Friday 9 December 2011

Portugal Day 4

I have exciting news, I was just notified that I was nominated and am one of the winners of the Top Parenting blog from eCollege!



What a nice surprise and I am honored to be recognized!!

Continuing our adventure in Portugal, we decided to explore the Age of Discovery by going to 2 sites. The Monument to the Discoveries is located in the Belem part of Lisbon. This monument was built in the 1960's to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the death of Henry the Navigator.





The monument was made to look like the shape of a ships prow. Beneath the monument is a museum.
















On either side of the monument were Armillary spheres . These sphere were found through out the city of Lisbon.















The side of the right and left side of the monument. In the two sides of the monument are stone statues of Portuguese heroes linked with the Age of Discovery. At the prow is Henry the Navigator who actually never set sail, only financed the explorers. Some important figures include Vasco da Gama, Magellan, and a Padrao (stone cross the Portuguese erected in the Congo). There are also painter, poets and writer that are important to the telling the story of Portugal great Age of Discovery.



































Further along the River Tagus is Torre de Belem which is a fortress built in the middle of the Tagus river in 1515. Again the architectural style is Manueline. The fort is no longer in the middle of the Tagus river but it is still an impressive site to see. There is a great portrait in the guide book from 1811 that show the fort in the middle of the river Tagus with ships passing by. Unfortunately I was unable to find it on the web to show you:(
































Inside the Torre de Belem












I am linking this post up to the Field trip hop









5 comments:

  1. Congrats on the nomination! You deserve it! I'm loving that statue! It's both ancient and modern looking at the same time.

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  2. I have loved following your trip to Portugal. You have such awesome adventures. Congratulations on your nomination for the Top Parenting Blog. I would have voted for you because you are a wonderful example.
    Blessings to you and keep enjoying the moments of this Christmas Season.

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  3. Congrats again on your Top Parenting Blog Award! It's awesome we can share this recognition together! That monument is incredible! Thank you for sharing the Portugal Adventures with us!

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  4. First of all - CONGRATULATIONS!!! And second - fascinating! I didn't realize until this post how many of the early explorers came from or were financed by Portugal! I will have to go there some day . . .

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  5. More awesome stuff to see! Thanks for sharing at FTF and congrats on the award! :D

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