There is something undeniably Gandalphian about these striking representations of old testament prophets Elijah and Elisha, situated directly across the street from our flat.
Blink and you’ll miss it
I step outside the bakery in the morning, waiting for our breakfast to be prepared – it’s an amazing day! The heavens have opened with blue skies and glorious sunshine. In a city that rains much of the time, you notice.
In the time it takes for me to bring our breakfast tray up to the room, it’s coming down in sheets and there’s not a shred of cerulean evidence. Through the deck windows, I see unprepared people scattering for shelter.
Working remotely
If you know me, you’ll know I loathe talking about work; anybody’s really, but mine especially. However, getting a call from America with a work emergency is a special travel memory. I …
- Unsuccessfully attempt to access my payment gateway (generic error page), and as the tech support has no clue, I have to guess it’s blocking out-of-country internet requests. Solution: purchase and install a VPN to tunnel through an American node. Success!
- Venture out into an old medieval town to find a copy shop for some document printing. 4 miles, 3 GPS misdirections, and 6000 steps later, I find one and learn – after 15 minutes of waiting in a line, standing at a counter, wondering why I am invisible to all, and generally feeling like a boob – I have to first take a ticket with a number.
- Arrive at the post office to mail internationally (this time grabbing a numbered ticket immediately and feeling a man of the world) and, seeing that I am 40 numbers away from being called, decide to quench my parched and very hungry self. I pick up some fruit at a nearby stand and…
- Grab a much-needed bifana with caramelized onions and spicy mostarda at a tiny locals-only hole in the wall. Here I see a waitress rush outside and save an older man with apparent physical and mental handicaps from some kind of situation. Without understanding what is happening, it leaves me with the feeling that people are taking care of each other here and my heart is warmed by this show of filial compassion.
True story: At the very, very end, when they finally called my number at the post office and I was about to conclude a full days adventure, I walked up to my designated window and – so as not to collide with the (nicely dressed, I must admit) old man (who had just walked in the door) – I stopped to allow him to walk by, which he didn’t, but instead went to my window. The lady at the window looked at me, then at him, and asked him if he had his numbered ticket. The old man waved the question away with a sort of ‘baahhhh‘ sound and proceeded to put his money on the counter for stamps. I had to laugh. It was perfect and I hope I have the wherewithal to refuse the deadening bureaucracy when I’m an octogenarian.
Stasia’s piscine pursuit
As was shown in previous episodes of this (soon-to-be HBO special starring Ralph Fiennes as John Tyner and Emily Blunt as Stasia Tikkanen) blog, milady brought her watercolors on the trip, partly because she does that every trip, and partly to keep up with the ‘365’ project she’s involved with. On our first day in Lisboa, we came across a ceramic plate in the form of a blowfish and she loved it. Its oxblood hue made it a perfect muse for her March set of paintings (the theme being red). Ever since seeing that blowfish plate, she’s painted it many times and wished she had picked up the original.
Fortune smiles upon our excursion; we come across the very same dish in a stunning glass shop – a very dangerous place for my wee lass and not just because her backpack purse is prone to knocking over 4-foot glass works when she turns around. I imagine it is like a candy store to her and she no doubt would spend an hour or more if a certain hungry partner wasn’t in tow.
The whole store is visually delicious in a way I can’t capture on film. Artisan glass fills the space, sublimely proportioned and sumptuous in form – it evokes water, like a crystal cave in a clear deep sea; an effect enhanced by aquatic shapes. It’s a testament to her willpower that we escape with just the one fish plate, though I do have to promise a return visit. I have a feeling that the (fun but slightly disturbing considering her fate) Marie Antionette crystal decanter will be taking a trip to America sometime soon.
Passing through the Dumbledores
Livraria Lello is an audaciously designed bookstore with a stunning art-nouveau interior. It’s a much-toured historical landmark (they actually sell tickets to enter which you can apply towards the purchase of a book), and if its sweeping ‘floating’ staircases and gorgeous woodwork remind you of Hogwarts, keep in mind that JK Rowling spent a good amount of time here as a working professor way back when. Have I mentioned we love books?
It’s a feast for the eyes and we must leave here with a tome or two. It’s hard not to buy more, but we settle on The Lusiads (Camôes’ Oddysey-esque poem describing a 17-year journey to the far reaches of Portugal’s world empire just before it began to decline) and Jorge Luis Borges’ Selected Poems. It was tempting to pick up Blindness by the native Nobel Laureate José Saramago, but our helpful and excellently named attendant Zoltan tells us that while the book is a classic (you should look up the premise sometime) it’s also quite dark and dystopian and that sounds a little too close to home right now. We’ll just save that novel for happier times.
…and more books…
Stasia is such a bookhound that at the very next bookstore we pass, she walks in and finds the book on Port she saw in Lisboa. After helping her find it, I told them about a classic Pessoa book I was after. They didn’t have it in-store but informed me which translation of it was the best – and showed me a picture of the cover so I could identify it later. Finally, they gave us little origami hearts because girlfriend has that effect on people!
Pillar of the Earth
Opposite our humble flat is the ancient and highly decorated cathedral, Igreja do Carmo. One side is all azulejo tile (in Portuguese fashion), the other is carved stone. Stasia was raised Catholic and I’m a curious atheist (raised with religion) who is fascinated with creation myths, narratives, and stories. Inside, Stasia lights two candles – one for her Pop and one for her Brother. We sit in silence for a while, tiny in the expanse, taking in the grandeur.
The interior is all rococo carvings – quite ornate, if not gaudy. They depict Jesus in the final stages of his life – from the trial to the torture to bearing the cross to death and resurrection, they’ve got a life-size sculpture of it surrounded with detailed symbology. Anthropologically interesting, but a bit too complex for the likes of me (whose idea of worship is more like Siddhartha contemplating the currents of a river). This is not a place for subtlety – but it is a place to see actual bones in the catacombs, a mummy, and some other weird esoteric paraphernalia. I reflect that isn’t really much different in effect from the Buddhist temples I saw in Thailand – a bewildering preponderance of golden idolatry and club-you-over-the-head symbolism. An interesting catch from Stasia is the statuette of Joseph holding (his adopted son I guess?) baby Jesus. She notes that you rarely (if ever) see Joseph represented in the story of Mr. J.
The Majestic Cafe
Continuing our art deco theme, we visit the much ballyhooed ‘Majestic Cafe’ for some early-century elegance and seafood stew. Stepping inside is a time-travel machine to the 1930s – even the waiters are in formal dinner attire. The seafood stew is petite in size but mighty in flavor – clams, cod, and shrimp swimming in an unctuous, oceanic bouillabaisse. The Caesar salad is cute but unfortunately completely unrecognizable as such and a bit overdressed – on its own, a decent Italian salad it must be said. In another life, on another world, I would march into the back kitchen and give a workshop on how to make proper croutons and garlicky, anchovy-forward dressing.
As the day draws to a close, we don’t even attempt to lie down until 2 or 3 am. Why fight it when you can watch more 8 out of 10 cats, read new books, or otherwise make use of those small hours?
The Itinerant Three TnTs 
The Art Deco architecture is gorgeous. What craftsmanship. And Iâve never seen statues of Joseph like the ones in the Catholic Church. Your photography is very good.
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