Hidden in the Fog
A fun day to the suburb of Belém

On Saturday, December 29, 2007, I got up at 8 am, got out by 9 am, bought a transit day pass for €3.85 ($5.60), and headed off to Belém, a waterfront suburb west of Lisbon.
	I rode the sleek, modern Tram 15 to Belém.
When I arrived in Belém, it was SO FOGGY!  I had limited time in Portugal, so I pressed on. My first stop in Belém was the Monastery of Jerónimos.  It is a GIGANTIC building.  I went to the pretty cloisters first.  Admission was €4.50 ($6.60).
I'm a sucker for pretty cloisters.  These were very detailed, large, and clean--and Manueline :)
As the morning wore on, it was a bit lighter, but the fog never went away.
My next stop was the river-side Monument to the Discoveries.  I've loved studying explorers since fifth grade, when I had to do a report on the Portuguese explorer Pedro Alvarez Cabral (who discovered Brazil). I enjoyed seeing this monument; I only wish it had been a little less foggy!
At the Monument to the Discoveries, they had a marble world map of Portuguese discoveries on the ground, very much like in Nashville.  Cool!
Final stop on my day-trip to Belém was the Belém Tower, which (amazingly) used to be in the middle of the river, but now it's high and dry. I love the picture of me on the right with the ghost-like tower in the background!
	After a McRoyal with Bacon value meal at the Belém McDonald's, I took tram 15 back to town and changed to historic trolley 12 for a circle tour of the Alfama district.
The trolley 12 circle tour was very fun and historic! Now I've been to New Orleans and been on their streetcars--Lisbon's are very similar.
	Next, I took mini-bus 37 up to the castle, very reminiscent of the mini-buses up Budapest's Castle Hill and Gellert Hill.
Here I am at Castelo de São Jorge (St. George Castle).  My ISIC card was only good through the end of 2007 (from my studies in Oxford), so I was able to get into the castle for only €2.50 ($3.65).
I'm also a sucker for mosaic orientation tables.  The castle had a very nice one. I only wish I'd been able to use it better without the fog!
	The view from the castle was still quite nice.  Notice it is sunny, but I still have my fleece on (so it was chilly).
The castle had wonderful walls to walk around on.
After the castle, I followed the Rick Steves self-guided Alfama walk, caught the bus to Praça do Comércio, tried to catch tram 28 to Graça (but it was full), and ended up taking the subway to El Corte Inglés to shop at their grocery store (I'm a big El Corte Inglés fan--their products are trilingual, marked in English, Spanish, and Portuguese!).  To end the day, I took the subway to Oriente Station and its mall, where I had dinner (at KFC, not good) and got some German roasted almonds (for only €2--so delicious!).
On to the next pictures!