The culture of Portugal is the result of a complex flow of different civilizations. Portugal, as a country with a long history, is home to several ancient architectural structures, as well as typical art, furniture and literary collections mirroring and chronicling the events that shaped the country and its peoples. It has a large number of cultural landmarks ranging from museums, ancient churches, buildings, and medieval castles which testify its rich national cultural heritage.
As we travel about, we notice the distinct way that the streets are paved in Lisbon... intricate designs make for very interesting roads! Foot traffic is the norm, with seating outside the cafes in the middle of the street, making almost every road a sort of plaza.
Today's plans are to wander around the streets of Lisbon, and just take in samples of food from the local vendors, see the sights, and generally just people watch. Portugese is similar to Spanish, so we can somewhat communicate with the locals, and can get a general idea of what they are saying to each other.
The portugese are known for their wines... so we of course sample as many varieties as we can. We also try a dish known as Cozido à Portuguesa which is a type of stew, and one of the local's favorite.
One of our favorite sites of the day was the Jerónimos Monastery. We had seen the outside of the building on our city tour, but we were able to go inside and check out the amazing archetecture, as well as appreciate the immense size of the building. Began in 1502, it took 50 years to complete. Built from limestone, this building will probably last another 500 years!!
Today's outing was relatively inexpensive. We were able sample foods, tour buildings, and buy local trinkets as souvenirs for under $200.
by: Ben
Funds spent today: $185
Remaining Budget: $94705.28
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