Relaxing in Riomaggiore

Hey, we know its been a few days since we posted but don't worry, we're still alive! We just happen to have a very nice place in the lovely town of Riomaggiore in Cinque Terre, Italy with a big balcony and an amazing view...oh, and no wireless. So instead of blogging we are just enjoying our time here and relaxing for a few days.

Do check back though, because there is a little bar below our place with wi-fi and we do have some posts stored up...so maybe one or two might pop up if we get around to it. In any case, expect a flurry of posts starting October 27th when we arrive in Florence since we are about 4 cities behind now!
 

Here is a picture from sunset last night in the meantime...

 

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Our Quest Into Art Snobbery (Part 2 - Lisbon)

Since our introduction into the world of art and culture went so swimmingly in Madrid, we figured that we should press on and explore more museums in Lisbon. After arriving at 5:30 am on an overnight bus and sitting on a bench in a park outside of our hotel for a couple of hours waiting for McCafe to open, we were quite possibly not in the best of moods to be wandering around a museum. However, our decision to fight the urge to sleep on the couch in the common room of our B&B, and instead bravely wander through Lisbon in the sweltering heat (34 degrees!) turned out to be a very good one.

Useful Information:

Calouste Gulbenkian Museum - open Tuesday-Sunday 10am-5:45pm; entry cost varies depending on exhibits, but museum entry is 4 euro; FREE on Sundays;closest metro stations are Sao Sebastiao or Praca de Espanha

Berardo Museum - open every day 10am-7pm; FREE entry; take Tram 15 out to Belem, it's just past the park in front of the Jeronimos Monastery (you can't miss it)

The reason we decided to ignore our tired feet and brains was to take advantage of the free entry day to the Calouste Gulbenkian Museum. We weren't sure what to expect as we had only read about it about 5 minutes before deciding to go, but it was free and close to our hotel. The museum is split into two sections, a modern art collection with rotating exhibits and the main collection, with a lovely botanical garden right in the middle. Additionally, the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation provides everything from art lessons to free concerts to guest lectures on a variety of topics.

The Exterior of the Contemporary Art Museum at the Gulbenkian Museum

We spent a few minutes in the Modern art building, but again had a hard time getting our heads around the stacks of wood and palettes of floor tiles that were supposedly "art". We quickly headed through the gardens to the building that houses the main collection, and were immediately impressed.

Some of the "Art" that confuses us.

The personal collection of Calouste Gulbenkian (the person responsible for making the oil of the Middle East available to North American Markets) is stunning. It spans everything from ancient archaeological artifacts to furniture to jewellery to art, and consists of over 6000 pieces (about 1000 are on display). Perhaps even more impressive than the sheer scope of the collection is the quality of the individual pieces - there is a quote inscribed in the museum from Callouste Gulbenkian himself that states "only the best" - and this is definitely evident while walking around the museum. 

The layout is very open and visitor friendly.

The highlights of the museum for us included the gold mask of a mummy nearly 3000 years old, the vast collection of rugs and carpets from the middle east, the collection of pottery from various Chinese dynasties that looks like it was painted yesterday, the various gilded and painted bibles and books, the sculptures by Rodin and Houdon, the paintings by Rembrandt, Monet, Rubens, and Manet, and of course, the room of Rene Lalique jewellery that alone would be reason enough to visit.

Some highlights of the collection...

Head of Sensuret III (c. 1860 BC)

Far Eastern pottery collection

A Classical Grandfather Clock

Edgar Degas - Portrait of Henri Michel-Levy (via)

Rene Lalique - Serpent hair tangle (via)

Rene Lalique - Dragonfly corsage (via)

Jean-Antoine Houdon - Diana, purchased from Catherine the Great (via)

Although we were tired and sore, the museum captivated us from the moment we entered. There were criminally few people there, and this, combined with the layout and placement of the pieces, allowed us to peruse and examine the collection at our pace.

After an amazing sleep at the Lisbon Dreams Guesthouse (which definitely deserves a mention), we decided to spend our second day in the suburb of Belem, home of the Jeronimos Monastery, Belem Tower, and the second focus of this post, the Berardo Collection.

The Berardo is Lisbon's Modern Art Museum and is ranked 50th in the world for visitors, not too shabby for a museum that only opened 5 years ago. They had a number of pieces of Pop Art that we were interested in seeing including pieces by Warhol, Lichtenstein, Rosenquist, and Pollock - and these did not disappoint.

