Graffiti and confetti...

As has become a habit for us we went away this February for a long weekend break at my birthday. We have never been to Portugal before and so we based our destination on where BA flies to so that I could use up my air-miles. The biggest mistake I made was to try to maximise our time there without fully considering the implications of getting to the airport so early and not returning until so late.

The weather was very nice in the 20’s each day without a cloud in the sky. But even the bright light and comfortable temperatures could disguise the grey and decayed feel of the city. We had chosen a cheep hotel in the ‘bohemian’ part of town but we were not prepared for the level of graffiti that covered everything. It seems that there is a tradition of painting slogans and pasting posters on all surfaces to advertise or politicise something or another. The streets were other wise generally clean with the only litter being confetti – either they have many weddings or we had just missed some sort of festival.

There are some very nice historical monuments and the old electric tram was an enjoyable and more sedate way of travelling between them. We were lucky enough to catch the equivalent of the changing of the guard at Belem when we went to visit the lovely monastery and ornate tower.

We had hoped for some good food and drink while we were there, but that too just missed the mark as it was a little more expensive than we expected and a little less exciting. Nevertheless it was still a nice and very welcomed break after the long dark winter and we came back refreshed and read to go.