This is the Tower of Belem which was constructed in the middle of the River Tagus in the 1500s. It was built as a fortress and once completed the city of Lisbon was never again successfully sieged. The inside was really cool with a spiral staircase that led to four separate floors. Me gustó mucho.
This is the Jeronimos Monastery that we visited in Lisbon. Construction began on the Monastery in 1501 and shows Manueline architecture which is a combination of Gothic, Moorish, and Renaissance influences.
Another view of the Monastery... me gusta esta pictura.
I stood and stared at this cross in awe for a good ten minutes. It was made in 1550 and was carved intirely out of wood! It's not your typical portrayal of Jesus on the cross but more realistic. Amazing.
Monastery from the outside. Where the street ends is where the water came up to before the great earthquake of 1775. This earthquake destroyed almost all of Lisbon and killed thousands of people.
Vino Verde! We went to a Brazilian steak house! They would bring out different cuts of meat and cut them onto your plate. Kate and I definitely ate more meat in one night there than we have had at our host house the entire time we have been here. lol. The Spaniards like bread way more than meat.
Katy is my wine buddy here in Spain!This picture was taken after our quest for vino Thursday night. We made it back to the hotel, but let's just say it was an interesting journey getting there. :)
I have successfully acquainted myself with all the major varieties of Portugal wine! Accomplishment? I do believe so =) At our little wine tasting party this weekend, we tried a normal Portugal red variety (LOVED), two different Ports (eh, not a huge fan), Vino Verde (definition of amazing), Madeira (overrated), and Ginja (yuck). Port was a little too sweet and "hot" for my taste and Ginja, a kind of cherry liquor that Portugal is known for, tasted like cough syrup in my opinion. Madeira was the wine that I was most excited to try because it has such a unique history and is made only in the Madeira Islands which are a part of Portugal. During the age of exploration, wine was taken on long voyages across sea and a barrel of Port wine was exposed to extreme heat. This extra heat increases the oxidation and makes the wine more hearty. Once again it was a little too sweet for me but I was glad that I got to try it.
There I was in PORTUGAL tasting all these wines that I learned about in my wine class last semester...twas fun.
This is the 25th of April Bridge. It was designed and built by the same designers of the Golden Gate bridge. It is named to commemorate the Revolution of the Captains on April 25th 1974. This revolution ended the dictatorship with only five causalities.
Hello Jesus! This is the Cristo Rei in Lisbon. We went up onto the observatory deck and got a great view of the city. No better place to spend a Friday during Lent. chyeah!
Cute little otters from the largest oceanarium in Europe that we visited Friday.
Lisbon has tons of Plazas. The buildings were also crazy colors. We walked down one street and saw mint green, pastel pink, yellow, deep red, purple, etc.
Saturday we took a bus up to the castle, which is pictured at the very top here, but it was closed. :( We still got some good pictures and walked around a bit but it was disappointing.
After an amazing trip we took their advice and headed back to Spain. :)
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