PORTUGAL - Part Three: Niki is overwhelmed.

Day Four: LISBON!
Yuuusss. Nothing like being shown around by a local.

We took the subway into the city - very grateful for the local knowledge in terms of public transport. Handy. We then went all the way up to the Castle of Sao Jorge.
Spectacular views of the city.
It's such a beautiful city.
This is what I meant about the tiled facades.
Oh yeah, that's right. 'Nicola' is a chain of cafes - like Portugal's Starbucks. Cool.
We walked through the city and stopped for a sweet snack at a famous coffee house called 'A Brasileira' (A Brazilian) - Sintra may have been the hang out for the nobles but this cafe was the hang out of intellectuals. It was the favourite spot of all of Lisbon's famous poets and artists in the early 20th century. The guy I'm sitting with there is one of Portugal's most celebrated poets - Fernando Pessoa. This is the inside:
I had a custardy thing. Yum.
We took the tram out to Belem to see the monuments and museums in that area. So pretty. The President lives out there too.
Carriage museum! Awesome. So intense. Each of them was amazing.
We then walked down to the Jerónimos Monastery. The photos do not do this building justice. It was amazing.This is the inside. And it had a cool room with a huge timeline that circled around the whole room. It showed the history of the world, the history of Portugal and the history of the Monastery - all on the same line. Cool. NZ featured! 1893 - NZ is the first country to give women the vote. Oh yeah.
The Tower of Belem - a fortress built at the same time and in the same style as the monastery (Manueline style or Portuguese Gothic, for those who are interested.)
Padrão dos Descobrimentos- Monument to the discoveries. Celebrates Portugal's role in the Age of Discovery. Built in the 1940s.

Last stop for the day: a Lisbon must-do according to all locals and guide books: Casa Pastéis de Belém - the pastry tour of Europe would not be complete without a pit stop here. The little sweet egg tart things are indescribable but delicious. So good. With a dusting of icing sugar. Num num. Its thought they were first made by the monks at the neighbouring monastery. Hmmm... a sacred pastry you say?The place was packed for a reason.

What an excellent conclusion to an excellent day. Lisbon and Niki got along very well.