A Walk on the Park

 

A walk in the park is always a good idea, especially if there may be an opportunity to learn new stuff while doing it. 

Poet's Park (Pargue dos Poetas), is a great place to do just that because it's a space themed around Portugal's greatest poets. Yes. Names you have never heard of before! (And you probably have never read anything written by them either!)

Sixty poets are represented - 50 Portuguese and 10 from Portuguese-speaking countries or territories. 

A walk in this park brings poetry and art together with nature and the environment.

The park is located in Oeiras, just outside of Lisbon, on the way to Cascais.

These little 'slabs' of poetry are throughout the park.

As an added bonus, the World Press Photo Exhibit was also taking place in the park this month.

A perfect tour for a sunny day.

Water Museum (Museu da Agua)

This part of the Lisbon Water Museum system is tucked away down a side street in the Alfama district just a 10 minute walk from the metro station - all uphill. 

This is the Barbadinhos Steam Pumping Station.

The station gets its name from a monastery that used to be in the place of the station, which was inhabited by Franciscan friars wearing long beards, ‘barba‘ in Portuguese, hence the nickname ‘barbadinhos‘.

As you may remember, a few weeks ago we walked the aqueduct. 

That was Part 1. 

This is Part 2 - the pumping station with its original large steam engines dating back to the 1880's, that were in use until 1928.

The museum also has a permanent exhibition inviting visitors to discover the role that water has played in the city's history, science, technology, and sustainability.

These two were very impressed!

Here we were able to see how fast we could stop the water leaks around the  city. 

A little bit like Whac-A-Mole.😆

There are two more parts to this Lisbon Water Museum experience, so, stay tuned...

There's more to come in the weeks ahead!!

Temple/Mission News Update

 I 💙 to see the temple...

The Lisbon Temple is now 3 years old - dedicated September 15, 2019 by Elder Neil L. Andersen!

And...

We got a new temple president this month.

 We said our good-byes to our dear President and Sister Coelho (Calisto and Fernanda) and our 'bem vindos' (welcome) to President and Sister Tsuchiya (Edison and Manuela).

They served in the previous presidency so we already know and love them so much. We look forward to learning from them.

This week Elder Ulisses Soares visited Portugal. 

This was a special treat for the members here in Portugal and the Cape Verde Islands - an Apostle of the Lord speaking in their own native language instead of through an interpreter. (BTW, he also spoke really good English, as well.😀)

Speaking of Cape Verde, we were able to meet President and Sister Wunderli (David and Diane) of the Cape Verde Praia Mission, who flew in for the weekend.

Elder Soares had a busy, busy schedule - he toured the temple, spoke at a special youth fireside, taught the missionaries, held leadership meetings, and, of course, spoke in stake conference. He and his wife were so gracious. We loved our brief interactions with them and the others who accompanied them - Elder and Sister Carl B. Cook of the Presidency of the Seventy, Bishop and Sister C. Todd Budge of the Presiding Bishopric, and Elder and Sister Alan T. Phillips of the Europe North Area Presidency. 

The Sunday Session was broadcast to all the stakes in Portugal and Cape Verde.

The Mission Picture with Elder Soares.

Our very own temple missionary picture with Elder Soares!

Take-Aways from the various talks...

Learn how to set and achieve goals.

Get rid of distractions and focus on the Savior to do your best.

How does our focus on the Savior play a role in our purpose to accomplish our goals?

Believe more. Seek and expect more miracles.

Faith - it's just not worrying.

Enjoy the love of your Heavenly Father in your life. 

Ask for His help.

He will heal your soul when you ache.

Don't just endure to the end, but rejoice to the end.

Learn from the past. Prepare for the future. But live in the present.

In your morning prayers - ask, "Where do I need to improve? Where is faith lacking in my life?"

When the prophet speaks, the debate is over!!

Press forward.

There you have it. 

Almost as good as being there! 

The Military Museum of Lisbon

Museu Militar de Lisboa

Lisbon’s Unbelievably Cool Military Museum

You probably wouldn’t think that Lisbon’s Military Museum would be anything special. Nobody ever talks about it, and it hardly appears in travel guides. You’ll never find it on a “Best of Lisbon” list. So when we showed up this week with nothing else to do, our expectations were low. But this turned out to be a major surprise; in fact, it was one of the coolest museums we have seen.

Good ole Vasco da Gama

The exhibits are about what you’d expect: old cannons, uniforms, armor, guns, swords and stories. It’s all nicely presented, but the pieces themselves aren’t going to knock your socks off. The building itself, however, will. This former arsenal of the Royal Army, converted into a museum in the mid-19th century, is absolutely stunning.

Nearly every room of this palace-like structure is breathtaking. With sculptures, tiles, paintings, and gorgeous ceilings and floors, each is better than the last. 

There are 34 rooms in all - each amazingly ornate. Most of them are named after national heroes such as Vasco da Gama and Prince Henry the Navigator.

Unfortunately, almost everything is only labeled in Portuguese, but we're getting used to that!

Definitely with the €1 admission fee.

Money Museum (Museu do Dinheiro)

Lisbon is a city full of museums. 

This week we visited the Money Museum. 

The Money Museum invites you to 'come and see money'.

The museum is housed in a former late-Baroque church from the 1800s.

This 7 ton vault once protected the country's gold reserves.

Do you see the gold bar in the vault? It weighs 12 kg (26 lbs) and is worth around a million euros. 

The rooms were full of coins and banknotes - and showcased their history and development, both in Portugal and around the world.

This Japanese "Oban" is one of the museum's priceless pieces. It was used as currency.

Gold bars used by the Portuguese as money in Brazil.

.

Can you tell which ones are the counterfeits? 

King Dinis' Wall

There was an added bonus to this visit - in the church's basement we got to see a medieval construction. After the 1755 Earthquake that devastated much of Lisbon the 13th century Medieval wall of King Dinis lay buried until this remnant on display today was uncovered. The wall separated the river and the city, and defended it from attacks from the sea. Archaeological remains found on the site are now on display -  pieces of pottery from the Roman and Islamic periods, masonry fragments, coins, tiles and human skeletons - telling the story of waterfront Lisbon from the last thousand years.

Oh, and did I mention that this was all free. Yep. These two hours didn't cost a thing!

Except we did stop for a pastel da nata on the way home.😋