Sights and sounds of Lisbon
While walking around Lisbon, I enjoyed the city immensely. Smelling, seeing and eating the foods was such a pleasure that I looked forward to feeling hungry again so I could partake in the food bounty.
I enjoyed observing elements of daily life in Portugal, whether it was people hanging their laundry out or a bunch of old ladies getting together in the old Alfama neighborhood, where cars can’t pass on the street. While sitting in restaurants, I enjoyed watching the regulars and the food delivery people come in. I appreciated seeing the difference in how the younger generation is clothed compared to their grandparents’ generation. Any time I heard fado music, I was partly entranced.
View from the Alfama area in Lisbon
“Hell and paradise are inside the human mind.” Fernando Pessoa, Portuguese writer
New Years 2018, Lisbon, Portugal
“Welcome migrants” sign at the Lisbon Municipality
Portuguese National Library
Visiting the Portuguese National Library was a treat. There was a display of all of the Iberian (Spanish and Portuguese) and Ibero-American (Latin American, both Spanish and Portuguese speaking) Nobel Prize Winners for Literature.
Given my love for José Saramago’s book, Ensaio sobre a cegueira (Blindness), I paid special attention to the display about his work.
Display about Saramago
The fake diary Saramago created for his character when composing the “The Year of the Death of Ricardo Reis”
Manuscript with handwritten notes of Saramago’s “The Year of the Death of Ricardo Reis”
Communist signs in Lisbon
Being from a communist country, I couldn’t help but be surprised at the various Communist symbols I saw in Lisbon.
Communist Party sign in Graça
Portuguese Communist Party sign
Oh, how I would love to return to Lisbon!
