Sunday, Oct 6th, Lisbon, Portugal

Greetings!

Having agreed to use a taxi to return to our mountain-high with many steps and winding street Lisbon home, we decided to hike down to the base of our hill and explore the Lisbon bus system today.

Our goal goal was the Museo Nacionale Azulejos.  It is dedicated to displaying and describing the uniquely Portuguese tradition which produced tiles and tableaus displayed on walls in the facades of homes and churches.  The Moors took the techniques and designs from the Persians, and eventually the Catholics used them to herald religious themes.

However, looking through my photographs taken in the museum, I only found one (of a stairway) which hardly shows the work's beauty, complexity, or usefulness.  Instead, I was fascinated with the huge collection of paintings being displayed in the museum (previously a convent).  Many of the Azulejos were drawn from the subjects of the paintings.

Heading home after a great lunch at the museum, we walked back to a large square we saw from the bus on the way here.  We decided we had energy for that distance, and it could save a little on the taxi fare.  Terriero do Paco (Yard of the Palace) was the site of a royal palace, built from 250 years of Indian spice and Brazilian gold brought back from 1498 to 1755 by the Portuguese shipping trade.  The palace, and most of the city were destroyed in the great earthquake, tsunami, and fire of 1755.

To see all of the photos taken today, click on: Sunday, Oct 6th, Lisbon, Portugal.