Days 0/1 - Lisbon
Day 2 - Lisbon
Day 3 - Lisbon
Day 4 - Madrid
Day 5 - Madrid
Day 6 - Madrid
Day 7 - Madrid
Day 8 - Barcelona
Day 9 - Andorra
Day 10 - Return
Europe 2013
Mosterio dos Jeronimos, is another impressive site. Ornate in the old way (authorized 1495, completed 1601) unlike the rest of Lisbon and so large that two entire museums were installed in the monastery's annexes in the 20th century (Maritime Museum and National Archaeology Museum). Vasco da Gama and several other notable figures are also entombed there.. and if that isn't enough, the Torre de Belem (Tower of Belem) is a modest walk down the road, along with the Seafarers Monument.
The Tower of Belem looks much smaller from the outside than it does on the inside-- the tower itself may not seem all that big, but the heavily reinforced walls of this harbor fortress conspire to make its interior smaller than expected. Very neat place to visit, much more so than the 1950s-era Seafarers Monument (Padrao dos Descobrimentos). 33 figures of discovery plus a massive world done in marble on the ground before the monument are quite a sight, but they pale compared to the Torre de Belem and Mosterio dos Jeronimos.
Passed by the 25 De Abril (25 of April) Bridge on the way back, then explored historic Lisbon some more at night, including an unfortunately mediocre meal at what was clearly a tourist trap...