Queue

You know that slogan, 'My mum went to {somewhere exotic} and all I got was this lousy t-shirt'? Well today I went to a UNESCO World Heritage monastery and all you get is this queue. With an extra of a silhouetted bit of industry. Trouble is, when faced with something where people are taking a thousand pictures a second, I can't even get my camera out. I nearly gave up at the ticket queue (the first queue I joined had only one ticket left when I got to the front so I had to join a second queue) but I'm glad I didn't - the double-storey cloisters of Belém Monastery really are worth queuing to see: beautiful, delicate, carved stone pillars and arches separating cool shade from brilliant sun. Lucky monks, I reckon. 

This picture is a bit downriver, at the Belém Tower which, standing in the River Tagus, is also too picturesque to photograph and this is a queue we didn't join. In between times was one we did, for the 'only place' to get the famous 'pasteis de Belém', a warm creamy custardy tart in crisp flaky pastry. Rather delicious, and so says someone not fond of sweet pastries. We got excellent service, I think because I'd worked out how to ask for what we wanted in Portuguese. My polysmudge of decent French combined with optimistic Latin, Italian and Spanish make Portuguese fairly easy to read but the pronunciation is taking a bit of adjusting to.

Mercifully for my over-queued feet, we got seats on the crowded tram back to central Lisbon then we ate at the Time Out eating place. This is a seriously good idea: Time Out invited the restuarants it had reviewed well to set up small kitchens in a large space around lots of benches where people sit to eat. You order the dish you want from whatever kitchen you want then can eat with companions who have ordered from different kitchens. It was the best food we've had so far and an opportunity for my feet to recover ready for the pleasant mile walk back through a balmy evening to our little flat. 

We'd heard that the Fado singers had Sunday evening off. Wrong, damn it.