Bizarre Lisbon

Here are some of the bizarre and strange sights around Lisbon.

It is either a warning about pickpockets or that a long haired person with a blade on their hand will be chopping people's heads off.

Creepy.

Danger. Dinosaurs will eat your trolly!

These guys are wearing Mason polo shirts and matching hats. They were taking pictures and looking at their phones at a couple of places with masonic symbolism.

Imagine this guy rooting through your garbage!

Maria Catita Again!

We liked this place so much we came back again. We started with what they call cabbage soup which is actually kale soup.

 Then it was the rice with seafood in stewed hotpot style.

 We would eat here often if we lived in Lisbon. Best restaurant in town but hope to try other places once we are back again.

Lisbon's Underground Roman Tour

For three days a year, people can book an appointment to visit Roman catacombs under Lisbon's streets. In order to prepare for this, staff for the city museums use pumps for the month prior to get as much water as possible out. We were alerted to this by a Portuguese friend of ours and through trial and error managed to book an appointment.

This is the entrance to the catacombs. You have to wait when trolleys are going by.

 Its a tight fit and water still trickles around here and there.

 Archaeologists have determined that the purpose of this structure was to prevent the sinking of buildings above it. This area of Lisbon, in its early early days, had a river running nearby this location. Phoenician ruins have been uncovered under Roman ones in the area. Structures like these were built by the Romans throughout their empire, near river sources, so that water running underneath this structure and moving around earth would evenly affect the structure above it. Thus the structure above would remain intact.

 Ahhh, you say, why is there water in it now? As the city changed and developed over time, several wells were sunk over the city. The wells going into this Roman structure had much cleaner water because it contained the rain water and not the river or ground water. They were also reported to have healing powers for the body and eyes. Well, after the 1755 earthquake, this structure was discovered in the rebuilding. It was noted, drawings made and then closed up. Because of the structural damage, water began to seep in. Eventually the wells going to this structure was closed up and forgotten.

 You can see the residue of how high the water normally goes.

 For people expecting art or imposing ancient ruins, this is not the tour for them. For engineers, historians or people amazed at the ways civilizations make improvements that better the people they represent then this is the place to visit. But only three days a year. I was impressed.

Donairs in Lisbon

I don't know where this place was but it had the best donair meat I’ve ever had.

Also had the fullest glasses of house wine we've had on this trip. Not great wine but lots of it.

So good. Om nom nom.

Lisbon - Bank of Portugal's Museum of Money and the Wall

There is a city block in downtown Lisbon that houses the bank of Portugal. Inside they are making a museum of money, but its not open fully yet. Below is their concert hall and presentation room where the church of Sao Julio used to exist.

This is the entrance to their museum of currency. The little safe to the left holds a gold bar that you can lift. As I've read and seen on shows, gold is really dense and it was hard to lift with one hand.

While renovating they discovered something from Lisbon's past, the wall that King Denis built to protect Lisbon from pirates and attackers in the 13th century. Many other artifacts were discovered and are on display. The wall, like many other things in Lisbon, was heavily damaged in the 1755 earthquake and was built over and forgotten.

Quinta da Regaleira - Grottos

The estate has four entrances to the the interconnecting grottos that run underneath the estate. Bring a flashlight for some areas.

 There are two water entrances with paths to the tunnels.

 There are two open areas in the tunnels with circular stairs going up.

Quinta da Regaleira - Grounds

This walkway goes along the wall at the entrance to the estate.

 This is the cafeteria. The food was good, but expensive and slow. You can also see ads for the shows that are put on in the grounds.

Quinta da Regaleira - Inside the House

There is a sequence of mosaic animals in the front entrance, the most striking of which was this duck. Carvalho Monteiro was an admirer of symbols, masons, alchemy and the Rosicrucians as well as the Templar Knights.

 The hall of the kings and queens of Portugal was his billiard room. It has small portraits of them along the top.

Quinta da Regaleira - Outside the House

The Quinta da Regaleira is one of Sintra's most interesting and eclectic estates. Carvalho Monteiro bought the estate in 1892 and with renown architect Luigi Manini, redesigned the four hectare estate in neo-manueline style. Construction started in 1904 and was completed in 1910. It was acquired by the township of Sintra in 1997 and was opened to the public in 1998. It was, in my opinion, the best castle/estate to see in Sintra...but they were all pretty incredible.

Sintra - Monserrate Palace - Rooms Inside the House