Lisbon Day 2

Had a lovely dinner last night with Shelley and Mark at a quaint downtown restaurant that we stumbled on, or more accurately a lad in the street led us to. Big meals and good wine at a good price.

Back to our hotel about 10 pm and straight to bed where I had a good nights sleep at last. Then up and out again next morning at 8.15 for a guided tour led by the delightful Dulcie who prove to be a never ending font of all knowledge Portugese.  We drove through Lowrr Town to the Terreiro do Paco which is a big square surrounded by lovely old buildings. We then went to the Belem quarter from where the sailing ships set forth to discover unknown lands. Just loved the Monument to Discoveries.

We then visited a fabulous old patisserie that has managed to hold on to their secret recipe of Portugal's finest pastry for over 100 years. We got to have two of the famous 'pasties de belem' which were an egg custard in a puff pastry and very yummy. Apparently  the nuns initially came up with the recipe as they needed to find something to do with all the egg yolks as they used the egg white for stiffening their habit. So the story goes, there are now only 3 people who have the secret recipe and they must never travel together... Should they all die at the same time!!!

Forgot to mention that we also saw the ancient Belem tower which is all that is left of a fortress originally set in the middle of the river but now left high and dry on the riverbank.

We then visited Jeronimo's church but had to wait a while until all the hoopla was over re the President of Mozambique visiting the church just before we got there. There must have been almost 100 guards on horseback and lots of military types and secret service all over the place. Made for a good spectacle and we didn't mind the wait. The church had a very medieval feel and the architecture was different again from any other church we have already seen. It was a great morning and we then continued on with an optional tour to Cascais and Sintra.