Perfect time for sky watching

After visiting Jeronimos Monastery, we crossed the street to sit in one of the benches at the park across from the monastery. Our reason for doing that was twofold. First, we needed to rethink our sightseeing game plan. And second, we wanted to have a moment where we were just being still, not sightseeing, not browsing, not looking at buildings, but simply sitting still and hopefully breathe in the experience. And what better place to do that than the park across the monastery. I still don't know what the park's name is.

We didn't go around the park, although we walked a bit to take photos - hey we're still tourists here. From this angle we took numerous shots of the monastery. We found the fountain and took photos of that too, some statues and ducks and people too.

A funny anecdote I have to share with you. In the park there is an ambulant vendor, he has a cart and is obviously selling roasted chestnuts (what is it with chestnuts, we saw them everywhere in Madrid and now Lisbon). I thought I'd buy a small bag to compare with the ones we bought on the streets of Madrid one November night 5 years earlier. Now ahead of us is a woman who spoke Portuguese I am guessing? She did look like a tourist and some words she used were familiar sounding (sounded like Spanish) but the vendor was communicating by hand gestures. On top of the cart are chestnuts piled high. The lady went on to touch the chestnuts and complained they were cold. She wanted warm roasted chestnuts. The vendor asked by hand signals if the lady is buying? In response the lady was flabbergasted that the vendor was going to sell her the cold chestnuts and that I understood clearly even without understanding the language she used. The tone of her voice, the hand gestures she used plus the fact that she was walking away as she spoke. My husband and I looked at each other and smiled and asked the kind vendor for a bag of chestnuts. I was okay with cold chestnut I guess, if that is the way they do it in Lisbon. You know, when in Lisbon philosophy. But lo and behold there are warm roasted chestnuts inside the cart and the ones on top of the cart for for display only. Hah.

We ate our warm chestnuts while basking in the glorious November sun. It was the perfect moment for skywatching.



















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