Thompson Travelers

We spent today in Lisbon (pronounced Leash-boa in Portuguese). It’s was a nice sail into the port along the river. Lots of colorful buildings with tiles covering entire walls, leftover from when the Moors occupied Portugal.

We went to a monastery, which was about 3 blocks long, done in an altered gothic style, but with more sculptural detail. Its the scale of these buildings that just really take you back a bit and the amazing craftsmanship to hand carve all this detail!

The cloister inside was a huge hexagon shaped space surrounded by these amazing arches decorating the outdoor hallways. Can you imagine the monks coming here to meditate all day? It was the size of a baseball diamond in the middle.

This last monument, Padrao dos Descobrimentos, is a tribute for all the navigators that helped to sail and discover new lands for Portugal. Represented here on both sides are sailors, kings and queens, poets, and writers, all who contributed to Portugal’s history of navigation. It has become the symbol for Portugal.

There are tons of outdoor eateries with wonderful seafood.  It’s early November and the weather is still nice enough for everyone to eat outside wearing their sunglasses…lucky dogs!