Lisbon





 Hello from Lisbon!  Bridget’s sister, Laura, and her husband Matthew came to Lisbon on a side trip from their vacation in Spain.  We thank them for putting us up for a couple of days in their AirBnB.  Above is not a picture of the BnB, it is the Jerónimos Monestary.  Take a look.

If you have to be a monk, I guess this was a pretty place to pray. Famous Portuguese people are entombed here.

A lot of stained glass in the world is painted and this is one place. It’s beautiful but I like the piece by piece better.

Portugal was an empire and had many colonies. Below is the tomb of Vasco da Gama.  Brutality in the name of exploration was a part of this time period.  Like Columbus, Da Gama is known by many as a great explorer.  The reality of the atrocities enacted in the name of exploration is now recognized.  Da Gama is seen as one of the worst explorers in terms of his treatment of others.  Yet a display, such as Da Gama’s tomb in Jerónimos Monastery, is still treated as an honored space.

Below is the Castle of Jorge.  It is truly at the top of Lisbon and offers some spectacular views. It is in very good condition, for a castle of the 11th century, and we were able to walk all over it. 

Portugal has amazing buildings and wonderful food.  I would love to visit here again in the future to be able to spend more time. The people are also very friendly and one of them tried to excuse himself for not knowing English well. We should have been excusing ourselves for not knowing Portuguese well enough.

The Praco de Comércio is a grand plaza which has hosted many ministries. It was somewhat destroyed in the earthquake of 1755 and had to be rebuilt. 

If you zoom in on this picture, you will see a copy of Rio’s Cristo Rendentor on the left.  You, of course, also see what looks like the Golden Gate bridge in front of you.  It’s all Lisbon!!!!  Both were completed after their New World counterparts. We also paid a visit to the Museum of Cerveja (beer).  That was the actual name.  The museum part wasn’t open, but we had lunch and beer.


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