Making our own Azulejos

Day 25: Lisbon, Portugal

We have now started to add in activities to the sightseeing and today was creating our own Azulejos “polished stone” tiles.  It gave us a real appreciation for the craftsmanship to create these works of art.  Mine would make any kindergarten parent proud, I am sure.  The process hasn’t changed much over the years – basically you follow a template of black dots that you lay down over a light white dusting of glass.  My eyes and hands hurt after just making two tiles. Our instructor kept reminding us to breathe. I am sure I will have fun comparing my finished tiles to the professionally made ones we are also bringing home.  Maybe that can be the new (very quick game) “Can you guess which is which?”

We moved from our centrally located hotel that was really in the thick of things (I saw more people outside our window in the square at 4 am then I did at 9 am) to what is basically a mother-in-law unit in a very quiet neighborhood.  We walked it a few mornings ago and the small shops and pocket parks reminded us a lot of what we like about Brooklyn.  We hope to enjoy finding the local bakery and the other neighborhood hangouts before we leave.

Tomorrow we plan to visit the fanciful royal palace and old castles in Sintra about an hour away.  Then on our last full day we have left open.  Then we leave.

It is hard to believe this month-long adventure is coming to a close.  We are looking forward to reconnecting with family and friends.  And we are also thinking that wouldn’t it be great to have some more time – to go back to explore the places we liked, to visit those we missed, to sit and read those books we had intended to finish, to remember to breathe, and to travel to the new found friends we have met along the way. 

We hope and expect to do those things and more adventures in our future.