Portugal 2 - Belem

I will always remember Belem for the egg tarts!  Belem, or Santa Maria de Belem, as it's formally known, was the launching point for the Portuguese exploration ships during Portugal's age of glory (er...  not sure if "glory" is the right word, but they did colonize Brazil and a few other places, I suppose).  Belem is pretty small but it's covered with monuments and other historical buildings that I found fascinating.

Because in Portugal, egg tarts come in a fancy paper tube/box.

What's this?  Tea time?  How nice...  (hahaha I was playing mahjong on my phone while I was waiting for my food & tea to arrive because I'm THAT Asian)

The kitchen where they make those magical Portuguese tarts (Pasteis de Belem)

The Monument to the Discoveries, celebrating Portugal's seafaring history.

Ponte 25 de Abril, designed by the same architect who designed the Golden Gate Bridge (obviously he didn't stray too far from the original).  If you look at the big tower thing on the right side of the picture, that is the Cristo Rei, similar to the famous statue of Christ in Rio de Janeiro.

A fine example of azulejo, or paintings on ceramic tiles, Portugal's contribution to the world of art

St Jerome and his lion companion.  Boy, you sure do see a lot of St Jerome around Europe...

hehehe, a history of the Christian faith in Portuguese (and with hilarious cartoon pictures)

What a great day for a walk in the park!

Apparently Lisbon is a city of tolerance!  I suppose they put up with Christiano Ronaldo's whining and diving, so they must be pretty tolerant hahaha