Me Versus Sardines

I know I haven't blogged in a while. I've just been so busy sight-seeing. 

First, I went to the Igreja do Carmo, which is a convent that was mostly destroyed in the Earthquake but whose arches remained intact. It is really beautiful.

The next day I had my first encounter with Belem, a well known area on the West side of Lisbon. I will have to return because there is still a lot for me to see there. One of things I did was go to Pasteis de Belem, which is the most famous pasteleria in Lisbon. Supposedly this place was the first to make the traditional pastel de nata. It was certainly delicious. 

The president of Portugal also lives in Belem. This is his house.

Then I went to this area on the northeast side of Lisbon called Parque das Nações. It's this really lovely area right on the river that was rebuilt for Europe's Expo '98, which is something Lisboetas are always talking about. I didn't even know what that was, but Wikipedia just told me it's the world fair.

Anyway, there's a water theme in the architecture, and it was so beautiful to me. This is the train station.

A walkway with flags of countries that participated in Expo '98.

The mall, Vasco de Gama

Sky-tram, Vasco de Gama Bridge, and Vasco de Gama tower. Vasco de Gama bridge is so long! It's the longest one in Europe. I was at one end of it and I could hardly see the other end.

Oh yeah, there was also a huge casino there. The floor changed color every minute or two. I felt so at home.

Yesterday I went and saw a Fado performance. Fado is the most well known Portuguese music. It was a really good show. On the way to the show, I stopped by Praça do Príncipe Real which is just a cute little park.

Finally, I had some grilled sardines. They're a summer staple in Lisbon, so I read all about them so I wouldn't embarrass myself too much while I tried to figure out how to eat them. The sardines in Lisbon are much larger than in the U.S. and they are fresh instead of canned. Here's what they looked like.

One down! It was pretty good. I was a little nervous because it had the slightest salmon taste to it, and I'm allergic to salmon. Also, it was quite a chore to avoid the bones, and I'm pretty sure I ate a few, but the sardine skin was a bit crunchy from being grilled, so I just told myself I was crunching on skin instead of bones. Yum!

Finished!

I'm headed to northern Portugal tomorrow morning. I hope it goes well!