Lisbon has the largest suspension bridge in the world. It looks similar to the Golden Gate Bridge, but for us, without the dramatic setting of the Golden Gate, the bridge itself is not that interesting.
Another similarity with San Francisco is the electric trams that are used to get around the hilly areas of Lisbon.
We liked seeing the old style cars and photographed them whenever we could.
And Lisbon is built on the coast too. Saint Vincent of Saragossa is the patron saint of Lisboa and this statue is near the water. Legend has it that Saint Vincent was martyred in 304, then his body was left for the vultures. A flock of ravens protected his body until it could be recovered, then the ravens kept watch over Saint Vincent's burial spot. In the 12th century the body was exhumed and transported by ship to Lisbon for reburial. If you look closely, Saint Vincent is holding a ship with two ravens. (Clicking the picture opens the full-size image on the blog.)
Above this doorway is a raven, which is common in the old quarter. A raven is also on Lisbon’s coat of arms.
And this is sculpture of Portugal's lucky rooster. In the legend of the Rooster of Barcelos a man's innocence was proven when a rooster crowed on command.
Although it was overcast and a bit gloomy, we enjoyed walking around Lisbon. This cat was so comfortable on its pillow. We liked the bird sculptures on the wall above the cat.
Public art is the term used for graffiti in Lisbon. We saw lots that we thought was interesting, like these old ladies gossiping while knitting and petting a cat.
And here's a sweating fish wearing sunglasses that we think is a commentary about rising global temperatures.
The artist Alexandre Farto tags his carved public art pieces Vhils.
His technique of scratching through plaster and paint to create faces on walls results in huge, powerful artworks.
"Feel, a better way to travel" is the literal translation of the words on this piece. We liked the blue and white patterns at the bottom that are reminiscent of the ceramic tile azulejos that decorates the buildings here.
We saw this piece while visiting the LX Factory.
Formerly a printing factory, the LX Factory buildings are now occupied by interesting shops and cafes.
We stopped in a cute cafe and appreciated their sign, "Keep calm, kitchen is small".
Pete is enjoying coffee and chocolate tart.
The Ler Devagar bookstore has so many shelves of books. The name means "read slowly". Of course we liked the bike that flies across the 2nd story.
We had lunch in the Bica Cafe, another shop with a bike motif.
Pete had their daily special, meat and fava bean stew.
We stayed in the Alfama district, which is the oldest neighborhood of Lisbon. The name Alfama is Arabic. The Alfama is also known as the birthplace of Fado, the Portuguese music somewhat similar to the blues.
We saw an advertisement for a Fado concert, so we decided to go.
It was a great introduction to Fado because we heard the sixteen finalists singing and competing to be this year's top Fado singers.
Also in the Alfama is mosaic art by Vhils entitled Calçada, in tribute to Fado singer Amália Rodrigues. Amália was known as the Queen of Fado, and during her 50 year career she helped to put Fado on the map of world music genres.
Mosaics with beautiful patterns are common in Lisbon.
We had a wonderful lunch at restaurant Solar Dos Presuntos.
This is cozido, a stew made of different meats and vegetables and served with rice.
This mullet fish was seared and served with delicious spinach and potatoes.
And the restaurant had its name in mosaics on the sidewalk out front.
Kristina is holding a carnation from the restaurant while standing in a plaza with more beautiful mosaics.
The wavy pattern makes the plaza look like it has bumps, but this is an illusion from the mosaics.
Pete is sitting next to a statue of Fernando Pessoa, arguably Portugal’s most important poet. Pessoa was a prolific writer during his relatively short life (he died at age 47).
There's lots of art in the subway here too, and we found Pessoa among thirty or so other portraits. Pessoa often wrote using a heteronym, a term he invented that is different from a pseudonym in that he developed characters with histories for each of his 70+ heteronyms.
We visited the National Tile Museum, and saw another portrait of Pessoa. Although we are not familiar with his work, we like this quote from A Book of Disquiet:
A vida é o que fazemos dela. As viagens são os viajantes. O que vemos não é o que vemos, senão o que somos.
Life is what we make of it. Travel is the traveler. What we see isn't what we see but what we are.
The National Tile Museum has lots of beautiful old tiles like these from the 16th century.
These azulejos were an altar. We especially like tiles with animals and plants.
In the museum's cafe they have 18th century kitchen tiles.
Of course we had to try Portuguese cream pastries called pastéis de nata with our coffee.
These Art Nouveau grasshopper tiles are from 1905 by Rafael Bordalo Pinheiro.
The museum even had satirical subjects, like this scene showing an enema.
Much of the tile in the museum came from old mosques and churches. This crazy-looking cherub with a skull was part of a wall of church tiles.
While in Lisbon we also visited the Mosteiro dos Jerónimos. Built in the early 16th century, it has an ornate cloister built in a large square (55x55 meters).
Kristina is bundled up because it was wet and cold during our visit.
The corner of cloister shows the late Gothic architecture style with Portuguese influences called Manueline. It is named for King Manuel I who reigned from 1492-1521.
The Church of Santa Maria was inviting to us because they were burning a very pleasant incense that smelled of cloves and oranges.
