Here I am again my friends! Still alive, healthy and excited!
Let me take you with me on my second day tour of Lisbon.
The weather today was worse than yesterday with lots of rain and even stronger wind. After my first day experience I have packed one more jacket in my bag so it was not that bad at the end. I have heard from locals that such weather is very unusual for June, lucky me! I'm not used to work with camera in such conditions so I hope you will still like my pictures.
Strolling around the city I noticed various graffiti paintings on many buildings. I must admit that I haven't seen so many of them in any other city center yet so I find this very interesting in Lisbon. From my experience you can usually find them more often in residential areas outside of the center.
Today I will introduce you to graffiti paintings and street art that I came across here and I will also take you on a tour to lively Alfama district.
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Alfama is one of the oldest districts in Lisbon with long history, beautiful architecture, many cafes and restaurants and hundreds of people strolling around. The district leads up the steep hill from the Tejo Estuary to the castle.
Alfama district is situated outside of the castle walls and it was the place where poor citizens lived in the past. However with Lisbon growing, the district changed into a fashionable lively place that is very popular and attractive now.
The best way to explore it is just to get 'lost' in the streets. This is the advice that I keep giving. Behind every corner there is a charming cafe or a trendy restaurant so no worries, you won't really get lost!
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As you may have noticed already I am interested in history and architecture and today I have seen and learned a lot again.
St. Anthony was born in Lisbon into a wealthy family. He was famous for his eloquent and compelling preaching.He preached against the vices of luxury, avarice, and tyranny. He is known as the patron saint of marriage and lost things and he has always been the favorite saint in Lisbon and one of the most popular saints in the world.
This beautiful church Igreja de Santo Antonio is built on the side of the house where St. Anthony's parents lived. It was partly devastated by the earthquake in 1755. The reconstruction took 20 years and the only original part is the crypt.
I entered the church in the middle of a holy mass in Portuguese. I didn't understand a word but the priest was so passionate that I sat down and absorbed the atmosphere for a few minutes.
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Just behind the corner of St. Anthony church you can see the most important religious building in Lisbon, Se Cathedral. It was built in twelfth century and reconstructed several times. It retains its Romanesque character with its rather simple interior. I must say it didn't impress me as much as the churches that I saw yesterday. But it seems like others like it a lot as it is a very popular church for weddings and different celebrations.
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Let's walk deeper into the district..
It's not only the architecture that caught my attention but also this sort of beautiful colorful trees. They give the place a special Mediterranean touch. I could sit down on a bench decorated with ajuledos and read a book for hours but I can't as there are still so many different places to see today, not to mention that benches are wet because of the rain.
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You will quickly realize that exploring Alfama district is actually just climbing cobbled streets or descending stair cases but as everywhere in Lisbon you can take a tram instead. However as many tourists go for this option too you will notice that tram 28 is very popular and crowded. I usually prefer walking to public transportation but the choice is yours.
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If you decide to walk you will stumble across many contrasts like for example these old walls with various paintings and St. Vicente de Fora church in the back. I really like this controversial view.
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There are many balconies in the city decorated with colorful flowers. This one in Alfama was the most bizarre that I have seen here. I still don't know how I feel about it. On one hand I wonder how somebody can decorate a balcony like this but on the other hand it made me smile and this is what counts. How do you like it?
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Let's check out some street arts and graffiti now!
I saw this fox created by Bordalo II on the way from the airport and I knew that I had to come back and take some pictures.
Bordalo has become famous for his art pieces picturing animals—those most vulnerable to the side effects of our disposable economy. All his art is comprised of trash.
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When I was approaching this painting in Bairro Alto I heard 'Hi'. I ignored it as there were a few other people nearby so I didn't assume somebody was talking to me. Then I heard 'nice, nice, nice'. I started to take pictures until a local guy stood up in front of me and said: I drink you tonight? He must have seen the confusion in my face as he repeated: I drink you tonight? It took me a few seconds to realize that he didn't want to drink me but have a drink with me and I politely rejected his offer.
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I continued my walk to the next painting that should be located just a few hundreds meters away. After a few minutes when I couldn't find it I turned on GPS. It sent me back as I was apparently walking in the opposite direction. And guess what? The guy was still here! It was pretty awkward and I just tried not to look at him when I heard: Tonight? This time I said NO more resolutely and almost ran away 😊
It didn't take long and I found it!
This piece portrays the revolutionary movement of people against the dictatorship. It was created in 2009 by Antonio Alves and RIGO.
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There are also small pieces of art that you normally wouldn't notice. Initially I just saw some black dots on the building before I realized that it was a figure of a girl. Or is it an alien? I don't know 😊
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Some of graffiti paintings are very emotional like this one near the time out market. I don't know what exactly the painting means but to me it looks like a heartbroken woman. What do you think?
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These two paintings are the best that I've seen in Alfama district. I was expecting that there would be nicer paintings but I have found that Bairro Alto has much more to offer in this regard.
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I'm watching you!
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Today I've done 24,000 steps but it was all worth it! I don't want to repeat myself but please take some good shoes with you. The streets are very slippery and stairs become dangerous when it's raining.
I hope you like this not so traditional tour of the district and graffiti paintings.
Stay tuned for more as there are still two more days of my Lisbon adventure!
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Thank you for reading!
All pictures are taken by Nikon D3200 AF-S NIKKOR 18-55 mm 1:3.5-5.6 G II.
Cheers,
Martina - it was about the time to introduce myself 😊