Portugal: Lisbon to Fatima, Bike Prep

 PORTUGAL DAY 2: 

A Palm Sunday morning in Lisbon, a drive to Fatima, orientation for our bike tour, and exploring the Fatima sanctuary on Palm Sunday. 

---

I remember when I was younger, on my many trips to Temple Square in Salt Lake, I would also overhear my dad or missionaries talking to people from ALL OVER the world (many who had little or no connection to our church) who were visiting. And I distinctly remember thinking to myself, "Why did they come here if they aren't Mormon??"

This was Michael and I in Fatima.

Fatima is a total Catholic pilgrimage site and we knew almost nothing about this pre-Portugal plans. You can read more about the three children of Fatima here, which is fascinating. And then to learn that Catholics take pilgrimage journeys here all the time but especially  on the 13th of every months and especially during Holy Week and then realize that we were there at that sanctuary on Palm Sunday on April 13th... kind of crazy. I feel like we had a distinctly Catholic experience that we don't really deserve but we did soak it up and really love the so much about the devotion we witnessed that day.

The day started in Lisbon, where we tried to go to church downtown but for some reason the doors were locked. We talked with a couple other traveling groups and people who had the same idea, and we're not sure why church wasn't happening at the time and place it said on LDS Tools. We were looking forward to meeting people there, and had we known that wasn't an option we for sure would have gone to mass in Belem on Palm Sunday next to the tomb of Vasco da Gama. But I'm still glad we tried, and we liked walking around empty Sunday-morning Lisbon.

Then we went back to Belem to try the most famous Pastel de Nata spot (they truly were so delicious) and walk through the Jeronimos Monastery.

After that we met up with our ride to the start of our bike tour, and we picked up one other couple who were doing the same route the same days. Bill and Nancy from Canada, who we had a lot of fun getting to know that week. We'd just see them at breakfast and sometimes in the evenings since our bike tour was self-guided with a GPS system, but it was fun to cross paths with them and compare notes about the day's ride.

We drove to Fatima, had a little meeting about the equipment and the bikes, and then explored the Sanctuary of Fatima. I loved seeing the youth groups kneeling one by one as they passed through the cathedral, or the people who traveled the entire length of the huge plaza on their knees toward the cathedral. So much devotion and heart on display.

The thought I had at this major Catholic pilgrimage site was all about my Savior. I thought about how I often feel like I'm part of an obscure religion, and in my mind I make Jesus a part of that. But He is the WORLD'S Savior, and there are so many hearts and places and traditions that are tied to Him. Because He's real. And my relationship with Him is personal but He is also the Savior of the World, and it was really beautiful to witness people making that relationship tangible and real for themselves in ways that are different than what I'm familiar with. This was a beautiful place to be on Palm Sunday.

The honey at breakfast was beautiful!
Michael loves a good beehive.

European breakfast is the best meal. 

Church! Except not.
We went to the chapel in the heart of Lisbon, which turned out to be a city-center building that you had to get buzzed into. No one every did answer, and multiple groups came trying to go to church as well. It would have been fun to meet some Portuguese members!

After giving up on church we walked to a few of the sites left on our Lisbon list,
and the empty Sunday morning streets were really beautiful. 
The sidewalks, the sidewalks, the sidewalks.

This Convento do Carmo or "Church with no roof" was left this way in remembrance of the destruction of the 1755 earthquake.

Window shopping the seafood was pretty unreal.
I mean, that stingray??

This plaza was in every documentary we watched leading up to Portugal
so it felt really happy to finally be seeing it in person.

A baby was getting baptized that morning.
I just thought this was so sweet. Generations of a beautiful Portuguese family there for that sweet little baby getting baptized in this gorgeous cathedral.

Another pastel de nata :)
This one is from the most famous stop for them in Belem,
known as the spot where they actually originated. They were crispy and warm and so good.

Jeronimos Monastery in Belem

The intricacy!
I really wish we went to mass here for Palm Sunday, had we known church wasn't going to work out.
But we did love some more time in Lisbon before coming back to Belem.

The Sanctuary of Fatima. They had services happening constantly the entire time we were walking around, well past 9pm that night with a crowd still going strong.

When we watched documentaries about Portugal leading up to our trip,
I almost wanted to change our destination when I learned more about the food... ha. 
Their main dish is dried cod, bacalhau, and they use it in dozens and dozens of ways.
All I have is this blurry picture of this night's, but that fish is 18+ months old. They dry it with salt, then rehydrate it and prepare it in all sorts of ways. It's very salty (obviously) and has a chewier texture, but it's so interesting and pretty good. We always split the two things we order so we got a vegetable curry to go with it because I was just highly aware of the fact that we had not eaten a vegetable on our trip yet haha. 

The Sanctuary of Fatima is all very, very modern in its style and architecture.
I really love this nativity. This was such an interesting place to me. The miraculous events that this place is known for happened in 1917, which feels so recent.