BACK I AM ON HERE...

Photo taken at Palanga beach resort (Lithuania)

After a three-week hiatus from blogging, 

back I'm on the blogosphere not yet to post about my trip

 but

to wish you a great weekend...

CAN YOU HEAR ME SAYING.......???

HAVE A WONDERFUL WEEKEND... WITH OR WITHOUT A GUITAR!

     

Today is a holiday in Lisbon as its patron Saint Anthony is celebrated in every traditional neighbourhood, mainly over the night. Yesterday, I strolled through the narrow cobblestone streets in the Moorish Mouraria district, where the Portuguese traditional songs (Fado) were played and sang everywhere as if windows and doors suddenly had got a melodic voice....

More photos will be posted soon, showing you several aspects of Lisbon's most important festivity.

In the meantime, I leave you here with two guitar-shaped ornaments, I saw as I was walking through Mouraria.

Have a wonderful weekend!

HAVE FUN ON THE WEEKEND....AND MORE..

Looking at the above photo which I took yesterday, at LX Factory, an arts centre situated in and around an abandoned factory building in a Lisbon neighbourhood, it reminds me of those cars that maybe some of you remember were common among boys, many years ago. 

A few weeks ago, a race of those cars was held in my neighbourhood. 

It was fun to see different generations enjoy the driving along the main avenue...

~~ Thanks for stopping by ~~

A DAY OUT OF LISBON....

Spending a day out of Lisbon is something that I really like doing. It happened a few weeks ago when I had to go on business to a decorative showroom, originally an old winery. In a small village, between a mountain and the ocean, entering the space was like the beginning of a journey, the starting of a dream: objects, furniture, textiles, brought in from around the world (unfortunately, I was not allowed to take photos). It was an experience for all senses: textures, colours and unexpected volumes made me relive scenes of unfulfilled dreams, with the Orient and its mysteries as a possible frame.

                                                                                  

As the business was concluded, I strolled through the narrow streets of the small village of Almoçageme, which sits on hills overlooking the Atlantic, only a 45 minute drive north-west of Lisbon. Its mostly white-washed houses are huddled together with courtyards and gardens, enclosed by walls and hedges creating a maze of narrow streets and alleys with breathtaking views of the silver green-blue, often tumultuous, ocean.

The beautiful Adraga Beach is about a twenty 20 walk but I decided to drive, instead. The road is hilly and return back would not be very comfortable. It was a fine day, and there were already some people n the beach while others, mainly foreigners, were enjoying sunshine as they were having lunch at the restaurant overlooking the beach.

