Pretty Porcelain Pottery. But that’s just plain silly. And i didn’t even have my daily goblet of sangria. Oh, maybe THAT’S the problem.
Today’s Target: Jardim Bordallo Pinheiro
Route: Bus 706 to Cais do Sodre, change to Metro green line to Campo Grande.
I was staring out the window on the bus, not really paying attention when I recognized that we were halfway to Belem. My fuzzy brain cottoned to the fact we had missed our stop. By a long shot. Uh oh. Okay. Jump off. Cross the street. Take the bus all the way back…the search for the metro linha verde. Then I notice this sign…oh, but it’s for tomorrow. Whew. Later, we read that the strike is scheduled for 6am to 9:30am. Not sure how effective that is but this is a whole different world.
We come above ground in an unfamiliar place. We’ve never been to this part of the city. Lots of students. Masses, hoards even. It’s the University of Lisbon. Which is very near Museu das Citidade which contains Jardim Bordallo Pinheiro – the garden of porcelain stuff by a guy named Bordallo.
We start with the museum which walks us through the evolution of the city from way back and included a special exhibit on Lisbon in the 1920s. They too had their Bohemians and transgressors of all that is “moral”. I won’t say more because I have a feeling Grubb will.
We stopped at a quiosque in the courtyard where Grubb went wild with a duplo cafē (double shot espresso, no milk, no extra water).
Then we entered the gardens. Already revved on caffeine, we went over the moon at this garden of porcelain creatures. Slugs sliming up the wall, snakes poised to strike, coyotes howling, monkeys climbing, frogs hopping. Not silent though…oh no. About 20 peacocks roamed the place with a cacophony of bleats and trumpets.
Later, back closer to our neighborhood, we came across a family run canned goods store established in 1942. Oh my.
I bought a tin of Polvo (octopus). Grubb bought grilled mussels. Grubb thought we’d snack on them. Oh no! Not on your life! Open these pretty cans? Geesh.