Tag Archives: Museums

Sucre and the Tarabuco Market

19 Thursday Apr 2018

Posted by in Bolivia

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 We spent three nights in Sucre. The Hotel Monasterio used to be a monastery and still has some great decor–Bolivian Baroque? It was comfortable and placed us in the heart of Sucre. We walked down to the central plaza for dinner each night and found good places, La Taverne (French-Bolivian), Cosmo Cafe, and Cafe Florio (Dutch-Bolivian).

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During the day we visited the central market

The ethnographic and Indigenous Art museums.

Tarabuco weaving
Airplanes over farm fields
Three tupus/pins on a traditional dress
What Cholitas wear today for special occasions.
Virgin Mary on a rock

We happened to be in Sucre on the day of the Tarabuco Market 65 km from Sucre. We hired a driver to take us there, wait three hours, and return us to Sucre (300 Bolivianos). The market is known for textiles and there were wonderful items all over the place. We looked at rugs, ponchos, wall hangings, table cloths, bags and lots of other things. There was a regional gastronomy competition. The dishes seemed to consist of potatoes, wheat berries, broth and chili peppers, though I don’t think it was very spicy. There was chicha to drink, but neither of us are fans of fermented corn. Most of the women wore traditional dress to enhance their presentation.

We strolled the main plaza and side streets looking at weavings.

 

 

 

I tried on one hat that looked like it escaped from a marching band.

 

 

 

Another is modeled after Spanish conquistadors helmets. Both men and women wear them.

We bought a bright red patterned rug and a salmon-colored tablecloth as well as a crocheted hat for me and a suitcase to carry it all home.

Something new: the toe of Manhattan

13 Monday Nov 2017

Posted by in Lyra, New York

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Wall Street with the spire of Trinity Church in the background.

I thought I knew about Manhattan, having visited quite a bit while growing up and having lived in couple of neighborhoods. I’ve ridden on the Staten Island Ferry and been to the Statue of Liberty. Both require you to go to the toe of Manhattan. What I skipped over until this trip was the neighborhood just inland from the Battery that includes Wall Street. Now that Lyra lives there, we stopped in for a visit and it is a very enjoyable part of the city.

We stayed at the Wall Street Inn (on S. William St.), a very comfortable small hotel with an excellent breakfast included. It’s also near subway stops, but its greatest asset is being located right around the corner from our daughter’s apartment, by Delmonico’s. (We did not eat there on this trip.) We did take in the sights nearby and there are many. We stopped in front of Federal Hall on Wall St. where George Washington was inaugurated as the first president of the US.

 

 

 

We saw historic Trinity Church and its churchyard.

Lady Liberty at the Museum of the American Indian

 

 

The former US Customs House, just down the street from Federal Hall, overlooks Bowling Green. Today it is a branch of the National Museum of the American Indian and holds the collections that were formerly the Heye Foundation. It was difficult to visit before moving to the Customs House, because the building was largely storage and had limited display of collections. The museum was located way off the beaten path on 155th St. and Broadway. Now the museum is at the Bowling Green subway stop and the new exhibits show the rich collection of materials from North, Central and South America. I particularly enjoyed seeing the pottery from Costa Rica and Panama that reminded me of the time I spent in Costa Rica while working on my dissertation and how much I admired archaeologist Olga Linares for her book on the imagery on Panamanian pottery, “Ecology and the Arts in Ancient Panama.”

A scary plate from Panama.
“The Thinker” as a rabbit, from Costa Rica

There is also the Wall Street Bull, though it was ass deep in tourists. The “Fearless Girl” statue facing the bull was put in place in March 2017 and was still there.

Just two blocks beyond is the shore, lined with a walkway that is used by strollers and joggers alike. Once you get beyond the area where visitors to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island congregate, it is a relatively peaceful and uncrowded part of the city. The view out over the water to Liberty herself and Ellis Island are sublime. It’s a great neighborhood.

 

Last stop Dublin, and what’s Good to Know about Ireland

04 Monday Sep 2017

Posted by in Ireland, Lyra, Peggy

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Our last day in Dublin was spent inside the National Museum of Ireland. Lyra was wonderful in agreeing to stay with her crazy parents in the museum all day when all of Dublin was beckoning.