From the beach I drove up the hill to a hamlet at which I saw sheep grazing in a green field. A small square with a bandstand seemed to be the meeting-point at which the elders (I saw men, only) congregated in the afternoons to socialize and play cards.

~~~I hope you enjoy the slideshow and I wish you a wonderful weekend ~~

A BUS STOP WITH A HUGE NOSE...

   How about having a change of air and visit the Lungs of the World?

The Portuguese airline company TAP has placed a bus station that resembles one of its air planes,

in front of one of Lisbon’s landmarks, The Hieronymites Monastery which is located in Belem district Lisbon.

                                                     

 

The purpose of the sales campaign is the addition of 11 cities to the new destinations

(six in Europe, four in Brazil and one in Africa) the company will start flying for from this July 4.

~~ Either you take a plane, hop on a bus, catch a train, etc., or simply walk, have a wonderful weekend ~~

PERHAPS WHAT WE ALL NEED IS....

Yesterday, I visited a travelling exhibition of ''Happy Consumption'' which examined publicity and society in the 20th century. A selection of over 350 works from a Portuguese collection of Advertising Art were on display, bringing together exclusively hand-painted advertising originals. It was both interesting and beautiful. Obviously, I took many photos, which I will share with you in the near future. 

Today, I chose the above one. I think many of you were familiar with it at your younger age, though I have never really been into it. Too sweet... 

Ovaltine was developed in Berne, Switzerland, where it is known by its original name, Ovomaltine (from ovum, Latin for "egg," and malt, which were originally its main ingredients) and so is in Portugal.

After the exhibition I went to a groceries store and chatted up a stock clerk who said that lots of Ovomaltine is going into the shopping baskets of mature people... This surprised me because I always throught of Ovomaltine as someting for the kids and not for the 50+ crowd... 

~~ Have a wonderful weekend, with or without Ovaltine ~~

HAVE A WONDERFUL WEEKEND...

Above, you see a section of the dome of a greenhouse with a neoclassic architecture mixed with iron. 

The greenhouse is at the garden of a mansion, built in 1734, that was the summer residence of the bishops of Lisbon and of aristocratic families until 1940, when it was acquired by the Portuguese State.

It's currently occupied by the Institute of Tropical Science Research. 

Unfortunately it's not open to the public and the photo was taken from the street.

I wonder which plants are pampered and grown in it...

~~ Have a wonderful weekend ~~

ENJOY THE FIRST WEEKEND OF SPRING...

Even this dog seemed to be greeting the signs of Spring

Although Spring officially arrives today, on the day before yesterday I went for a long long walk through the woods behind my place and walked endlessly for several hours. I didn't see anyone in such an unfrequented area that I wondered it seemed or not to resent the intrusion of a human being.

Unfortunately, I don't know the name of the purple invasive flowers that you see in the photo above. Invasive or not, they were beautiful in contrast with the surrounding greens and yellows. I stopped for a while, had a short rest on a bench at the picnic area and took a deep breath 'Ahhh, it's Spring!'.

~~ Thanks for stopping by ~~

HAVE A NICE FIRST WEEKEND OF MARCH...

Whenever I look at the above pictured chimneys - photo taken two weeks ago, near Lisbon -, they remind me of bird feeders. Does it make sense to you?

In Lisbon, we continue to have rainy days with wind and both the high and the low temperatures have been lower than the usual at this time of the year.

 Our weather forecaster is reporting the first day of March to be the wettest day in the coming week...

~~ Whatever the weather is going to be like at your place, I wish you a wonderful first weekend of  March  ~~

AN "EMBASSY" WITH NON-CAREER DIPLOMATS....

                                 

Following the latest round of CYG??? and the respective photo, I would like to share with you some information and other images of my visit to Embaixada (Embassy, in English), Lisbon’s most recent lifestyle venture. Located in a 19th century mansion in new-Arabian style, this new retail project rests on an innovative concept in the Portuguese capital, accommodating a range of shops focused on Portuguese products and others backed by national entrepreneurs. 

Built by a man who made his fortune in Brazil the building has had different tenants over the years, having been bought by a multinational real estate development company, which renovated it with a strong focus on the preservation of the architectural heritage.

The new meeting place in Lisbon has become the right spot to look for Portuguese products with a twist. Going through the shops we come across a myriad of products, some of them until now only available abroad, yet they had been produced in Portugal.

Le Jardin Restaurant Café - Bar, recreates the atmosphere of the Grand Cafés of the 20th century. There you can enjoy a wide variety of Mediterranean flavours. 

~~ Have a wonderful weekend ~~

                 

WITH OR WITHOUT KISSES...

 An alembic copper still, nowadays commonly used for decoration either at restaurants or rustic houses. 

Lisbon had, in the Past, many market halls, where everybody used to buy fresh fruit, vegetables, fish or meat. Nowadays, most of them have lost their original characteristics. They have been renovated and converted into exhibition halls or places for workshops. The photos below show (from left to right) the main entrance and the central area of one of them, nowadays occupied by The Culinary Arts Centre. 

                                                     

The building, one of the first structures in Portugal that uses iron and glass, two materials that had become common in Europe in the latter half of the 19th century, was inaugurated in 1877. The Centre organizes now and then exhibitions of different themes. It was the case of 'The Spirit of Liquors - Art and Tradition',  which I visited some weeks ago.

Different shapes of vintage liquor bottles

              

On the left - a bullfighter shaped liquor bottle
On the right - a Portuguese bull herder - they do it on horseback

VINTAGE LABELS

Best liquor for your health

Apricot Liquor

Kiss me

           With or without liquors, with or without kisses.... 

          Have a wonderful weekend! 

~~ Thanks for stopping by ~~