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Cuba - More than old cars
Weather: 40º C sunny
Mileage: Total Driven kms = 4,360
Today is our last day in Lisbon and Portugal as we head off to the UK tomorrow. We planned on this being a wash up day to view things we had not had time to visit. It started with a walk to find some building art we had seen from one of the buses. Interesting art with one of the pictures being a statement about the oil companies sucking the earth dry of oil. The others are a little less obvious to us.
Then on to the metro to visit the church and museum of Sao Roque. The museum is full of reliquaries, or shrines containing physical remains (relics) of a saint or religious figure, such as bones, clothing or some other associated object. At least half the exhibits seemed to be relics, which makes the museum very important among Portuguese Catholics.
The church itself was the earliest Jesuit Church in Portugal and was their home church for over 2 centuries until the Jesuits (and others) were expelled from the country. There were the usual ornate chapels around the inside perimeter of the church but one of them is more special. The Chapel of St. John the Baptist was constructed in Rome of precious stones, disassembled and reconstructed in Sao Roque.
In the 16th century Lisbon was affected by a plaque and the bodies of the dead were buried at the site of the church. The King requested from Venice a 'relic' of St. Roch, the patron saint of plague victims. The relic arrived and a shrine was erected and later the church was built. The result was – a plague of relics :-).
Then it was off for a drink nearby followed by a downhill trek to Praça do Comércio (the Trade Square - which is actually a rectangle). When we had been there at the beginning of the week the statue in the middle had scaffolding all around it as they were cleaning it up. Today the scaffolding was down although the statue was still fenced off at the base. They were setting up on the square for something but not all the tents had any residents so suspect it is all happening tomorrow. Around one side of the square was a market which caught the attention of Anne who made a purchase.
On a different side of the square is a museum called "The Lisbon Story". We had read about this and had decided that, time permitting, we would visit it. Well time permitted. It is a very interesting museum about the history of Lisbon. Part of the entrance fee is a headset but unlike other museums with headsets these are activated automatically when you enter an area. When you go through a warehouse with goods from the orient it smells of spices. There is an area where you experience the 1755 earthquake. All in all quite interesting. One of the most interesting things about it is what is not shown – the years when the country was governed by dictators.
It appears in both Spain and Portugal the eras of dictatorship are still very sensitive areas. Anne thinks that this might be because there are going to still be many people around who supported the dictators and the topic is too current. One can only imagine what these people are now saying during the current financial crisis both countries are facing.
After the museum we headed into a restaurant area of the old town for dinner, followed by a trip on the metro back to the hotel. At the beginning of the week we were walking this, but as the temperatures increased through the week the uphill trek was exhausting. We did not see anything of the demonstration that was being organised for 3pm. If it did occur it would have been 100m down the road from our hotel at the bottom of the Edward VII Park and Marques Pombal Square.
That’s it. This is the last of the blogs for this trip. We are off to London tomorrow to spend some time with Anne’s sister Jane and to visit with some of Bruce’s ex colleagues in the UK who are also now retired. Bruce will leave for Canada to visit his mother and brothers and Anne will stay on in London to spend time with Jane. They will meet up in Vancouver airport for the final leg of their flights home. Obviously you could not have enjoyed this trip as much as we have but hope it has provided some insight. For us it has been memorable, educational and hot!
Whether you commented on the blog or not your following of our trip is much appreciated.
PS from Anne – some of you have thought that this blog was written by me. It was written in the third person & I did have some input, but the author was Bruce. I just wanted to let you know what an amazing job he (with some help from Billy) did driving in Spain. It was extremely challenging at times and if I had been driving, I probably would have parked the car on the side of the road & walked away within the first couple of days! Thanks Bruce (-:
Mileage: Total Driven kms = 4,360
Today is our last day in Lisbon and Portugal as we head off to the UK tomorrow. We planned on this being a wash up day to view things we had not had time to visit. It started with a walk to find some building art we had seen from one of the buses. Interesting art with one of the pictures being a statement about the oil companies sucking the earth dry of oil. The others are a little less obvious to us.
Then on to the metro to visit the church and museum of Sao Roque. The museum is full of reliquaries, or shrines containing physical remains (relics) of a saint or religious figure, such as bones, clothing or some other associated object. At least half the exhibits seemed to be relics, which makes the museum very important among Portuguese Catholics.
The church itself was the earliest Jesuit Church in Portugal and was their home church for over 2 centuries until the Jesuits (and others) were expelled from the country. There were the usual ornate chapels around the inside perimeter of the church but one of them is more special. The Chapel of St. John the Baptist was constructed in Rome of precious stones, disassembled and reconstructed in Sao Roque.