Ancient Goldsmith’s tools
(R) Gold bracelet from Donegal

After visiting many archaeological sites around Ireland we had often read reference to finds made at a site followed by “now at the National Museum of Ireland.” I was most intrigued by reference to a purse-shaped reliquary of St. Patrick’s Tooth from the church of Killaspugbrone, now at the end of the Sligo airport runway. The church was first built by Bishop Bron, a contemporary of St. Patrick in the early 500s (!). When St. Patrick visited his friend, he either tripped and knocked out a tooth or it fell out and he gave it to his good friend who treasured it.

Much later, the relic case was made for the tooth, and after a trail of owners is now in the National Museum of Ireland. The relic case has images of Sts. Patrick, Brigid (missing), Brendan and Columcille on it as well as one of the earliest depictions of a harp in ireland.

Great jewelry of Ancient Ireland. Chains and amber, what’s not to like?

We went through with an eye for anything from our travels and found carvings and artifacts from all over. It was a pleasure to match some of the objects with their places of origin.

We saw the two most recent finds of people preserved in bogs (2003). Clonycavan man is an example of (possibly) the first man bun, held together by hair gel that originated in France or Spain.

The other find, Old Croghan Man, had very long arms and big hands, suggesting he had been 6’5″ tall (missing his head and lower body, it was difficult to be sure). His well-manicured nails suggested he was not a laborer, but of high status.

 

There was a leather scabbard recovered from a bog with an axe still inside. Leather preservation is impressive–single shoes from all over Ireland.

 

We moved to our hotel by the airport, readying for our 7 am flight to Naples and the next chapter of Llywinda Travels.

Good to Know About Ireland

♣ It rains. It may rain some portion of every day you are in Ireland, so be prepared. Bright sun can shift to a brief downpour in a few minutes. Carry an umbrella, wear a raincoat or be ready to run for cover. Forget about cute shoes. There are sunny days–appreciate every one of them!

♣ It is never hot. Ireland is a great place to go to escape the heat. July-August temperatures along the west coast were in the 60s, rarely breaking 70º F. Beachgoers of all ages wear heavy gauge wetsuits. You rarely see parents sitting on the beach staring at their phone while kids call to them from the sand—the rain would ruin their phone. We saw more families together on the beach here than in other countries.

♣ Driving on the left is always a challenge. Roads are narrow in some places and you have to be ready to pull over or back up to let an oncoming car pass.

♣ We found almost everyone to be friendly and helpful. We shared a table at the potato festival and enjoyed chatting with people from Dingle. We chatted with people on buses and at the store. It was easy to get directions. (That’s handy, because not all streets are marked.)

Some wonderful things about Ireland.

♣ Nature–The west coast is full of beaches and cliffs to walk on. The Burren, Benbulben, Bunglass cliffs are all in amazing landscapes, too. Archaeological sites are everywhere amid gorgeous views.

♣ There are some stunning gardens. Some are tiny house fronts, others are extensive yards. The mild weather keeps blooms fresh for a long time. These are the pinkest hydrangeas I’ve ever seen. Fuschia may be non-native, but forms high hedges along many roads. So do blackberries–we made jam and pie.

♣ We saw puffins, and possibly a whale or dolphin.

♣ The friendliness and good will of people we met was a real pleasure.

♣ Boxty, Irish whiskey, cheeses, butter.

♣ An appreciation of whimsy. Though fewer people today may believe in fairies, places where people saw fairies in the past are still marked, like the fairy bridges in Bundoran, or holy wells. There are decorative fairy houses, too. On a larger scale, you occasionally see a facade decorated with shells and broken pottery in seaside towns.

A couple of things to keep in mind.

♣ You can visit archaeological ruins all over Ireland. Many are marked on maps and listed in guidebooks, while others are not. Guidebooks don’t always list how long a walk it is to the site from the car park, and the walks can be very muddy. Sometimes only a vehicle with high clearance can drive to the end of the road, making the walk to a site a half hour each way. Be prepared.

