In today’s hunt for archaeology fun, we continued onward (and uphill) to the Carmo Archaeological Museum, which is built inside the former Carmo Convent, which ceased to be with the 1755 Lisbon earthquake. Friends, I was not prepared. See, the convent collapsed during the earthquake, and was never repaired. Eventually, …
We were thus far today stymied in finding Roman ruins to oggle, so our next visit needed to be surefire: a museum featuring an excavated Roman amphitheater. Once we climbed up enough hills to reach the place, I was pleasantly surprised that you can just walk into the main dig …
As we walked out of Lisbon Cathedral, we walked about about half a block before we encountered the Church of Saint Anthony. Fes remarked, “Who puts a church in front of another church?” The answer is Lisbon, apparently. This church is free to visit. There are only a few rooms …
A few years ago, I visited Amsterdam, home of the astounding Rijksmuseum. I soon discovered while perusing the massive art collection that the Dutch really, really, really love dogs. An astonishing amount of the art contained at least one dog. I realized I could engage with the art in a …
The Lisbon Cathedral is the oldest church in the city and is a National Monument. It has survived earthquakes, a slew of different governments, and tourism. The year of its birth, 1147, was the year that the Christians seized control of Lisbon from the Moors during the Second Crusade. It …
The Monument of the Discoveries is an astonishingly cool building/sculpture on the Tagus river near the Torre de Belem. It is a massive, 180-foot limestone construction, depicting a parade of navigators, scientists, and other Portuguese notables crowding toward what looks like the prow of a ship, gazing over the Tagus. …
If you’ve played Civilization VI, you have probably tried to build the Torre de Belem. I am ashamed to say that I wanted to see the real deal as soon as I was in Lisbon because I am a Civ addict. But here I am, at the real Torre de …
Pasteis de nata are a thing everyone tells you that you MUST eat while in Lisbon. Usually, there is no explanation of what pasteis de nata actually is. You just need to eat it. Our tuk tuk guide veered off the street en route to the Torre de Belem and …
The city of Lisbon dates back to the Phoenicians, making it one of the oldest cities in Europe, with an age of about 3,200 years of continuous occupation. Its location upon an estuary, near the mouth of the Mediterranean, within a natural harbor made it perfect for shipping networks. The …
