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Sunday 28 June
We headed off early to get to Mosteiro dos Jeronimos a very large monastery about a forty minute tram ride from the centre of the city. There are modern trams but we caught an old brown rattler which the driver has to furiously spin the controls round and round. The basilica in the monastery is the resting place of the Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama. Da Gama and his men spent the night in prayer there before departing on their expedition to the Orient in 1497. Manuel I selected the religious order of Hieronymite monks to occupy the monastery, whose role it was to pray for the King's eternal soul and to provide spiritual assistance to navigators and sailors who departed from the port of Restelo to discover lands around the world. This the monks did for over four centuries until 1833, when the religious orders were dissolved and the monastery was abandoned.
I went into the cloisters which were very expansive with large open areas, confessionals and carved arches.
Across the park and on the northern bank of the river Targus was a very large monument "Padrao dos Descobrimentos" on of the most impressive monuments I have seen . It is dedicated to explorers such as Da Gama, Magellan and Prince Henry the Navigator and is carved in stone with their figures carrying a large boat. We strolled along the river enjoying the cool breeze and came to the Tower of Belem. We caught a modern tram back and got off at the station and took a ferry across to Cacilhas on the southern bank of the river. Here there is a large monument that was promised to the people of Portugal if they did not participate in World War. An elevator take you to the top and the little man controlling it said I could have a discount ticket costing E0.75 because I was over 65. Obviously I was not looking my best that day. For lunch we tried the grilled sardines that we had been smelling everywhere. The cafe was perched right on the edge of the river on the usual paved stones that are anything but level. Had to be careful not to trip and end in the water. The sardines were bigger than expected and full of soft little bones. Not really to our liking. We have been eating sitting in the cafes and restaurants around our hotel the food has been good with paella and tapas to share. Everyone wants to know about kangaroos when they hear we are Australia and say it is a long way. We know that from experience.
We decided to spend our last day in Lisbon by heading out by train to Cascais a very large beach area. Standing room only on the train as families and groups of teenagers head to the beach. You can walk from beach to beach along the paths above the beach. Most of them are very small sandy areas with lots of lounges and umbrellas that you can hire for about E30 per day. We chose the Aussie way and sat on the sand. As it was so hot again we enjoyed the day swimming in the Atlantic Ocean, strolling along to different beaches and having a nice lunch under a shady umbrella. We walked into Cascais and through the town which obviously caters for holiday makers and tourists just like beach towns in Australia.
After coming back from the beach we tested ourselves by walking up a very steep hill to the Castelo de Sao Jorge which is a Moorish castle occupying a commanding hilltop overlooking the historic centre of the Portuguese city of Lisbon and Tagus River. The strongly fortified citadel dates from medieval period of Portuguese history, and is one of the main tourist sites of Lisbon. Many of these places are open until 9pm so you can visit when it cools down which is great thinking. The views from the castle were spectacular as was the size of the castle, the sentries would have been able to see any invaders coming over land or up the river well before they arrived.
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