After one of our fastest flights across "the pond" - just under 6 hours from Montreal to Lisbon, we arrived early morning in pouring rain. Quickly through security and baggage claim we settled into an airport café to wait until our apartment's rental office opened, having hopes of checking in early. Due to this property recently changing rental companies our contact was delayed for a few hours. Eventually we were able to get an Uber and move in to our new digs.
Our new home is in Belém, just 3 quick train stops from the centre of Lisbon. With a modern, renovated interior it's in a quiet local area, 10minutes walk to the waterfront and Belém's tourist sites. We have a large balcony, which unfortunately we have yet to use as it's been raining for most of the time since we arrived.
After missing a night's sleep we were pretty tired on our first day, but after going out to get a few supplies - and getting very wet - we dried out and felt better after we'd napped for a couple of hours. Always ready for some decent food after the inedible offerings on the plane we went out in search of sustenance! Although by this time it was dark, pouring rain and far too windy for an umbrella, we found a small restaurant tucked away in an old historical building. We had the place to ourselves and after some hot and tasty food - including the Portuguese speciality - Cod cakes - we felt equipped to return to the stormy night outside….and the wet and blustery uphill walk home!

Refreshed by over 10 hours of good solid sleep, a hot shower and a substantial breakfast we went for our walk about in Belém. Although more heavy rain was forecasted for our first full day, we did get some sun in the afternoon. Last night's downhill walk on very slippery cobblestones left very little time to observe our surroundings - although we'd spotted a lovely looking church about a block south of us, which we intend to take a closer look at. Thanks to Trevor's map skills, the next day we found that by cutting through a couple of little side streets around the aforementioned church, our walk into town revealed some local cafés and small shops along the way.
The lower part of this street is taken up by the Royal Riding School. During our time here we've seen a few riders, in traditional costumes, crossing the road from their stables to the school and practice arena.
At the bottom is Rua Belém - a busy road used by trams, buses, cars and pedestrians. Belém is very close to Lisbon and a popular place for tourists. The street is lined with restaurants, cafés and historical sites. Bordering the southern side of this street is a large park divided into 3 sections by small side streets. Below that is a highway + the rail line into Lisbon. A wide pedestrian path that runs along the Rio Tejo can be accessed by 2 underpasses and 1 overpass. This waterfront walk has other historical points of interest, with cafés, restaurants and various food trucks along the way. Bikes, electric scooters,pedestrians and dogs are all welcome!
On this blustery day we strolled the river side walk, taking time to stop and admire the Monument to the Discoveries built in 1960 to honour the 600th anniversary of the death of Henry the Navigator. It's actually a rebuild of the original which was constructed 1940 for the World's Fair. Standing 170 feet tall it's an impressive concrete structure with statues on the front of the ship (a caravel). Upfront is Henry followed by various monarchs who financed him and soldiers who fought with him as he conquered and Christianized countries along the way. He returned with goods to trade and opened up routes where he would return and other explorers would follow, bringing huge wealth to Portugal. A large marble map out front displays the large area that he and others that followed him discovered for over a century afterwards.
After continuing our walk to the marina on the western side of town we walked back along the waterfront, stopping at Santini's for gelato. The first store was opened in 1949 in the nearby beach town of Estoril. Attilio Santini came from an Italian family with a gelato making tradition…his great grandfather had a gelato store in Vienna. Made fresh every day, using top quality ingredients, the ice cream parlour in Estoril was a success.
Estoril was once the summer home of various European royalty and it's said that a young man who became King Carlos of Spain enjoyed the product! Currently there's still a branch in Estoril and the neighbouring beach town of Cascais. With 2 in Lisbon, we are pleased that the other is in Belém! Although slightly "hidden" away below ground ilevel. It's kitty-corner to the Riding Museum. I chose raspberry, with Trevor enjoying a couple of chocolate varieties - excellent choices! We ended our 1st day's wanderings in Belém by trekking back up the large hill to our new home, picking up some excellent pizza from an Italian restaurant along the way. Tomorrow we're off to Lisbon.