Today was a very exciting day. For most at least. Gage and Dad still weren't feeling great so they stayed behind to rest and get some sleep to hopefully feel better tomorrow. But as they were resting, Griff, Connor, Kayla, and Mom were on the move all day. This is because at 10:40 (which was 40 minutes longer than intended) we walked down and acquired the 24 hour day Lisbon passes for 22€. We then set to get on to the trolley (or so what Griff liked to call it) at 10:50 and headed down to the Belém Tower that was built between 1514 and 1520 to defend the Lisbon Monastery. It is built on the water and is very cool to see. Unfortunately for us, many others agreed. We waited in line for about an hour or so which may sound boring but we took turns waiting in line while others walked around the area, viewing many other interesting things such as a memorial for the military as well as some very cool architecture buildings. We also got to listen to this amazing violinist playing on the steps for everyone to hear. He was very good and played many songs we knew.
Belém Tower
Jeronimos Monastery
Finally, it was our turn to head into the Belém Tower. When you walk in, you get to see many cool things such as old cannons sitting near the windows and many little secret holes and passageways. It would then lead you up some stairs to see a great view of the river that leads to the ocean as well as the amazing designs and architecture made to the tower. You proceeded to go up into the tower and would then be led out onto a little balcony giving you a higher up and better perspective view of everything around. We then went up to 2 more floors that didn't have lookouts but had very cool things in them such as windows for views along with some artifacts from around the time the tower was made. We then headed all the way down as security led people out the building to keep the line moving at a decent pace (it was very much still stationary). After the Belém Tower, we went to see the Jerónimos Monastery that it was protecting. And we are very much glad that the Belém Tower did its job. The monastery was amazing and had a lot of very cool art work within it. It was filled with very cool decorated colorful designs on the tile. Griff overheard a tour guide say that the colors were separated by using oil and water, so that way the colors don’t mix. After checking out the Monastery, we kept walking around the water until we found this very cool white building elevated from the ground, that you could walk on top of. (Parent note: this is a part of the MAAT building - Lisbon's Museum of Art, Architecture and Technology.). After the building we walked on top of some insane bridges to find the train station. We eventually boarded the train on our way to Cascais (a very cool beach town).
Boca Do Inferno
Cascais
When we got off the train, we still had a way to go. Luckily for us everywhere you looked was gorgeous. It was a very wealthy place with many large mansions and beaches all over the coast. We walked along the coast to the sight we were looking for. We passed many docks with boats, people kayaking, and several cool outlooks to the ocean. We eventually approached the place we were looking for: La Boca Do Inferno. Our breath was taken away as we saw a picture perfect view of the ocean on a cliff of rocks with red sand and very light green grass. As we admired the sight, we headed down on the rocks to get closer to the ocean and just for fun because we're so adventurous. Then, Griff found a very cool cave with big pools of water in it. He managed to get very deep into the cave by scaling it by the sides and somehow not falling into the big pools of water that went kind of deep(like 3 feet). Then Mom got nervous and told him he should climb back out CAREFULLY. She looked very worried but had a big sigh of relief when he got out perfectly fine. It was very impressive to be honest. After enjoying the amazing view for a while as the sun was setting, we decided to head back. We headed back the same way but on the way we stopped at a small beach where we had snacks and Griff found a very cool walking stick and decided to take it with him on the rest of the trip home. Along the way we also stopped at an old mansion with some amazing art works and stuff. You had to be 17 or younger to get in free so Mom told them that Griff was 17 which he is but she also said that Kayla was 17 so she could go in as well. Kayla, who can obviously pass for 17 and they both went in for about 30 minutes looking at everything while Mom and Connor went walking around a garden/sculpture area nearby. When Kayla and Griff came out, they all went and looked at the sculpture area because it was very cool. However there were a lot of chickens and roosters that kept making noise. We also saw a Peacock walking around which was pretty sweet. After that we went back to the train and took it home (for free because the Lisbon card is awesome). We still had to walk a fair bit to get home and Griff might have been the only person in the whole city carrying around a wooden walking stick as long as him through it. Many people were looking at him which was definitely because of his incredible attractiveness and not the stick as tall as him (or so he says). We were almost home when we saw a trolley that went up and down the street. (Parent note: it was one of at least two funicular cars in the old part of Lisbon, which are very popular as a way to avoid the significant steps - both up and down - which seem to always be in the direction you want to go.). Connor said that it went very fast so we were kind of excited to do it. It was free because of the Lisbon card so we decided why not, and got on. It took about 5 minutes by the time we got on to the time we started moving. It didn't go super far down but you would've thought we went miles away. It was SO slow. Everyone was quite disappointed with it and Connor was wrong again (big surprise). But it was worth the experience and we made it home with many more memories that we won't forget.
See you all tomorrow!
Griffin
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