Cliffs of Bunglass, Slieve Lieg

♣ Weather can get in the way of your views. We visited the Slieve Lieg, also called the Cliffs of Bunglass, some of the highest cliffs in Europe, but the top was in fog. The top of these cliffs is usually in fog, though they are still worth visiting. This is also true of Benbulben, a distinctive feature of the landscape between Sligo and Bundoran. Still worth visiting.

♣ There is a peculiar toll in Dublin, the M50. There are signs along the road that indicate it is an automatic toll. If you rent a car, ask your agency whether they cover the toll. If they do not, you have to go online and pay it (not much). If you do not, there are all kinds of threats of huge fines. Apparently rental cars are not fined as promptly but you are still expected to go to the eflow.ie webpage and pay. Our car rental company did not mention this until I called a couple of times in a panic.

♣ As in every country, the most highly publicized sights and attractions can be very crowded. We were in big crowds at the Cliffs of Moher and at the Giant’s Causeway. We skipped the Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge when we found out that even with timed tickets the wait was often 90 minutes to walk across. We did not kiss the Blarney Stone. There can be 20 tour buses parked at such places. Brace yourself or don’t go. In Dublin, the Book of Kells had a long line. The National Museum of Ireland was full of wonderful things and had no line at all. Go there.

♣ If you are returning to the US from Ireland, you may be required to pass US customs in Ireland. This saves time when you arrive in the US, but takes at least an extra hour. Fine, except your airline may not mention that this takes place. Thus, everyone needs an extra hour at the airport but doesn’t know it. Lyra went through all this process at 6 am, including loading the plane an hour early (!). After that, they all sat for 45 minutes waiting for latecomers who didn’t know about customs and weren’t chronically early to the airport.

Hill Towns of all Sizes

02 Sunday Jul 2017

Posted by in Tuscany

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We visited three of the smaller hill towns: Monteriggioni, Montepulciano and San Gimignano. All of these have most of their ancient encircling walls intact, and a central area with narrow streets and relatively tall buildings that date from times when people  felt safer living within the walls. Each town has its charms.

Visitamos tres de los pueblos amurallados: Monteriggioni, Montepulciano y San Gimignano. Todos estos tienen la mayoría de sus antiguas murallas intactas y un área central con calles estrechas y edificios relativamente altos que datan de tiempos en que la gente se sentía más segura viviendo dentro de las paredes. Cada ciudad tiene sus encantos.

San Gimignano is known for the 13 towers that remain from more than 70. They are very imposing from up close. While some are stark towers like those on the left, others have windows and other decoration.

San Gimignano es conocido por la 13 torres que quedan de mas de 70. Son muy imponentes de cerca. Mientras que algunas son torres severas como las de la izquierda, otras tienen ventanas y otra decoración.

 

 

Main gateway of Montepulciano.

Each town had a main gate. Today these often mark zones that limit automobile traffic. Tuscany is known for wines and these towns are involved in wine-growing and the wine business generally, especially Montepulciano. At the same time, tourism is an important part of their economy. We saw lots of Asian tourists, but also Australians, Americans and people from all over Europe and Russia.

Cada ciudad tenía una puerta principal. Hoy en día suelen marcar zonas que limitan el tráfico automovilístico. Hoy en día la Toscania es conocida por los vinos y estas ciudades se dedican a la viticultura y el negocio del vino en general, especialmente Montepulciano. Al mismo tiempo, el turismo es una parte importante de su economía. Vimos muchos turistas asiáticos, pero también australianos, americanos y gente de toda Europa y Rusia.

Both pictures were taken in San Gimignano

All these towns were started before 1000 AD, and you see remains of columns and wall decoration that have been reused in later structures.

Todos estos pueblos amurallados se iniciaron antes de 1000 dC, y se ven restos de columnas y decoración de paredes que se han reutilizado en las estructuras posteriores.

Siena is too large to call a hill town, but it was at one time and has a central tower like Florence does. The city encompasses several hills and getting to the Duomo involves a steep uphill walk.

