Lisbon trip (part 4)

Hi everyone, how are you? I hope everything is well. <3

This was the last day of my lisbon trip.
Since my brother was with me we decided to do some tourist like things before going back home. Being a little Diva (not really, we just had to go to the train station to get the tickets and i figured it would make sense to do what i'm about to say we did) we left our luggage in the storage area of the train station, got in a cab and started our adventure.
The reason we took a cab was because my mother in law had left her cellphone and mp3 player at the hotel and they had called to let us know and we wanted to have time for everything. After stopping by the hotel we asked the cab driver to take us to the famous Pastéis de Belém store. When we got there as usual there was a huge line of people waiting to buy them. The cab driver told us not to wait in line but go in instead. Apparently it is faster that way. But before stopping he started telling us that there's a store right next to the famous one that also has the egg tarts and that they are actually as good or better than the famous ones. I was so intrigued that i decided to try them. The cab driver continued talking about how him and the owner were friends and went to war together. He told us to say he was the one who talked to us about the place and whatnot. So we left the cab and went in. As soon as we went in the taxi cab driver came in as well, said hello to his friend and introduced us. It was so funny!

We got an egg tart and coffee each and I do admit that these are better than the other ones when eaten cold. the other ones get a bit mooshy when cold and these were still crunchy. So if you don't to wait and you just want to eat a Pastel de Belém, why not try these? It's the yellow coffee shop in the corner.

After chatting we left. It was fun.

One can imediately see the stunning (and gigantic) Mosteiro dos Jerónimos (Jerónimos Monastery) so we just looked at it for a while and took photos (like any decent tourist would).

One of the local lolitas (and friend) works in a nearby art center called Centro Cultural de Belém and we promised we'd visit if we happened to go there that day. So we did not break our promise and headed to CCB.

She was working in the Berardo collection section which was free of charge. We found her very fast and she gave us a quick tour of the place and the collection. It was a lot of fun but especially very interesting.
I was glad we went there.

Yay Submarine!

I am like a little kid, i like the interactive pieces the most.

After visiting the museum we said goodbye to the lovely Annie and decided to visit the nearby tourist attractions because even if i go to Lisbon from time to time, I rarely do that.

If you cross the road you can visit the stunning Padrão dos Descobrimentos which is a monument place in the exact spot where the ships would sail to India etc when Portugal was the most powerful country in the world. 

About 10min walk from that you can find the Belém tower which was of course the gateway and safety tower back in those days. It's rather pretty, I always liked it.

They also have this mini Belém tower next to it which i found to be even more adorable. I wanted to bring it home for my dolls. 

After that we walked back to the train station and got on the train. We decided to visit the Museum of the Orient which was just in the next station. The train ticket wasn't cheap but we were really tired so we didn't want to talk there. Its not that near if you're on foot.

The Museum has a very nice collection and is suited for people who do not really know a lot about asian history, culture and religion but I still liked it. One thing was pretty odd though, the museum inside is completely black. Everything from the walls, stairs and even the benches are black. 

My brother when we left told me he had liked it but he was kinda annoyed that there weren't any benches for him to rest. I told him that there were a ton of benches near the stairs and he said he didn't see them because everything is black. It's that dark. Yes it looks rather modern and misterious but... Anyway I leave you with some shots of what you could find there. The seasonal exhibit is on Tea btw.

After visiting the museum and the store we asked the reception if it would be ok for them to call for a cab which they did. We still had 1hour left before our train but didn't want to risk it. 

We got some food at a store there and got on the train. 

They still had "Happy holidays" bench covers hehe. 

I think we both sleep throughout most of the trip. When we got back to Porto it was rather cold. 

We changed trains and i finally got home. 

Well I hope you enjoyed reading about my trip.
Jo