We arrived early in Lisboa at the city campsite and after a quick coffee/wifi break we jumped on the bus headed for the city centre with the intention of going on the cities Yellow Hop on/Hop off  tourist bus to figure out what attractions interested us. After arriving and purchasing a ticket we sat atop the open air bus exploring this wonderful city. The variety on offer was astounding as we drove past expansive gardens, monuments and buildings. The old buildings were in excellent condition and several were heritage listed while the new were artistic without being over the top.

Our first stop was at the Jeronimos Monastery. We started through it's immense cathedral filled with alcoves containing tombs, paintings and statues then entered the cloister. Within the cloister were rooms filled with tiled artwork as well as several exhibits documenting the architecture of the monastery plus it's place within history. From the monastery we headed to the tower of Belem, a heritage listed fort constructed in the 1500's to protect the Tejo rivermouth and Lisboa. The building had been restored and was in amazing condition, although the ascent (and subsequent descent) via it's spiral staircase was unsettling but provided amazing views across the habour of the city, bridge and monuments. 

From the tower we headed back to the city on the Yellow bus only to be stopped halfway by a parade advertising the upcoming Carnaval. Sitting atop the bus (half of Lisboa had filled the lower deck) in the freezing wind we watched as police stopped traffic to allow the parade through only to be honked and abused by the waiting drivers. After finally arriving back at the Rossio square to catch the metro onward to Oriente bus station we had a quick dinner in the adjoining shopping mall before catching the bus back to our campsite. We finished the night researching some of the places we would see the next day as well as finding the best route into the city, and as a result learning the route we had taken today was 80 minutes longer than one on a different bus...

We woke the next day with the intention of booking another night at the site and heading back into the city. Unfortunately, we were informed that due to Carnaval we would be charge more to stay, even though we were the only people in the Northern Hemisphere staying there anyway. Disappointed, we spent the morning hammering their wireless and left to find a place to park the van closer to the city. This turned out to be just down the road from the Oriente station and the Oceanarium, the attraction we had come to Lisboa to see. We jumped back onto a Yellow bus to see the other route through the city stopping in the centre for lunch and to wonder the hilly streets of the Alfama district where Kayla discovered the bus seat had soaked her pants. Not to be deterred we continued our wondering, coming across St Justa lift which took us up to 360o views of the city. After exploring the streets some more we rejoined the Yellow bus tour for the leg back to the Oceanarium. Along the way both our pants became drenched after sitting in seats which seemed to slowly seap water. After informing the driver, who advised we could receive a refund, we returned to the van to change and then caught the metro back into the city to get our money back.

This left us a little richer than our budget had allowed for so we headed into the Expo 98 area to have dinner followed by a visit to the oceanarium, the second largest in the world. This turned out to be one of the highlights on our journey so far, as we wondered through rooms filled with all manner of marine life with a huge aquarium in the middle. We stayed until closing and headed back to the van for an early night so we could head to Coimbra in the morning