Tag Archives: lisbon

Photographs: Architecture, Photographs: Europe, Photographs: Portugal, Photographs: Travel

Monastery of São Vicente de Fora

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Monastery of São Vicente de Fora
“Monastery of São Vicente de Fora” — The Monastery of São Vicente de Fora rises above Alfama, Lisbon.

Unfortunately we did not actually get to the Monastery of São Vicente de Fora during our Lisbon visit — we were merely tempted by the sight of the impressive architecture on this ridge above Alfama in Lisbon. As is our practice, we headed out for a walk on this day, a walk that followed only the most general plan. We knew we wanted to get to visit Alfama, but beyond that we would just wander. Eventually — and, I suppose, inevitably — we arrived at Portas do Solwhich presented this view.

The buildings of Alfama are tightly packed and separated by very narrow streets, many of which would not accommodate vehicle traffic. A small section of such buildings is in the foreground in this photograph, temporarily shaded by the passing clouds. The Monastery dominates the view, as it sits on the hilltop above the district — and at this moment it was in the sunshine.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email

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Photographs: Europe, Photographs: People, Photographs: Portugal, Photographs: Travel, Photographs: Urban/Street

Ginginha Vendor

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Gingihha Vendor
“Gingihha Vendor” — A woman selling ginginha from her doorway in the Alfama, Lisbon.

One can never be sure things like ginginha are tourism constructs or actual traditions — or perhaps a bit of both. (Parallels include Portugal’s pastel de nata, San Francisco’s Sourdough bread, Belgium waffles, and more.) But I understand, both from reading about it and from seeing it, that gingihna is a traditional drink in many places in Portugal. It is a sweet, cherry liqueur that is often sold on the street, either in small shot glasses or in little chocolate cups that you simply eat when you are done. (Nice way to solve the litter problem!)

You can step up to small ginginha shops and buy one all over the place. But there also appears to be a less formal sales force operating from their front doorways. On our recent visit we saw several women set up this way to sell ginginha, including this woman sitting in her doorway in the Alfama district.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email

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Photographs: Architecture, Photographs: Europe, Photographs: Portugal, Photographs: Travel

Pena Palace

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Pena Palace
“Pena Palace” — The Pena Palace, on the summt of a mountain near Sintra, Portugal.

We missed the Pena Palace when we visited Lisbon a few years ago, so this time we made sure to set aside a day for the train ride to Sintra to see it. (It isn’t the only thing there — a remarkable “Moorish castle” is nearby.) The weather was… interesting. We had rain and wind and fog, to the point that it was difficult to be outside on the castle grounds. However, these conditions also made the scene more dramatic than it would have been on another pleasant, blue sky day.

Later I’ll share photographs made on the palace grounds. I made this one while traversing the old walls of the Moorish Castle. It also lies on a ridge, but a lower one than the palace. From there I had a dramatic view looking up to the summit of the ridge where the wildly colorful Pena Palace sits, complete with dark clouds moving past.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email

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Photographs: Europe, Photographs: Portugal, Photographs: Travel, Photographs: Urban/Street

Souvenir Store, Lisbon

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Souvenir Store, Lisbon
“Souvenir Store, Lisbon” — The entrance to a small souvenir store on a backstreet in Lisbon.

I am realizing that I have lots of photographs of these shops in Lisbon — perhaps a series of photographs is in order at some point. We saw many of them on walks from our lodgings in the city. We weren’t too far from the train station, which meant that we were in an area where a lot of things come together — main streets, transportation, business and shopping areas, tourist stuff, neighborhoods, restaurants, with narrow streets packed with people, and these little shops.

If I can generalize, there’s a kind of continuum (and not just in Portugal) that runs form fancy, upscale shopping areas to tiny, improvised, shops like this one. We didn’t go inside, as we were passing by on our way somewhere else, but this distinctly non-fancy shop seemed to sell a little bit of everything, with the tourist-attracting knick-knacks out front.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” is available from Heyday Books, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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