Loitering with intent in Lisbon 14

The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain; the rain in Portugal stops as soon as you buy an umbrella. Never mind. After leaving the Old Masters art gallery we were greeted with sunshine and a vintage tram ready to take us to Belem again. We decided we needed to visit a second time because on our first visit quite a few things were shut for the day.

First stop was the famous Antiga Confeitaria de Belem, the bakery which churns out thousands of pastries every day. This time we went inside and found ourselves in a sprawling labyrinth of rooms. It's a huge place, with room for the coachloads of people craving their custard tarts. We ordered ours with coffee and the waitress made sure we sprinkled them liberally with sugar and spice...very nice!

Next door, the 15thC Jeronimos monastery was open for business. The cloisters alone were well worth a look, glowing in the afternoon sun cutting through the rain clouds.

Because the day had started off so wet, I had not bothered to pack my main camera and we only had our small 'snapshot' camera. Unfortunately I didn't have a spare battery, but I managed a few shots before the camera died.

The cloisters had two levels surrounding a pleasant courtyard, with some of the most ornate carved stonework I have ever seen, in a style called 'Manueline' after the king at the time.

The style took its inspiration from the seafaring explorers of the day who came back from Africa, Brazil, India and Japan with tales of strange animals, colourful birds, exotic plants and the odd mermaid or two. The ropes from a ship's rigging also feature heavily in the architecture.

Sailors would visit here to pray for a safe passage and to give thanks for a successful voyage, so they would have recognised many of the motifs (even if some of them were from tall tales).

One of the rooms leading off the cloisters housed the refectory (the monks' dining room) which had some lovely tiles and paintings.

Exit through the gift shop...and into the adjacent church, which was free to enter. Here the same Manueline style was not as successful indoors as out. Without the warmth of the sunshine (and a good clean), the stonework felt gloomy and oppressive.

We had bought combo tickets at the monastery which entitled us to have a look around the Tower of Belem, the fortress on the riverfront which (to be frank) didn't have much to see inside. The building after all was a prison for a time (it takes about two minutes to duck your head and pop into the dungeon), but there is a good view from the top. It's worth sitting a few moments at one of the windows and to listen to the sea breeze whistling through the stonework.

The carvings are in the same Manueline style and among the fanciful animals you might spot is a stone rhinoceros which commemorates the animal which survived a 4-month crossing from India in 1515. It was kept as a pet by King Manuel I for a few months, but he was disappointed that the rhino would not fight his pet elephant for sport. The rhino was made a gift to the pope, but drowned in a shipwreck en route to Rome; such was the fame of the animal that Durer attempted a portrait of it despite never seeing it in the flesh.

Those pastries are wearing off, isn't it time for lunch yet? Click back next time to hear about what turned out to be one of the best meals we had on the entire trip.