Siena es demasiado grande para llamar a una ciudad de la colina, pero fue en un momento y tiene una torre central como la de Florencia. La ciudad abarca varias colinas y llegar al Duomo implica una empinada cuesta arriba.

 

 

 

The Siena Duomo has its own tower, even if it’s called a campanile (bell tower).  Inside the Duomo is a riot of decoration that the Florence Duomo lacks.

El Duomo de Siena tiene su propia torre, incluso si se llama campanile (campanario). Dentro del Duomo es un alboroto de la decoración que el Duomo de Florencia carece.

The Duomo in San Gimignano has a similar explosion of religious painting. Some of the artists came from Siena.

El Duomo en San Gimignano tiene una explosión similar de pintura religiosa. Algunas artistas llegaron de Siena.

Here’s a fresco of the Last Judgement from San Gimignano showing sinners going to Hell.

Aquí está un fresco del Ultimo Juicio, en el Duomo de San Gimignano que muestra a los pecadores que van al infierno.

Good to Know: Tuscan hill towns in a nutshell.

The terrain is steep and will involve walking uphill. If you have a car, try to park as far up the hill as you can get.

 

San Gimignano
Montepulciano
Monteriggioni

The towns were walled and gated in the ancient past. Admire the battlements and walk around the tops of the walls if you can. There are great views of the Tuscan countryside.

Stop for a coffee or lunch. Sitting in a cafe in a hill town watching the world go by is one of life’s great pleasures.

Don’t worry about shopping. They may be lots of interesting things, but most of them can be found elsewhere. That being said, if you see something you like, don’t hesitate.

Quit while you’re ahead. Remember you have to walk back to the car or bus. If your legs are killing you, that may be all you remember of the day. (Another reason to take a break in a cafe.) You don’t have to visit every hill town. There is no “best” or “must see” town.

Visiting local museums and churches is a very individual pastime. Some people don’t want to miss a single church (Nora, this is for you). I like Joyce’s “church of the day” plan. Unless you take notes you may not remember more than one church unless you are a big fan or specialist in some related topic (a specific saint, church organs, or opus sectile). This is neither Gandalf nor Dumbledore, but it is an example of opus sectile (pictures made of inlaid stone).

The same is true of museums. Most towns have a museum of some kind, or several. Many of these were private collections that made their way into the public domain or were opened to visitors. There is a certain sameness to these collections: a selection of paintings by local artists, home furnishings, collections by the former owner (medals, stuffed birds, porcelain). If you are captivated by one of these themes, by all means explore the local trove, but if you are not on a quest they could start looking much the same after the third one.

Tuscan hill towns are highly varied in size and liveliness, and people vary in which is their favorite. I recommend them all.

Bueno saber: las ciudades toscanas amuralladas en breve.

El terreno es empinado y implicará caminar cuesta arriba. Si tienes un coche, intenta aparcar lo más lejos posible de la colina.

Las ciudades fueron amuralladas y cerradas en el pasado antiguo. Admire las almenas y camine alrededor de las tapas de las paredes si usted puede. Hay excelentes vistas de la campiña toscana.

 Parada para un café o almuerzo. Sentado en un café en una ciudad pequeño viendo el mundo pasar es uno de los grandes placeres de la vida.

 No te preocupes por ir de compras. Pueden ser un montón de cosas interesantes, pero la mayoría de ellos se pueden encontrar en otros lugares. Dicho esto, si ves algo que te gusta, no dudes.

 Retírese mientras usted está adelante. Recuerde que tiene que caminar de regreso al coche o autobús. Si tus piernas te están matando, eso puede ser todo lo que recuerdas del día. (Otra razón para tomar un descanso en un café.) No tienes que visitar cada ciudad. No hay “mejor” o “debe ver.” Todos tienen algo especial.

 Visitar museos e iglesias locales es un pasatiempo muy individual. Algunas personas no quieren perderse una sola iglesia (Nora, esto es para ti). Me gusta el plan de “iglesia del día” de Joyce. A menos que tome notas, puede que no recuerde más de una iglesia a menos que sea un gran fan o especialista en algún tema relacionado (un santo específico, órganos de la iglesia o “opus sectile”).

