Airports & Lisbon

Having not long gotten back from Lisbon, inevitably some time had to spent in a couple of airports.

This didn't phase me though, as im quite a fan of them. A lot however, are not. For whatever reason, they don't like delays, the long queues, maybe they have had baggage stolen in the past?..

The one thing that's a sure fire way to lessen your time spent in an airport though, is to try your hardest to restrict yourself to taking only what you need, in the hopes you can just take hand luggage.

This way you can avoid the huge "checking in" queues, an be happy in the knowledge that all your belongings are very much "on you!"

Just a little advice, hopefully it will help :-)

Belém Tower or Torré de Belém

Dating as far back as the early 16th century, the tower was originally built as part of a 3-point defence system, to protect the city. Over the years it has served many purposes, and is now one of Lisbon's major tourist attractions.

Cited as Lisbon's symbol of "the age of discovery", the tower is now a World UNESCO heritage site, an its not hard to see why!

The tower is an excellent example of Manueline architecture, and is the first representation of such throughout Europe. The style is identified by detailed sculptings of elegant knots and grand spheres, along with the incorporation of many naturalistic and maritime elements.

The style pays homage to the discoveries the Portuguese made on their many sea voyages, along with those in the New World, Africa and India.

Today, a visit to the Tower will cost around 7 euros, and opening times vary throughout the year. Upon entering the tower you will find yourself in the lower vault, which housed the towers canons. From here you can either go downstairs into the low celinged cells, which served as a political prison, or venture upwards through the tower.

Depending on the weather, (which is usually pretty good - even in the colder seasons) you can climb the spiral stair cases all the way to the top of the tower. Here you have an excellent vantage point out over the Tagu's River and back towards the lush green gardens across the coast line.

Jerónimos Monastry

Along with the tower, UNSECO have claimed the monastery a world heritage site, citing that it "exemplifies Portuguese art at its best" - a very accurate description!

Work started on the monastery in the early 16th centaury, an took nearly 50 years to complete. The many architects and sculptors that worked on the monestry helped create something truly unique.

The style in known as Manuline and incorporates typical Gothic and Renaissance elements combined with naturalistic an symbolical representations.

There are many debates to the reason for the monasteries creation, the most fundamental being it was to commemorate Vasco Da Gama's voyage to India and his safe return.

The entrance of the monastery today is flanked with two grand tombs, one containing Vasco Da Gama's and the other Luis de Camões, the great Portuguese poet.

Walking around church area of the monastery is free, there is however, an entrance fee of around 7 euros to the cloister's and monastery grounds.

This small fee is well worth it, as you can then take a leisurely stroll around the monastery grounds. Upon exploring the cloisters, you can marvel at the magnificently detailed columns, each carved differently incorporating various maritime motifs.

You will also come across the former refectory, which has stunning reticulated vaulting and all of the wiles are beautifully tiled, depicting the story of Joseph.

Perhaps one of Portugal's most impressive and understated characteristics is its unique cuisine, which is more than often confused with Spanish dishes.

The Portuguese however, incorporate the large variety of spices and exotic ingredients they have discovered on their many sea voyages into many of their most popular dishes today.

The fundamentals of Portuguese cooking seem to revolved around using simple, inexpensive ingredients and turning them into rich, filling and full flavoured meals.

Fish and meats comprise the basis of many Portuguese dishes. In fact, Portugal's national dish - "bacalhau" (pictured above), is salted cod, which can be prepared 365 different ways.

As well as their filling main dishes, the Portuguese have quite the sweet tooth, with the majority of their deserts being rich and egg-based. Again, they manage to deliciously incorporate their spices, this time using vanilla and Cinnamon.