Lisbon

We spent the last two days in Lisbon but stayed in a hotel just outside in a small suburb called Loures. The hotel property was filled with citrus trees and we ate our fill of oranges and greatly admired the lemons. We dined in a Chinese restaurant both nights before our departure which was a pleasant change.

On Thursday, we drove into Lisbon and I conducted a walking tour of the Monastery of Jeronimos and the Ajuda Palace. In the Monastery are the graves of Vasco da Gama and Prince Henry, the Navigator. The palace was once the royal palace and now houses the Ajuda library. We didn't know how far the palace was but the hike kept us warm and it was down hill all the way back so much easier going.

We had a picnic lunch in the park where we met a Canadian soldier who was backpacking through Europe. Right across was the River Tejo and the Monument to the Discoveries which was designed to commemorate the Age of Discoveries; the central figure is Prince Henry the Navigator, who founded the Sagres School and was the pioneer of the great discoveries made by Portugal.

Although it was a nice day, 20 degrees Celsius with sun, cloud and rain, we just never warmed up and were first in line the next morning to drop off our rental car and get on that plane home.