The monastery is a UNESCO World Heritage site in part because of the significant role it played in Portuguese maritime discoveries. For example, in 1497 Vasco de Gama and his men spent the night praying in the church before embarking on their voyage to find a maritime route to India. This is Vasco de Gama’s tomb.
Nearby the monastery is the Torre of Belém, a fort and lighthouse built in 1519. Built of local limestone, its beautiful Manueline style shows Moorish influences with its turrets.
We took the train to Sintra to visit another UNESCO World Heritage site. Here’s a view of the Sintra National Palace from afar with its two conical chimneys.
Built in the 14th century, the front of building shows Arabian influences with the shape of the arches. The palace was the summer retreat for the Portuguese monarchs and their retinue.
Here’s the view from the palace looking out at the town of Sintra.
The palace was really interesting. We saw Arabic influence in the beautiful tiles too.
In this photo you can see Kristina’s glasses case with a geometric Alhambra tile pattern, which is also in the Sintra National Palace.
Pete is in an arco-shaped doorway that is surrounded by unique oak leaf tiles.
These ceramic animal head tureens are from the Qing dynasty, about 1770.
We spent a lot of time looking up at the ornate ceilings in the palace. This is the Coats of Arms room from the early 16th century. The blue azulejos tiles depicting hunting scenes were added in the 18th century.
The most interesting area in the palace was the kitchen. In the front of the photo is one of the original roasting spits, and there are huge copper pots on the stoves behind. The two rooms of the kitchen are topped by the iconic chimneys that form the ceiling. There was an amazing echo in the rooms created by the 33 meter high chimneys.
This is the Hall of Magpies that has 136 magpies painted on the wooden ceiling. According to legend, the king had the ceiling painted with chattering magpies as a rebuke to the court women and their idle gossip.
On the walk from the Sintra train station we saw this quirky sculpture by J. Alves entitled Guardiã do Futuro.
It seemed fitting after we visited the Pena National Palace, a 19th-century Romanticist building.
Pena was constructed in 1847 by King Ferdinand II. The bright colors are restored to match the original colors.
King Ferdinand II was active in the palace design process, and he added Islamic elements like this turret.
Here's a portrait of the king. He was also an accomplished ceramicist.
We didn't really care for the Pena Palace, but we did like the kitchen. Pete looks like he's rolling up his sleeves to start cooking something!
Next we went to the adjoining ruins of the Castle of the Moors.
Built originally in the 8th century, it was most recently renovated in the 19th century by King Ferdinand II.
We had fun climbing the stairs. Pete even climbed up part of a doorway.
The setting high on the hill is incredible, and the rebuilt stone walls encircle a large area.
Kristina is peaking out from one of the high walls.
It was night when we arrived back in Lisbon, and the train station was nicely lit.
We had stayed our allowed 90 days in the UE, so it was time to leave. We flew to Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). It was our first time to visit a Middle Eastern country. This is the UAE's first president, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, who ruled from 1971 until his death in 2004. The presidency then passed to his son because it's a hereditary role, similar to a monarchy.
We visited the Sheikh Zayed Mosque. Construction started in 1989 and the main mosque is complete. But it was obvious that construction is still continuing, for example the pile of dirt in front of the mosque.
This is the view as we approached from the visitor’s entrance near sunset. The Sheikh Zayed Mosque is the 6th largest mosque in the world and it can hold 40,000 worshipers.
Both the inlaid stone and the color of the stone buildings made us think of the Taj Mahal. The overall design of the mosque can be best described as a fusion of Arab, Persian, Mughal and Moorish influences.
Inside it is lavishly decorated. The main chandelier is made of Swarovski chrystal and is the third largest in the world.
We liked this more subdued chandelier better.
The walls and floors are covered with stone flowers made of marble, gold and semi-precious stones.
There are also beautiful tile patterns in wall niches.
As the sun went down, we heard the call to prayer from this minaret.
At night the mosque is exquisitely lit. We learned that the beautiful bluish lights get brighter and darker according to the phases of the moon.
The pools along the arcades reflect the mosque's spectacular columns. They became even more glorious at night.
We were happy to stay for a few days in Abu Dhabi with Peter’s cousin Peter and his wife Carla.
Peter is an airline pilot, and shortly after we arrived he had to fly to San Francisco. But we are glad we got to spend some time with him.
This is their cat, a beautiful Arabian Mau. She is named Malala for a Pakistani girl who stood up to the Taliban and demanded that girls be allowed to go to school. Here's a link about the recently released documentary on Malala Yousafzai. We are pleased that the UAE government is allowing the film to be shown throughout the UAE, showing that they too are willing to stand up to the Taliban.
Carla graciously hosted us in their lovely apartment. These mosaics are from Australia.
Peter has this cool model boat, a traditional dhow that is common in the UAE.
We took Carla out for Lebanese food one night. The green mugs are lemon mint drinks that we liked.
The baba ganoush topped with fresh pomegranate seeds was delicious.
As were the lamb-stuffed and grilled pita breads that are covering some mixed grilled meats.
Next we fly to Asia for the second half of our trip. After a few days in Bangkok to get our Burma meditation visas, we'll go to Laos for cycling.