Esto no es ni Gandalf ni Dumbledore, pero es un ejemplo de opus sectile (cuadros hechos de piedra incrustada).

Lo mismo ocurre con los museos. La mayoría de las ciudades tienen un museo de algún tipo, o varios. Muchas de ellas eran colecciones privadas que llegaban al dominio público o se abrían a los visitantes. Hay una cierta similitud con estas colecciones: una selección de pinturas de artistas locales, muebles para el hogar, colecciones del antiguo propietario (medallas, aves rellenas, porcelana). Si usted está cautivado por uno de estos temas, por todos los medios explorar el tesoro local, pero si no está en una búsqueda que podría empezar a buscar mucho lo mismo después de la tercera.  

Ciudades toscanas son muy variados en tamaño y vivacidad, y la gente varía en la que es su favorito. Los recomiendo a todos.

Cuba!

26 Wednesday Oct 2016

Posted by in Cuba

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Actually getting to Cuba is the first part of the tour’s adventure, as it turns out. 10-16-16-meeting-before-cuba-002We met our group the night before departure and they proved to be a congenial bunch.

We had to be at the airport three hours ahead of time (boring), but we saw the array of goods that people take to Cuba. We later heard that every Cuban who visits the US may take two televisions back with them each year, and we saw clear evidence of this in the Miami airport….55 inch screens seemed to be popular. Despite our tour company suggesting we bring a 22 lb bag, we found the luggage limit for travel to Cuba is three 70 lb checked bags. People definitely were aware of this option.

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Marlon sings karaoke with “Bailando” on the bus.

We traveled with Insight Cuba, on their Classic Cuba tour. Our logistics person was Alfredo from Costa Rica, and our local guide was Marlon. Our driver was Manuel. The team was excellent. The tour ran smoothly, there was daily communication about plans and any changes being made. They handled all issues and Marlon is full of Cuba content. As a former teacher, he knows what life is like in Cuba for most people, and he was diplomatic about issues of politics and race.

Though a lot of waiting was involved, we got to Cuba pretty painlessly and no one in our group was stopped or inspected with any particular scrutiny. 10-16-16-revolution-sq-havana

We visited Revolution Square in Havana on our way in, and I found it much bigger and less park-like than I expected. The iron faces of heroes were impressive.

 

 

We had a welcome dinner at Los Naranjos, one of Cuba’s paladares, privately owned restaurants that began in homes, though many are now full-fledged restaurants with room for tens of diners.

We heard a lecture on architecture, visited Old Havana and a center for elderly people who sang us a song and were charming to chat with for a few minutes.

I managed a swim in the hotel pool at the end of the day before we left for dinner. The next day we went to the market, where we tried to purchase food for an entire meal with 1 CUC (US $1.13). It was possible, but not easy (no meat). We also visited a dance company, a museum of the great Literacy campaign of the early 1960s in Cuba, and an animation studio.10-17-16-animation-studio-havna

Here are my new animated friends.

 

 

 

 

 

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Our restaurant surroundings were lovely for lunch and dinner every day, but the lack of ripe tomatoes, fresh fruit and vegetables and the same entrée choices started to become apparent by the third day. The next day was a visit to the huge Cristobal Colon cemetery (Jose Marti is not buried there), followed by a medical clinic, and after lunch the studio of a well-known ceramic artist, Beatriz Santacana. We got on the road the next day for Cienfuegos, and stopped at the beach for lunch and an excellent talk about the national park adjacent to the Bay of Pigs. Our only swim in the Caribbean was here and it was wonderful.10-20-16-bay-of-pigs-005

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This fish is a pentyptych ? (five panels) painted bas relief.

I was ready to sit under an umbrella all afternoon, but it was not to be. We were due to stop at the museum that tells the Cuban story of the Bay of Pigs and move on to our stay at “casas particulares” private home B&Bs in Cienfuegos. Jonathan and I had a room that was pretty basic, but the air conditioning worked. The public areas of the house were very pretty and airy, though we had little time to sit with our feet up. The next day we visited Trinidad, a town preserved by a big economic slump during most of the 20th century. There we walked on the old cobblestone streets, visited the architecture museum, met with a priest of Santeria, and saw the studio of a very creative woodcarver, who began using old cabinet doors as the material for his bas-relief portraits when artists materials were scarce during the 1990s and beyond. I think everyone slept on the bus back to Cienfuegos.

