Lisbon

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It was a beautiful day in Lisbon today and lots of people were out enjoying the nice weather. This morning I took a taxi to the National Tile Museum to learn a bit about how decorative tiles are made and see some historical examples. Tiles are a sort of national obsession here in Portugal. One sees them on exteriors and interiors of many buildings, especially churches. The museum is housed in a former convent and there are quite a number of religious-themed tiles. I was particularly struck by the tile altarpiece (see photo). While I was there, a choir was singing polyphonic music in Latin (see photo). They seemed to be doing it for their own pleasure, i.e. it was not a performance nor a mass. It reminded me of when Cantores in Ecclesia toured in Europe, including Portugal, and sang in places like this. After the museum I had over an hour before I had to be at the airport, so I packed my bags and took them to the Oriente train station. My plan was to leave my luggage in a locker and explore the mall and riverside park that Rick describes are pleasant, especially on a nice sunny day. Unfortunately all the lockers at the station were taken, but I gamely carried on, dragging my suitcase behind me through the mall and out to the park. I didn't get all the way to the river, but I enjoyed eating my lunch there and watching the people. There was a festival of some kind where young adults dressed up in odd costumes and wore wigs of different colors (see photo). I assume it is related to some aspect of Portuguese pop culture with which I am not familiar. After that, I caught the Metro to the airport and flew to Toulouse, France. Tomorrow I will start a new phase of my trip, so stay tuned for further developments!

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