Photos of Belem, district of Lisbon

The statue in memory of the discoverers



The tower of Belem



The monastery in Belem, see also the panorama below:

(Click for a large image)

The inner courtyard of the monastery



The tomb of Vasco da Gamma / The main church



The crucified Jesus in the church

Sintra - part 2

around the palace there is a beautiful park to discover / a Walt Disney scene? :)



The national palace / a memoriam to Hans Christian Andersen



The picturesque palace / the old castle walls



a devilish detail / just another palace in Sintra (there are plenty!)



Mitja & Kristina



Getting lost and feeding swans in the palace park

Sintra, a day in a fairy tale

a crossroad noting the many sights of Sintra / a fountain



lost in the woods / or maybe not, looks we're on the right track



The surrounding of the castle ruins of Sintra / admiring huge trees



The fairy-tale palace of Sintra



In the back you see the castle wall / detail



part of the fairy tale castle / the national palace with its distinct chimneys

Panorama of Lisbon

Just recently put together ... click to enlarge and view it in full size and splendor.

Photos of Lisbon part 2

A canon :) and a poem written in the wood, both on the Castelo



Mitja on the steep stairs / more trams



sign of the pantheon / scenic view



the streets of Lisbon



the se' (cathedral) / Conserveira de Lisboa - want some canned fish?



a loong tram road / Kristina & Mitja on the Miradouro (viewpoint) de Senhora do Monte



The chapel on the miradouro


Coming up: photos of Sintra and Belem!

Photos of Lisbon part 1

Views / The inner garden of the Lisbon castle



Panoramic view / one of the many trams



portuguese details



The 2 of us on the castle's hill / The castle



Inner courtyard / a very steep walk :)



Swans



Eduard VII parc / panoramic view



the pantheon near the thieves' market

Ay Portugal porque te quiero tanto :)

ESTUDIANTINA PORTUGUESA

listen to the song here

Somos cantores de la tierra lusitana
Traemos canciones de los aires y del mar
Vamos llenando los balcones ventanas
De melodías del antiguo Portugal

Oporto riega en vino rojo sus laderas
De flores rojas va cubierto el litoral
Verde es el campo, verde son sus dos riberas
Los dos colores de la enseña nacional

Chorus

Por qué tu tierra toda es un encanto?
Por qué? Por qué se maravilla quién te ve?
Ay Portugal Por qué te quiero tanto?
Por qué? Por qué te envidian todos, ay, por qué?

Será que tus mujeres son hermosas
Será srá que el vino alegra el corazón
Será que huelen bien tus lindas rosas
Será será que estás bañada por el sol

Música

Oporto riega en vino rojo sus laderas
De flores rojas va cubierto el litoral
Verde es el campo, verde son sus dos riberas
Los dos colores de la enseña nacional

Chorus

Photos of Guimaraes

The castel of Guimaraes / Azulejos decoration on a local church



The coffee break is a very important part of our daily routine :)



The inner courtyard of the Duke the Braganca palace / the old church inside the palace



The church of S. Miguel where the son of the first king of Portugal was said to be baptised / Mitja in the castel's courtyard



The portuguese flag on top of the castle / Guimaraes



The view from the castle's "roof" / The tiny door leading to the roof



An old portuguese woman / The duke's palace

Back home

I know we still owe you a report of our journey back home and I apologize I am late, but we needed a few days to recover :)

The last time we wrote, we were in Sintra. Next day we had a few hours left to explore Lisbon and we headed to the district of Belem (photos coming up). We visited a few sights in Belem, like the famous Tower of Belem and the church / monastery. All entrances were - oddly - free, so we saved quite some money and still visited all the major sights.

In the afternoon we took the airport bus and since we were the only 2 passengers on board it was like hiring a bus-taxi, all for ourselves :) Our flight was in the evening, we managed to buy a few bottles of wine port and ginja liquer before departure.

We arrived to Milan at about midnight, since our flight was running late and decided to oversleep on the airport and take the morning train to Gorizia from the train station. Well, our shuttle was due at about 3.20 am, so we didn't get much sleep. After the 50 minutes or so ride to the train station, we spent the next hour figuring out how to buy our train tickets from the damn machine.

Good thing we had no delays afterward, since the italian railway workers were on strike, but we had no problems with our train connections.

It was somehow weird and good coming home. Mom was waiting for us at the train station, and it was a bit of a touchy event. I do think a tear or two were also produced, but I'm not gonna say whose :)

Anyway, our backpacks are washed and ready for the next adventure :)

Only 2 days left

We have been in Lisbon the past few days and today we're visiting Sintra. We are flying back tomorrow evening, but due to bad train connections we won't be home before Friday afternoon.

The journey is coming to the end and all along it was an amazing experience. It is going to be somehow strange going back to work on Monday.

It is quite difficult finding a decent (and budget) internet connection in Lisbon so we might not post at all until we arrive home.

See you on Friday!

p.s.: we have about 1700 photos and 2,5 hours of film so far :)