Wanderings

Because we "live" in Portugal now, not every day is a sightseeing or adventure day. Sometimes we don't stray far from "home" except to go out for lunch or dinner. Here are a few highlights from the past week:

Tuesday, February 14, 2017
As we meandered back to Lisbon from Porto we stopped in Leiria for a light lunch and a visit to the Monastery of Batalha (Battle). Begun in 1385 to celebrate the Portuguese victory over the Castilians, it took over 100 years to complete and, even then some of the chapels were never completed. We wondered if the feelings about the battle were still the same when the monastery was completed as they had been when it was begun.

"It took over a century to build, starting in 1386 and ending circa 1517, spanning the reign of seven kings. It took the efforts of fifteen architects (Mestre das Obras da Batalha), but for seven of them the title was no more than an honorary title bestowed on them. The construction required an enormous effort, using extraordinary resources of men and material. New techniques and artistic styles, hitherto unknown in Portugal, were deployed."

The Monastery of Batalha is massive.

Wednesday, February 15, 2017 - Another day, another funicular
Today was a go wandering day, so we decided to walk up Avenida do Liberdade. On the way we noticed the Acensor do Lavra - the oldest and steepest (a 25% grade) funicular of the three.

This one took us to a park (Jardim do Torel) with another spectacular view of the city, and near another park (Campo Mártires da Pátria) with the strangest monument we have ever seen. The monument is to a doctor - Jose Tomas de Sousa Martins - who was renowned for his work with the poor. Since his death a secular cult has arisen around him in which he is thanked for "miraculous" cures. At the base of the monument are hundreds of "tomb stones", flowers and messages of thanks. We saw a woman and man praying - seemingly to the statue - and placing flowers at its base.

View from Jardim do Torel

Monument to Dr. Jose Tomas Sousa de Martins

The nearby Campo is delightful, filled with ducks, chickens and the ubiquitous pigeons. I was almost dive bombed by pigeons when a person nearby pulled out some bread. The chickens were very entertaining as the roosters positioned themselves to show off for the few hens.

The fowl in Campo Matires da Patria

Thursday, February 16 2017
Today began with the sad news that my uncle Lingan Deitrick had passed away the day before. He was my mother's twin brother and 91 years old. He had a dissected aorta which impacted him on Monday. He was able to decide for himself that he would not have the required - rather extensive - surgery and died peacefully within 8 hours of returning home from the hospital. He lived a full and wonderful life, but I am sad that this special connection to my mother is now gone.

This was another warm, sunny day so we wandered down to the river where we enjoyed the music of a small group and the sights of boat traffic on the river.

Views of the River Tagus

Lisbon is such a musical city. Everywhere we go we see and hear many talented musicians singing and/or playing for tips. There are so many good ones we could go broke rewarding them.

A Lisbon street musician greets a young fan.

One of the strangest stores in Lisbon sells nothing but canned sardines in a variety of specially designed cans. You can buy cans that feature your birth year, or just about anything else you can think of.

Mundo Fantastico da Sardinha Portuguesa (the fantastic world of Portuguese sardines)

Friday, February 17, 2017
Today was our 38th anniversary so we celebrated with a special dinner at As Velhas. Guadalupe, the owner, again served us a "non-menu" item. Last week it was cornmeal-coated fried fish fillet accompanied by a rice with turnip greens dish. Reminded me of my southern childhood food. This week it was chicken with spaghetti served in a wonderful light sauce of olive oil, garlic, tomatoes, and coriander. Seated next to us was a couple from the Channel Islands on their first visit to Lisbon. They love the city and plan to return. It made for interesting conversation.

We ended the meal with a toast of Portuguese "champagne" shared with the staff - our Lisbon family.

Saturday and Sunday, February 18 - 19

Quiet weekend. Saturday, as our neighborhood is the China Town of Lisbon, we browsed in the notions shops nearby, went to the grocery store and ate in. Sunday was another quiet day. We walked up to the Chiado for lunch in an antique restaurant and visited the world's oldest bookstore - Bertrands - located in a blue-tiled covered building. It did not disappoint. Then we walked to Restaurant Maria Catita, an Azorean restaurant we have visited before and will visit again. We had a reservation for 7:00 - early by Lisbon standards. When we arrived the restaurant was empty. By 7:40 there was not a seat to be had and the staff was turning people away.

Did I mention that we LOVE living in Lisbon.