I’m wondering if it wouldn’t have been smart to stay in Belém, a neighborhood of Lisbon that is rich in tourist attractions. I would recommend that everyone visiting Lisbon start at the commercial immersive Earthquake Museum, a 1.5-hour experience that helps you understand how the various parts of the post-1755 city are arranged. Their motto is “expect the unexpected”, which got the 10-year-old tangled up in mental knots (“If you expect something then how can it be unexpected?”).
We hit the nearby Belém palácio restaurant (excellent basic Portuguese food, including the cuttlefish below) and then the obligatory tourist stop at Pastéis de Belém for pastries that are almost exactly the same as pastel de nata (crunchier crust, perhaps):
It was then time to experience peacocks at the tropical botanical garden:
(The 10-year-old’s standard statement on seeing any peacock: “Dad, buy me a shotgun and then… problem solved.” We actually do have a neighbor who received a 28 gauge shotgun at age 9 and, therefore, is equipped to deal with any problems caused by ornamental peafowl.)
I’m going to cover the powerplant part of MAAT, the Museum of Art, Architecture and Technology, separately, but here are a few photos of the art part:
Visitors could take off their shoes and enter the installation to pound away on about 30 different drums. This proved extremely popular with some members of our group…
Never visited Portugal, but have heard from visitors. Their consensus: the prevailing attitude is of a defeated society, slowly but steadily declining, lacking vitality? A once great sea-faring world power, they have been coasting down for centuries. Their cities have a beautiful legacy, but rural towns are emptying. Portugal’s GDP per capital is €24k, compared to the Euro Area average of €40k, and €80k in USA.
How does Portuguese society feel?
Maybe Portugal is where sleepy Joe Biden learned about Bidenomics? Or, perhaps the Euro area generally? Coasting downhill with socialism!
The parable of the “Mexican” fisherman may equally apply to Portuguese fishermen and those with other professions.
Having said that, they may enjoy rather more rain than one would ideally like.
The comment about expect the unexpected reminds me of this: If you try to fail, and succeed, which have you done?
That plate of cuttlefish, if you are in a US restaurant and were served this plate, there would be an outrage against the restaurant. Why? The portion is way too small.
This is one trend you see in Europe, food portions are much smaller compared to US — even when eating at home.
28 gauge is for hunting pigeons. Your kid needs a 12 gauge turkey shotgun! If not turkey gun then definitely at least 16 gauge for this overgrown pheasant.