When the day started, I only had one goal in mind: I NEEDED to taste Pasteis de Belem's famous egg tarts!
There was a line when we got to the pastry shop, all eager to get their hands on those sweet, creamy egg tarts. It is said that the recipe came from nuns from the Monasterio de Jeronimos in the 18th century. The monastery closed in the 1820s and this pastry shop has been selling these egg tarts since 1837.
If you aren't the biggest fan of egg tarts, Pasteis de Belem also offers other pastries, coffee and even pizza. But I swear, these egg tarts are REALLY good. YOU MUST TRY THEM. The Espresso Shots are a must try too! Not as bitter as I thought it would be. A perfect match for the Egg Tarts!
There are a lot of places to visit in this area, and two are UNESCO World Heritage Sites. One of which is just a few blocks away from Pasteis de Belem-- Monasterios de los Geronimos de Belem.
Across the Monasterios de los Geronimos de Belem, about 5 minutes away by car is another UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Belem Tower. It looks to me like a miniature castle, but it used to serve as a fortress for Portugal during the Age of Discoveries.
On the same road is the Monument to the Discoveries. It isn’t so obvious from this view, but it resembles a ship and on top are sculptures of explorers, cascaders and the like.
If you look closely on the ground you would see maps of routes taken by the Portuguese explorers.
See the Philippines??
Magellan is in there.. somewhere. :)
A little farther away, but also a good place to visit is the Lisbon Cathedral.
This area is such a nice place to tour by foot. But make sure to wear your most comfy pair of shoes! The roads are uneven and the walk is mostly uphill… and at times downhill.
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| Outside the Lisbon Cathedral |
I’m not sure what this place is called but the view was too nice and we had to stop to take photos!
We ended the day with a pricey yet filling dinner at Victor Horta.
