Yesterday, we woke up to fog again, which blocked our view of Pena Palace.
We went back to Regaleira, and discovered a few more pitch black tunnels. Very fun. We packed up our bags and moved to the hotel across the street from the Lisbon Airport. First, we headed to the supposed number one destination in Lisbon according to Tripadvisor, the Jeronimos Monastery. Apparently, we arrived just as a marathon had finished! We got super lucky finding a spot after a police officer was nice enough to help us turn around.
Before heading into the monastery, we decided to head into the attached church, Igreja Santa Maria de Belem. We walked in, took some pictures, and walked back out. A service was just finishing.
The monastery was up next. Honestly, the outside was more impressive than inside. We walked around the cloister a bit, took pictures, and that was all that was inside.
I read that there was free admission to a popular local art museum, called Museu Calouste Gulbenkian. It was created from the Will of the first person to exploit Iraqi oil, who became one of the wealthiest men in the world and died in the 1950s. It wasn't amazing, but it was a good way to spend the day.
We got back to the hotel and played a board game that I hadn't played before, named Red7. It was surprisingly clever for a game made up of only forty nine cards. Miles drew a little in his sketch pad.
We went to bed early, as we had to wake up at 5:40 in order to eat breakfast, hit our shuttle to the airport, and get to the gate in time. We took off for Seville in a tiny plane with just 18 rows.
It was a high of 77 and Sunny in Seville. Our hotel is right in the heart of the old town. We started walking towards the Plaza de Espana. We passed a bakery which had bread in the shape of animals. I've never seen anything like that, so it was definitely worth taking a picture of!
The Plaza was incredibly beautiful. It has been used in a few movies, including Star Wars: Attack of the Clones.
We rented a rowboat to mess about with in the polluted waters around the Plaza.
The Archaeological Museum that I had intended us to go to was apparently closed on Mondays. Whoops! We redirected ourselves northwest, following the river to Torre del Oro, a defensive tower built eight hundred years ago. We climbed to the top and took photos of what appeared to be the massive Cathedral in the center of town. We would not be making it there today.
We went west, across the river, to visit Triana, which is known for its pottery. We bought some small pieces to take home. Miles was more entertained climbing a nearby stepped wall.
We crossed the nearby bridge, Puente de Isabel II, which had an interesting circular underpinning.
Before dinner, we continued journeying towards Last Setas De Sevilla, a truly bizarre structure built over Roman ruins. The Roman ruins were disappointingly blocked behind a glass wall. We paid a small fee, however, to be able to take an elevator up to the top of the structure, which had a serpentine pathway that lead to magnificent views of the city. The whole place was super bizarre, but very cool. Walking across the top caused vibration. It did not feel sturdy at all, which did not lead to a feeling of safety.
We walked by dozens of shops on our way to find a place suitable for dinner. We chose an Italian restaurant, which had pizza for Miles, and a dish that we had been interested in trying for the first time, paella. This was the second restaurant today that had it, and the second one that only sold it as a meal for two people. It ended up being extraordinary. Artichokes, zuchini, carrots, tomato, asparagus, and rice. Stephanie found some meat in it, which didn't please her, but I was thrilled! I plan to order it again tomorrow.
We walked past the Cathedral before finally retiring to our room for the night.
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