Postcards from Portugal. . .

June has decidedly NOT been summery at all in the UK so it seems a fitting time to reminisce on our recent holiday to Portugal where it was very hot and sunny.

We went for a few days at the beginning of the month, spending most of our time in Lisbon, and as is our habit in a new city, we walked everywhere and climbed up to every viewpoint we could. We explored narrow side streets filled with small cafes and tiny shops, popped into every church we passed, marvelling at the ornate craftsmanship, and ate a lot of Portuguese custard tarts and ice cream.

This photo is taken from the gardens outside the Lisbon castle walls. It's impossible to sum up such a vibrant and historical city from a few photos and some touristy meandering, but here are some of the main visual impressions that stuck and inspired, starting with the terracotta tiled roofs that cover almost every building.

Tiles are ubiquitous of course in this city,  adorning everything from the pavements to the facades of buildings and underpasses too.  So much colour and pattern inspiration.

There are big public squares.

And vibrant jacaranda trees everywhere.

One day we walked to Belém,  to visit the Padrão dos Descobrimentos, the monument to Portuguese explorers/colonizers.  You can take an elevator up to the top.

It offers a good view of the  Hieronymites Monastery which was our next stop. We had to queue for quite some time to get into the cloisters but it was worth it - stunning stonework.

The area is a mixture of the old as in this early 16th century tower:

And the new.  We also popped into MAAT: Museum of Art, Architecture and Technology which was hosting a fascinating exhibit of how digital photography has played with and manipulated images of architecture.

Another highlight, at the other end of town, was the Museu Nacional do Azulejo housed in a former convent; the building is as unique as the historical and modern tiles displayed within. It also has a lovely cafe in the courtyard.

This is the church attached to the convent and tiled all along the bottom walls. 

While there were many murals, it was the repetitive tiled patterns that I was drawn to, both historical. . .

. . . and modern.

We walked through parks.

And along aqueducts.

And only on the last day did we buy an all-day pass for public transport, riding the famous Tram 28 route in its entirety all through the city.

We also used the underground metro, which is very efficient (it's definitely the best way to get to the airport), and also beautifully tiled.  I loved these giant rabbits.

We ate very well too - Portuguese pastries are pretty amazing, not just their traditional tarts but their cakes and other baked goods too, particularly if you like almonds (I do!).  A great place to sample a lot of different types of food is the Time Out Market, which was packed every time we visited.

But we did get to try the national dish of Bacalhau which was absolutely delicious and something I'm definitely going to try to replicate at home.  It looks like pasta, but it's codfish with fried matchstick potatoes (which gives it a lovely texture and crunch) onions and garlic, all held together with beaten egg which has to be stirred in quickly to avoid scrambling, and then topped with parsley and olive dust.  We loved it so much we had it twice.

We made a day trip to Porto as well, but I'll save that for a post of its own.  A woolly pilgrimage is also coming up.