In the 16th century Lisbon was affected by a plaque and the bodies of the dead were buried at the site of the church. The King requested from Venice a 'relic' of St. Roch, the patron saint of plague victims. The relic arrived and a shrine was erected and later the church was built. The result was – a plague of relics :-).
Then it was off for a drink nearby followed by a downhill trek to Praça do Comércio (the Trade Square - which is actually a rectangle). When we had been there at the beginning of the week the statue in the middle had scaffolding all around it as they were cleaning it up. Today the scaffolding was down although the statue was still fenced off at the base. They were setting up on the square for something but not all the tents had any residents so suspect it is all happening tomorrow. Around one side of the square was a market which caught the attention of Anne who made a purchase.
On a different side of the square is a museum called "The Lisbon Story". We had read about this and had decided that, time permitting, we would visit it. Well time permitted. It is a very interesting museum about the history of Lisbon. Part of the entrance fee is a headset but unlike other museums with headsets these are activated automatically when you enter an area. When you go through a warehouse with goods from the orient it smells of spices. There is an area where you experience the 1755 earthquake. All in all quite interesting. One of the most interesting things about it is what is not shown – the years when the country was governed by dictators.
It appears in both Spain and Portugal the eras of dictatorship are still very sensitive areas. Anne thinks that this might be because there are going to still be many people around who supported the dictators and the topic is too current. One can only imagine what these people are now saying during the current financial crisis both countries are facing.
After the museum we headed into a restaurant area of the old town for dinner, followed by a trip on the metro back to the hotel. At the beginning of the week we were walking this, but as the temperatures increased through the week the uphill trek was exhausting. We did not see anything of the demonstration that was being organised for 3pm. If it did occur it would have been 100m down the road from our hotel at the bottom of the Edward VII Park and Marques Pombal Square.
That’s it. This is the last of the blogs for this trip. We are off to London tomorrow to spend some time with Anne’s sister Jane and to visit with some of Bruce’s ex colleagues in the UK who are also now retired. Bruce will leave for Canada to visit his mother and brothers and Anne will stay on in London to spend time with Jane. They will meet up in Vancouver airport for the final leg of their flights home. Obviously you could not have enjoyed this trip as much as we have but hope it has provided some insight. For us it has been memorable, educational and hot!
Whether you commented on the blog or not your following of our trip is much appreciated.
PS from Anne – some of you have thought that this blog was written by me. It was written in the third person & I did have some input, but the author was Bruce. I just wanted to let you know what an amazing job he (with some help from Billy) did driving in Spain. It was extremely challenging at times and if I had been driving, I probably would have parked the car on the side of the road & walked away within the first couple of days! Thanks Bruce (-:
- comments
Ros Thanks for the great posts. Will miss them and your travels. Travel safe xxxxx
Gael How unique is this - love it; so much better than just 'another' concrete building (which compared to most you've shown) has no distinctive beauty of its own! Well done to the artist - and the photographer of course!!!
Gael Great!
Gael Love it!
Gael Very interesting concept!
Gael These are fabulous - I can just see them on my mantelpiece - I wish!!!
Gael Here we go again - splendid!
Gael OMG - just how do they do this work - it's insane - to die for!!!
alister bland don't they have internet in the UK and Canada? Come on, finish when you get home.
Gael Thanks so much Anne and Bruce. I have enjoyed your blog so much and the photos really help to tell the story. I have enjoyed your journey every step of the way, and was able to sense a little of your frustrations from time to time (it's all part of travelling I guess), but for the most part it's plainly obvious that this has been an amazing experience from go to whoa! I loved how it was written in third person, and had pretty much worked out that it was in fact Bruce writing most of the time. Well done Bruce, and congratulations on the driving. Personally, like Anne, driving for me overseas is not my thing!!! I will miss turning on my computer every day for a 'catch-up', but at 40 degrees I think the time has come to move on! Cannot wait to find out what the "special purchase" is that Anne made "around the corner"??? I trust that you will have a fabulous time with you family in Canada Bruce, and Anne I know you will enjoy spending precious time with Jane. Take care both of you, and I look forward to catching up on your return. Lots of love, Gael
Kath Anne and Bruce I also have really enjoyed travelling with you. You have given us all a great insight into the history of these countries with the wonderful narrative and great photos. I hope the rest of your trip goes well. Travel safe.
Warren Of course, this is Bruce "with a wig on"