Navigator, who discovered the Azores, Madeira, and Cape Verde.

A close-up of one side of the monument depicting important Portuguese leaders that succeeded Henry’s time, including monarchs, explorers, scientists, and missionaries. Some of the most renowned include Vasco de Gama, Pedro Álvares Cabral, and Ferdinand Magellan.

Ponte 25 de Abril bridge is an iconic suspension bridge connecting Lisbon to the city of Almada across the Tagus River. Famous for its bright red color and resemblance to the Golden Gate Bridge, it spans nearly a mile and a half, and features six car lanes on top and a railway on the lower deck.

A restaurant in LX Factory, a former industrial wasteland converted into a creative hub. It is one of Lisbon's most original venues. Legendary bookshops, street art, cafés and designer boutiques under the bridge.