Rainy Day on Monday

Some Mondays just aren't all that exciting - especially if that Monday happens to be a cold and rainy one.

Not wanting to do nothing on our P-Day, we had Don scout out some possibilities.

The Metro is our 'magic carpet' to places unknown.

This is the way down, down, down to the metro.

Actually there is always something to do or see in Lisbon.

Check out these tiles!

We 'found' the Hard Rock Cafe.

In a part of town we had never been before...

...we found a couple of churches that we had never seen before. (Imagine that?!)

More tiles.

We just can't pass up a good Pastel de Nata.

Or gelato, for that matter.

Or...our very own 'taste test' back home.

(There was no clear winner. We each had our own favorite.)

And, for those who are counting, puzzle #2 was completed this week.

Thanks Ryan and Shelley.

Portuguese Pavement (Calçada Portuguesa)

There's something very special about taking a walk in any city in Portugal, and that special thing is right under your feet!

Portuguese pavement has been around for a very long time - The inspiration comes from the Roman mosaics but the traditional Portuguese sidewalk was born in Lisbon during the reconstruction of the city after the 1755 earthquake.  

Portuguese pavement consists of small stones (usually in black and white) arranged to create patterns and images, similar to a mosaic. They can be found on sidewalks, especially in the historical parts of the cities and towns. 

Yes, they are everywhere and the variety is incredible!

They’re still painstakingly laid down by hand, following a process created hundreds of years ago.

Yes, they're beautiful, but the pavement is not free from controversy. There are several reasons for this. 

1. It's expensive to install and maintain and only qualified experts are able to repair them.

2. As the stones get worn down, they become very polished and slippery.

3. At times, the stones become uneven (or come loose altogether) and make it more challenging to navigate.

Nevertheless, it's a piece of Portugal that I love - along with those azulejos!!

Mafra

This week our adventures took us about an hour northwest of Lisbon.

To Mafra.

"Mafra is a pretty little Portuguese town that contains one of Europe’s largest and most extravagant palaces, the Palacio de Mafra. This vast complex includes a huge monastery, an ornate basilica and a library that contains over 36,000 ancient books and its own colony of bats."

Actually, the palace is the main (and only) tourist attraction of Mafra.😐 This huge building completely dwarfs the rest of the town!

First stop - the Basilica.

 

The Pharmacy and Infirmary 

The palace was constructed between 1717 and 1755 and was used as both a convent and royal residence. Inside there are over 1,200 rooms connected by over 150 flights of stairs.

The Royal Residence was our next stop.

Then on to the amazing library.

 
Just like the library in Coimbra, there is a colony of bats which live in the library and protect the ancient books from insect damage.

These small bats are let out at night and can eat twice their weight in insects. This natural form of pest control has been in place for over 300 years!

And, finally, the gardens.

(There are larger gardens but the day was way too cold and windy to enjoy them.)

While waiting for the bus we couldn't pass up one of those sweet Portuguese treats!

We just needed a little 'tide-me-over' until we got back to Lisbon.

This is one of our favorite places to eat in Lisbon - Time Out Market. 
We're not the only ones who like it!!!

And one last thing. 

We just completed our first Portuguese puzzle. Actually, it came from Italy and it was extremely hard to put together. But we didn't give up. No way! No how! We did it!