The next morning we were back on the bus, first visiting a printer’s studio that specializes in wood block and linoleum prints. I did buy an eight-color lino print that I like a lot. Later I found out that most of the people who work there are not paid but live off their government ration cards and what they make from selling prints.

We next heard the Cienfuegos Municipal Orchestra play and they were wonderful, full of energy, as well as very good. There are eight musicians and all teach in the local art school as well as performing concerts twice each month.

10-22-16-lunch-road-to-havanaFrom the orchestra we headed back to Havana, stopping only for sandwiches on bread shaped like a Cuban crocodile.

 

 

 

Before arriving at the hotel, we stopped at Hemingway’s house outside Havana. The man knew how to live. The house is comfortable and airy, with a big pool and beautiful gardens surrounding it. Decor is heavy on dead animals, but we knew he was a big-game hunter. The cape buffalo head is pretty massive and would be a bit strange presiding over a cocktail party.

This was our final full day in Cuba, so we celebrated by going to the famous Tropicana nightclub show. Dinner began at 8:30pm and the show started at 10. The dinner was utterly uninspired, but by purchasing it on top of our admission fee we qualified for good seats by the stage.

We rode home with our heads full of the colorful frenetic dancing. But that wasn’t the end. The next morning we made one last stop at the fanciful compound of artist Carlos Fuster, who has developed a project to cover his home and neighborhood with mosaics. 10-23-16-casa-fuster-havana-043It looks a bit like Gaudi’s mosaics in Parque Guell in Barcelona, doesn’t it?

img_4114We decided on a group photo in front of one of the community-made mosaics by Casa Fuster. Then we said goodbye to Cuba.10-22-16-hemingway-outside-havana-006Our week in Cuba is a bit compressed because I was unable to get internet access and had to wait and post when we returned. Still to come are my posts on vintage American cars in Cuba and Cuban architecture. Last but far from least will be my opinionated “Good Things to Know About Cuba.”

What happens when you twist your ankle?

04 Monday Jul 2016

Posted by in Norway, Paula

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Occasionally, people ask how we will deal with illness or injury as we travel, particularly since US insurance rarely applies outside the US. Travel insurance only covers injury during travel. My macular degeneration is considered a chronic condition and therefore not covered (see amdontheroad.wordpress.com).

DSCN4440

Jonathan sprained his ankle on one of our last days in Kjerstad (June 28). We’d already reserved 2 nights hotel in Oslo to have a day in the city. The Oslo airport is a 40 minute train ride from the city, and there is a lot of walking in a one-day visit, so we had to rethink.

 

We rented a car and each chose a place we wanted to see, settling on the Viking Ship museum, the stave church at the Norwegian folk museum and the Vigeland sculpture garden in Frogner Park. The Viking ships are impressive, even though the gold and other loot was long gone by the time they were excavated.

I’ve wanted to see a stave church since I wrote a paper about them for an anthropology class in college. The oldest portion of this one dates to about 1200. It was originally built in Gol, Norway and when the city was going to tear it down in 1880, the king, Oscar II, had it saved and restored in its current location among many other structures from around Norway in the Norsk Folkemuseum.

DSCN4416Jonathan rested his foot in the cafe while Paula and I did a bit more walking around the Folkemuseum. The costumed people manning the stops were well informed and we chatted with the man in the stave church for a while, the the silversmith and the pottery studio. It was raining in earnest by this time, so we headed to the cafe for a few minutes before leaving.

IMG_0510Our final tour stop was Frogner Park to see the Vigeland sculptures. Jonathan was only able to manage a short walk, though we pulled out our binoculars to look at birds splashing about in the rain.

