Goodbye to Portugal...we're on our way to Spain

The Monastery of Jerónimos is what brings most visitors to Belém - it's always a very busy place. City trams and buses plus private vehicles and tour buses, constantly unload people for the sole purpose of seeing this outstanding building. We had the good fortune that by renting our accommodation close by we were able to pick a relatively quiet time for our visit. Entrance to the church is free, but to see the cloisters it's (currently) €12. The entrances are separated and a ticket to the cloisters doesn't mean it's any faster to get into either building. Tickets can be bought on line or at a ticket booth in the park across the road. The line-up for the church moves quickly and although the one for the cloister often looks dauntingly long, it does shuffle forward at a slow, but regular pace. The entrance is limited to "blocks" of people. On our "quiet" day and time we waited just under 45 mins, with no wait at all for the church.

The church is a large space with soaring columns, many of which have a nautical theme…. some look like ropes and others like sea "monsters." There's a large tomb for the famous explorer and navigator Vasco da Gama, who played a big part in Portugal's rich era of trading. There's a memorial area for Camoeõs - although his actual burial site is unknown. Often called Portugal's Shakespeare, Louis de Camões while also an explorer was an educated man who served in India's administration. His most famous poem "The Lusiads" is apparently often compared with the more famous Homer's "Odyssey."
Many members of the country's royal families are entombed here in a large vault - most of them from the 16th century. Historically one of the only places in Lisbon where the interior survived the great earthquake of 1755. Although this is not the most richly decorated of churches, it has some lovely examples of Manueline architecture…but for that the Cloisters is the place to go.

Due to limited numbers entering the Cloister building at any one time it has a peaceful atmosphere and once in, there's no time limit on how long can be spent there. We took our time, taking it all in and enjoying one of the only places that the lacy, elaborate architecture of Manuel can be seen. Unique to Portugal it dates from 1480 to 1580, celebrating the country's wealth, power and its Golden Age of Discovery. An assortment of family crests, crosses plus nautical items and animals are quite easy to spot. The whole place is lovely. The large, open centre of the cloister is frequently used by heads of state for "meet and greets." It's where Portugal's entrance to the EU was signed.
Both floors of the cloister are peaceful and lovely, plus both have interesting views and sight lines. The refectory is outstanding - it's huge and has large expanses of beautiful tiles along the walls, dating from the 18th century. Another note for anyone who loves architecture - and others, like us who just like to look and learn - these tiles are said to be a perfect example of the Rococo style. Sometimes the refectory is used for small concerts.

Another place we visited in Belém is the Museum of the Republic, formerly the Royal Palace, where the public is only allowed to walk around a small section of the gardens - inside viewing is prohibited. The Palace guards around the property were pleasant and helpful, but apart from the gardens that's about all there is to see. One small building is open for viewing information, photos and portraits of past presidents and the history of the republic. It focuses mainly on António José de Almeida (1880-1950), who was a doctor prior to the revolution on October 5th, 1910 when he became a minister in the government. He continued on to become President in 1919.

By a stroke of good luck our last day in Portugal happened to be a day when a ceremony takes place outside at this former Royal Palace, now the official resident of the President. This ceremony is performed on the 3rd Sunday of the month and it's when the "changing of the guard" takes place. Starting at 11am it lasts about an hour and is considered one of the most beautiful military ceremonies in the world. It's when the 2 guards and 2 other infantry soldiers who carry out the duty of guarding the front of the Palace are replaced…..together with 160 members of the cavalry! There's also a military band to accompany the marching and entertain the "crowd." After new guards take their front positions, the National Anthem is played. Trumpets are blown, Commanding Officers shout out orders and there's an interesting display of various horsemanship skills. Also during this free public viewing of the ceremony there's a loud speaker commentary in both Portuguese and English.
With military precision, the ceremony went off without a hitch - well almost. A couple of dogs accompanied two of the infantry soldiers - presumably guard dogs. One walked and sat on command, while the other was seemingly restless. Even though the soldier kept him firmly in check, this dog seemed to have his own agenda and preferred to stand. We initially thought that his bark was part of the tradition and some kind of signal - but after a while it was obvious that he just wanted to bark. As all dog owners know, however well trained, dogs sometimes just have to be dogs. Back to the barracks for this one!
We'd walked down from our apartment about an hour before the ceremony was due to start and although the road in front had barricades already in place, it wasn't difficult to get a viewing spot. With a nice place at the front of a barricade, while waiting for it all to begin, we enjoyed our delicious Toasta Mistas and coffees that we'd picked up for breakfast.

After throughly enjoying the ceremony and its traditions we spent the remainder of this lovely sunny day walking along the waterfront and ambling through its spacious parks. We stopped for a while at a small chocolate shop - the Arcádia Caso de Chocolate where we discussed all things chocolate with a lovely and helpful lady. The chocolates sold here should come with a warning - they're dangerously delicious! Founded in Porto in 1933, three generations of the same family have now made these amazing treats. Using the finest quality of ingredients, the factory and workshop remain at their first shop in Porto. There are currently about 20 other locations, all carrying the same wide, but still originally shaped designs of chocolates. Some have historical themes - we saw one piece here that was shaped like the tower of Belèm and another like the Jerónimos Monastery. There's a choice of milk or dark chocolates and some without sugar. In this location is a small selection of chocolates which contain whisky or port. This attractive little shop has some gift box selections, some of which include a bottle of Port Wine. We chose an "old favourite" - cat's tongue - a deep dark sliver of yummy chocolate bliss! We'd tasted it before when the same lovely lady in the store had given us each one of them as a free sample.

Our final stop had to be for a couple of Pasteis de Belém, something to savour as we completed the task of packing. Tomorrow we fly to Spain.