We were blown away by the Church of Madre de Deus and after we had got our breath back we continued to be delighted by the museum, B&Q it definitely wasn't!
There were full panels of the classic blue and white Azulejos
Along with more colourful panels usually of religious subjects but not always, some are rustic or humorous, but all are undeniably unique.
Not everything was tiles there were some fascinating art as well, this picture is renaissance and is a lovely example of religious historical art.
Some scraps of historical tiles had a personal significance, this particular tile is a portion of a world map showing Cumbria, the Solway firth Northern Ireland and the North channel, all places that Dark Tarn has voyaged herself.
There is a lot to see and as I previously mentioned there is a great deal of interactivity, not just the tactile elements for the blind but fun things for older kids too.
The old convent buildings have veen integrated well into the new purpose of the building.
The many cloisters help to separate the different periods of history and provide cool places to sit and think.
We gradually time travelled slowly towards the 19th and 20th century and colours returned as did some subtle humor.
Lynne is examining a panel where humans have been replaced by monkeys.
Certainly makes you think differently about grapes.....
Any opportunity to dress up and Lynnes in there!
One of the famous attractions of the museum is the Great Panorama of Lisbon, this huge Azulejo panel depicts Lisbon before the earthquake of 1755.
There is also an exhibition of art inspired by the panel.
As we know the city fairly well now we were fascinated by what had changed and what we still recognised in the cityscape. Below is the Torre de Belem (obviously it survived, not so obvious is that it used to be much further out in the Tagus )
Below is the Castle of St George rising over the city, the original not the copy that exists now. The Cathedral is also seen on the right.
Its fascinating to guess who the tiny people were and what their life must have been like not knowing that almost everything around them would be destroyed.
There is a lovely cafe to relax in (tiled obviously )
The tiles represent food as I believe the cafe now occupies the space that was previously the kitchens and refectory of the convent.
A fabulous day out and recommended for any visitor to Lisbon, a must see........
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