From Brooklyn To Lisbon: Exploring Portugal's Capital

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Lisbon, Portugal, seen from one of its seven hills.

Praça do Comércio

Encounter with a cat ob Vila Berta

The Jerónimos Monastery in Belém, Lisbon.

Church of Santa Maria in Belém

The tomb of of navigator Vasco da Gama, who established the sea link between Portugal and India

Steep streets and cable car

Our Tuk tuk driver Tiago, who took us on a three hour tour of Lisbon

Jacaranda tree in bloom

A Shepard Fairey mural

Stunning Portuguese tiles

Burnt white jade bowl, just one of the beautiful pieces in the C.S. Gulbenkian Museum

Hair pin by René Lalique from Calouste Gulbankian collection

Lots of different kind of fish in beautiful tins.

A glass of vino verde after a day of exploration

Pastel de Bacalhal, (Cod fish fritters)

A few days ago, we packed our bags once more and headed to Europe. This time, our travels are taking us to Portugal to explore Lisbon and Porto, before heading to the north of Spain and then on to France.

We spent three nights in Lisbon and criss crossed the city to see as much as possible. It was our first time there and we regret not having planned a  few more days to visit more neighborhoods and museums.

Everywhere we went, the City was gearing up for the feast of Saint Anthony, the patron saint of Lisbon and of marriages. We were told that many couples tie the know during the festivities. The people of Lisbon also organize arraiais, large street parties with music and lots and lots of sardines grilled on barbecues set up on every street and square in the city.

We missed the main event and the big parade, which takes place tomorrow, June 13th, but it was lovely to see all the decorations and witness the preparations.

We tried navigation the small streets of old Lisbon on our own, but quickly realized that all the hills and narrow street are quite a challenge on your own. (There are seven big hills in Lisbon.) On the second day, we hired tuk tuk driver Diago to drive us around the city for three hours. Not only did he teach us quite a lot about his city, he patiently waited outside while we explored some of the monuments.

On our last day in Lisbon, we headed to Belém to visit the spectacular Jerónimos Monastery and the
Church of Santa Maria in Belém. Both were worth a visit, especially the monastery.  standing next to Vasco da Gama's tomb in the church was also quite extraordinary.

One of the most memorable stops in Lisbon was the C.S. Gulbenkian Museum, named after the businessman and philanthropist, whose private foundation displays his exquisite art collection in an equally interesting 1969 building designed by architects Ruy Jervis d’Athouguia, Pedro Cid and Alberto Pessoa .

After so much sight seeing, it was time for a bottle of vino verde and some cod fritters in one of Lisbon's lovely squares.

Next stop in our travels is Porto, so stay tuned. If you are on Instagram, you might want to follow along in real time here.

If there is important news back home in Carroll Gardens, I will of course post about it.  You know that Carroll Gardens, Gowanus and the proposed Gowanus upzoning is never far from my mind.