From there we went to an early dinner at Markveien. It was delicious (see Jonathan’s review on TripAdvisor). We headed back to the hotel, having made the best of a day that could have been much more difficult. We were happy to have the car in the morning to get us back to the airport. Our flight was not until 11:40 am, so we had plenty of time to get there and give Jonathan time to walk slowly to the gate. We successfully spent the rest of our Norwegian kronor, to the last one.

Tile is everywhere in Portugal

02 Thursday Jun 2016

Posted by in Portugal

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We’ve seen a lot of decorative tile in Portugal. It covers many buildings, sometimes as an overall pattern: exterior walls, interior walls, decorative wainscoting, decorative details.

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Sometimes there are scenes created from tile. The Porto train station is one such place,

The blue and white tile was installed in the 19th c. when the station was built. The multicolored tile was added during the 20th century.

The blue and white tile was installed in the 19th c. when the station was built. The multicolored tile was added during the 20th century.

5.23.16 Porto-014Here is a church that is completely tiled with religious scenes on the exterior (Porto).

Scenes created from tiles are put on walls.

It’s an adventure to walk anywhere in Portugal, to see what tile you may find.

Cascais

18 Wednesday May 2016

Posted by in Peggy, Portugal

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Views over this seaside town may remind you of novels from the age of F. Scott Fitzgerald, when people sat on verandas sipping cool drinks and men wore boaters.

5.6.16 Cascais area-046sm 5.6.16 Cascais area-047Today there’s a focus on shopping, though the town is still lovely. We visited the museum/library house of the Condes de Castro Guimares. The story is probably worthy of a novel. The house was built around 1900 by Jorge O’Neil, titled in both Ireland and Portugal and a good friend of King Carlos I of Spain. He built a fantasy palace that is described as both eclectic and Romantic. It was beautiful and as you might think, packed with beautiful furniture and artworks. It was very much worth the visit. (The present name comes from the count that O’Neill sold the house to in 1910.)

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As is essential on a visit to Cascais, we visited the blowhole, Boca do Inferno (Mouth of Hell, oooooooo!). We ate lunch in a fish restaurant along the beach and had a good day.

A couple of quirky things we saw:

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Not your typical paint job!

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It looks like he’s lost something in his beard.

It’s like a bowsprit coming out of the corner of a building.

Palace Central, called Sintra

15 Sunday May 2016

Posted by in Peggy, Portugal

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So far, we’ve only spent one day in Sintra, making inroads on a single palace, the National Palace of Sintra. The Palace dates from the 14th century and has been updated and remodeled over the centuries. The ceilings appear the oldest style, painted boards, yet what boards! There are magpies,  swans, mermaids and a fleet of sailing ships.

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Later, ceilings were carved and gilded, and walls covered with tile.

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5.8.16 Sintra-010Furnishings were elaborate.

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The exterior was as decorative as the interior.

5.8.16 Sintra-006The vast kitchen is in the process of being restored.

5.8.16 Palacio Sintra-011smHaving completed our tour, we admired the exterior that features two large chimneys from the kitchen.

The two kitchen chimneys are in the rear in this photo.

The two kitchen chimneys are in the rear in this photo.

That leaves us with the Moorish Castle (Castelo dos Mouros), just above Sintra

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Then there’s the Palacio Nacional de Pena,

Palacio da Pena, Portugal-General view of the castle

the castle in the Parque de Monserrate,

monserrate5-claudia-almeidaand nearby, the Palacio de Mafra.

palacio_mafra2On the way back toward Lisbon is the Palacio de Queluz.

Palacio-Nacional-de-QueluzThat’s a LOT of palaces, and will take several days to visit. You could easily spend a day at each one. Palace overload comes on pretty rapidly considering each of these is enormous and most are full of Portuguese tile, sculpture, architecture, and gardens in addition to objects from Europe and former Portuguese possessions, especially Goa.

Portugal, land of castles, especially around Sintra.

Here’s a surprising piece of tile work that we saw in the Palacio Nacional in Sintra. It’s a bit ahead of Escher.

