Music, birds and closed doors (1.11-3.11.15, Lisbon)

On the way back to the historical center of Lisbon we acquainted ourselves with crushes in local public transport. If you're curious about details, believe me, there are no differences from Russia. There were so many passengers in the bus that we couldn't squeeze through the crowd. Hence, we joined the ranks of unintentional stowaways. I had an impression that for almost half of the passengers it was impossible to reach the ticket reader.

Finally, we got to the destination, Sé de Lisboa. Several weeks ago I described its exterior as dull and dissapointing. The main thing was not to become too upset about that and not to forget to enter. We came in and were rewarded for that. Like the relatively small number of visitors, we were lucky to listen to fascinating pipe organ music. Personally, I adore this kind of music but only inside the cathedrals. I feel something magical in that combination, something that I can't explain verbally. In contrast, listening to the same music in a philarmonic hall, on my iPod, etc. usually makes me sleep.

Next morning we got out of Lisbon for the second time, but let's skip those hours for now and return to them in one of the oncoming posts. In the afternoon of the same day we were back and continued exploring Lisbon. We traversed the Eduardo VII park notable for its unusual appearance,

and finally found Estufa Fria, a tiny garden hidden inside the large park. Unfortunately, we were a bit late: Estufa Fria was closing within an hour and was already closed for entrance. It was getting dark, some time to walk around the city still remained but we didn't have any other plans for that part of Lisbon. So we sat down not far from the garden entrance and started scrutinizing the map trying to find the place to spend the rest of the day. Suddenly we heard a strange sound. I was sure that there were no people around that place just a few minutes ago. Actually, there were still no people. That sound belonged not to a human being but to...

Just imagine how surprized we were! A peacock walking in a public park with ease, not frightened of people at all. Have you seen anything like that anywhere else? It was an amazing end of the day!

Tuesday morning we returned to that part of the city. This time the garden doors were opened. Estufa Fria appeared to be a nice cozy place inside, but nothing more than that. My verdict is the following: it's a good point to respite on the way to some other sight but definitely not a must-visit landmark. 

After chilling out in that garden full of exotic plants, we walked towards the next point of our route, Gulbenkian Museum. Instead of familiarizing ourselves with its art collection, we learned that Tuesday was a day off there. Once again, like twenty hours before, we were met by closed doors but this time we haven't the next day to revisit the same place. One more location to keep in mind for the case if I find myself in Lisbon sometime in the future.

Stopped by a closed door? Look around for a huge bird! (you'll find it, proven twice)

I was unable to find what does this bird stand for. The man in front of it is Calouste Sarkis Gulbenkian, a British businessman and philanthropist of Armenian origin. The museum, which didn't let us in, was founded in conformity with his last will and testament.

Falling to get into some place has a hidden benefit. That way we save time for the remaining plans (and only walk outside a bit more but who will complain about it?). Read about those plans in the oncoming posts. Until next week :)