Rachael and Riley's Big Adventure: Portugal

The view outside our cabin window when we woke up in Portugal.

Lisbon

We arrived in Lisbon and I was instantly reminded of San Francisco! It is often compared to the Golden Gate Bride. In fact, it was built by the same company that constructed the San Francisco Bay Bridge and not the Golden Gate, also explaining its similarity in design. We were only a few days in Lisbon, but we loved what we saw. It was hilly streets like San Francisco and even had street cars like San Francisco!

First we wakled to a museum where we got to see how people lived in Portugal in the olden days. Attached to the museum is a school where people go to learn from master craftsman the old ways of restoring and repairing just about anything! We walked into the museum and a carriage from the 17th century was right in front of us. Both girls walked right to it and stared, and didn't say a word. They were riveted to real life princess carriage from the olden days. Riley asked if people really used it, and we learned that it was used by a wealthy family 2 hundred years ago, but not anymore.

After the museum we went to the workshops, and there were many of them. All the work was done by hand with no electric tools. I really respected that as an artist myself, especially the woodworking. We were on a tour and we felt a bit rushed through each room, the girls wanted to stay and watch in each room, we could have spent the day there just watching them work, and learning. We got our chance to make something of our own too. There was a tile painting workshop for us at the end, and we got to paint our own blue and white Portugese style tiles. We learned that Lisbon was heavily influenced by the Moors, or Arab culture, and that tiled buildings were common there. Over time many of the tiles have fallen off and the buildings look worn and old. Currently there is a big push to get buildings restored, and to recover them in new tiles. As we walked around Lisbon, we saw patches of blue and white tiles everywhere with all different patterns on them. A few buildings were entirely covered in the tiles, it was beautiful. We were given stencil patterns that matched the Portugese motifs and blue glaze to paint then in. The girls and I decided to freehand paint the tiles, and we loved seeing how they turned out after they went into the kiln.

Next we met up with Luis and Fernanda, who lived in Portugal and met us in Lisbon to show around the city! They took us to all their favorite places to eat, including the best ice cream shop in the world. I can't remember the name but I remember red and white stripes, and the best raspberry ice bream I ever had. It was worth the wait in the long line.

The last day we went to the Lisbon Oceanarium which was built for the World's Fair. It was not quite like an aquarium, it has the habitats and life of the various oceans of the world. They also had a temporary sea turtle exhibit while we were there. The girls loved seeing all the sea life, and the giant tank in the middle was impressive. It was large enough that they put all the ocean life into it together, (sharks to schools of small fish), and you could see the various life interacting in a real ocean like environment.

The sun was shining the entire time during our stay in Portugal, which felt nice after the grey weather in our previous countries. The city reminded me of a warm San Francisco. We were not ready to leave after only 3 days, and wanted to stay.

a street in the old Arab quarter of Lisbon.

a very narrow alley on our walk to the museum

A 17th century table setting in a well to do home

A foyer, or "family room" from the 17th century. Riley loved the harp.

A fancy 17th century bedroom, before the invention of mattresses like we have today

A real life royal carriage from the olden days, just like in fairytales!

we were on the 4th floor of the 300 year old museum building and Riley looks out the balcony window.

a kid size doorway to one of the many restoration workshop rooms of the museum.

watching the careful work of hand carving spirals and flowers into a strip of wood

this is the casting shop, where they make molds and cast finishing decorative pieces for buildings and furniture.

Binding a book by hand, Riley took this picture!

Rachael looking out the balcony window from 4 stories up.

The girls were watching closely as she put real gold into the letters of the book cover. Gold leafing was a favorite.

Rachael watching the mechanism of the weaving loom, as he makes trim.

Pattern cards for the large variety of trim they make at the museum

There is an Arab influence in Lisbon, and many buildings had a tile facade.

close up of tiles

learning about how to paint the tiles

Rachael working on her tile

Riley's finished tile

All of our tiles after they were fired and returned to the ship

the trolley car next to us was centimeters away!

We met some of Daddy's friends, (Louis and Fernanda) who lived in Portugal and they showed us around town!

Taking a break from walking and going for a ride on the funicular to get to the top of the hill.

Louis, and getting ready to go for a ride up.

Hooray! a huge plaza to run in at the top of the hill

The view up here is beautiful, there is a real castle on the hill!

We discovered an elaborate baroque church to explore, and there was gold and angels everywhere.

The street cars and hills reminded mommy of her home, San Francisco

The first lift in Portugal, was built by Raul Ponsard was an apprentice of Gustave Eiffel. It took you to the roof of a building so you could get to the next hill street without walking uphill.