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Lisbon Sights

13 Friday May 2016

Posted by in Peggy, Portugal

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We had a whirlwind week, splashing through the rain and ducking into cafes to avoid the worst of the downpours as we visited a variety of places with our visitor, Peggy. In Lisbon, we began at the “Taste of Perdition” and Thieves Markets, both of which might have been better without rain. Despite the unprepossesing start, we did buy cheese and meat, and drink coffee while we dried off. Peggy and Jonathan each found a treasure in stalls that weren’t washed out.

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On our other days in Lisbon we visited the National Tile Museum (Museu Nacional do Azulejo), the Castelo  São Jorge (St. George), the museum of Portuguese decorative arts of Ricardo do Espirito Santo Silva (FRESS), and the Tower of Belém along with the Discovery Monument and the Monastery of Saint Jeronimo (Hieronymus, Jerome, all the same name). The Church of Santa Maria in the monastery complex was a highlight, as it contains the tomb of Vasco de Gama, the great explorer.

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Many sights incorporate churches and chapels. The National Museum of Tile is the Madre de Deus convent. The archaeology museum, marine museum and planetarium are all part of the St. Jerome monastery complex, and other museums are adjacent to or within old churches, monasteries, fortresses, castles, or mansions–of which Portugal has many. They can start to merge together–which monastery, church, museum?

The Museu Nacional do Azulejo was a highlight, so much tile, so little time! Early on, Portuguese tile makers learned to imitate Arab mosaics with painted and incised tile. The lower right is a mosaic of a hundred or more tiles (Fez, Morocco), a similar pattern on the upper right consists of 18 tiles (Lisbon, Portugal).

This is Portuguese tile made to look like a mosaic.
This is a Moroccan mosaic.

The setting was also spectacular, a gilded convent, suggesting that things weren’t bad for all cloistered nuns, you just had to get into a cloister that had a royal patron.

The Castelo Sao Jorge gave us a chance to look at the view over the city. We had lots of excellent parking karma during the week, too, and were able to park about 100 yards below the castle entrance. (Lisbon is definitely short on parking–they could use quite a few 10 story parking structures, but parking is possible.)

View from the parapet.
Iron Age area.

The rain let up long enough for us to have a great view over the city from the ramparts of the castle and to look at the archaeological excavation of an Iron Age settlement that predates the rest of the area. Later, the sun appeared briefly, and we took a stroll around the neighborhood and ate our picnic:

The sun shone, the wind blew, and the flag waved.
Every castle needs a peacock–except when they cry like a dying cow.
The street performers came out with the sun.
Sometimes a park bench is a picnic spot.

Peggy found this sculpture around a corner.

My favorite picture of Peggy.

My favorite picture of Peggy.

When the rain returned, we ducked into the Museu Artes Decorativas Portuguesas–Fundacao Ricardo do Espirito Santo Silva (FRESS). Sr. Silva collected a lot of things and though there’s not much narrative about why he selected these objects, some are lovely, and nearly all are by Portuguese artists.

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By late afternoon, we were leaking historical facts like stuffing from an old sofa cushion, so we headed for home.

We weren’t done with Lisbon, because we’d decided to see the Torre de Belem, an old fortress on the waterfront. We parked at the Mosteiro dos Jeronimos, a gigantic complex complete with church (Vasco’s tomb). Though many structures are noted as pinnacles of the “Manueline style”, highly ornate carved stone that became popular in Portugal during the reign of Manuel I when, as far as I can see, money was no object…to anything. Here is the door at the monastery, one of the many considered to be the apotheosis of Manueline style. It’s easy to recognize because it has to have everything, arches, multiple columns, twisted, of course, and statues.

5.11.16 Belem LisbonThough much smaller, the Torre de Belem is equally ornate, crouched by the river with lots of cannons ready to defend Lisbon. The tower was paired with another on the opposite bank of the river at Sao Sebastiao, to defend Lisbon. This worked more or less well during a long and complicated history, but the tower has survived to the present. Long lines of visitors wait to come through the doors, descend to hit their head on the arches of the dungeon, and then climb to the upper floor for a view over the water. The sun broke out in the late afternoon in honor of our visit, making it beautiful.

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In honor of the sun, we took a three-person selfie.

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