The entrance to the Berardo

And the rest of the museum was...interesting. From the Helio Oititica works of Tropicalia, where you walked around in a room with caged parrots, sand pathways, cabanas, and other tropical beach related items; to the "Cocaine room" where you had to take off your shoes and then walk around in a blue room with a soft foam floor, 60s music, and flashing black and white images; to the weird "self-hatred" art where shapes loosely based on humans had videos of human faces projected onto them and screamed "NO...NO...NO" at you - at the very least we had a fun time.

Andy Warhol - Colored Campbell's Soup Can

More Andy Warhol works

Salvador Dali - White Aphrodisiac Telephone (via)

Helio Oititica - Tropicalia (via)

Roy Lichtenstein - Interior with Restful Paintings (via)

We were very happy to spend a few hours at each museum in the end, and the fact that the museums were free makes it all the more enjoyable as we felt that we only "needed" to see what we felt like.

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Half Way Mark

Today, day sixty-one, officially marks the halfway point of our trip. Coincidentally, over breakfast this morning I told Travis I was ready to go home. Awkward. 

Yes, homesickness is starting to set in and honestly it's about time. However I find myself pining more for the convenience of a fridge, my own bathroom, a laundry machine, and some local Fresh is Best taco chips, more so than for family and friends. To any family and friends reading this, please don't be offended, technology (ie. Facebook) does a great job of keeping me apprised of your every move to the point that I still feel in touch. Also, please do some more exciting things, your status updates are becoming a bit passe. 

As we have officially survived two months of travel without running home, ending up in hospital, or killing each other (touch wood), we decided to celebrate and re-live some of our favorite moments thus far.

Chelsea FC Football Game

We failed to foresee any problems with catching a game on the night of our arrival in London - after a nine hour flight and significant time change. However Travis was able to fulfill a childhood dream, making it all worth while. And hey, the home team won!

Reading Festival - Performance by Of Monsters and Men

There were plenty of amazing performances at the Reading Music Festival this year, however Of Monsters and Men blew us away, and has definitely taken over our iPods since. If you haven't heard of them please go download their album right now - seriously, we'll wait. 

runner up - Florence + the Machine, playing in the pouring rain. It was worth getting completely drenched. 

The Ancient Acropolis

A bit surreal at times, it was difficult to grasp that I was actually standing on the Ancient Acropolis. After years spent daydreaming about getting there, I walked through in a bit of a fog, stopping every three feet to take another picture. Not until I was able to step back and see the site from afar did it start to sink in. I've been to the Acropolis.

Nafplio

In a surprise move, Nafplio stole top spot as our favorite place in Greece. Welcoming and quiet yet offering plenty to do, with amazing food and accommodations, we were sad to leave and only wish we lived closer to make weekend trips to this amazing city possible. 

Thunderstorms in Kotor

Our last day in Kotor it rained, and not just a little bit. I've honestly never heard thunder that loud, echoing off the stone fortifications it felt as though the storm was directly on top of us. Not to mention the rain, sheets of big fat raindrops puddling ankle deep on the cobblestone streets. The police shut down streets for fear of mudslides and the runoff left a lasting impression on the bay where the water level rose considerably.

Hotel Belvedere

Croatia has so much to offer and Travis and I agree that it deserves another visit in the future. In particular, we were blown away by the history in Dubrovnik and the chance to explore war torn Hotel Belvedere. It isn't often that the opportunity presents itself to get off the beaten path in an area seemingly overrun with throngs of cruise ship passengers, however this is exactly what our trip to Hotel Belvedere offered, only fifteen minutes from the ancient walled city.

Zagreb

The perfect end to an amazing run in Croatia, Zagreb's historic centre blew us away with pastel buildings and ornate architecture. Although one day allowed us to cover the highlights, it would be easy to spend two or three and the city has definitely become a must see for us in Croatia.

Cordoba's Mezquita

Thirty minutes into exploring this ancient religious site Travis and I looked at each other and whispered simultaneously "this is the most impressive building I have ever been in". A seamless combination of red and white Moorish arches, Baroque, Gothic, and Renaissance Christian church, and thousands of years of history. Keep an eye out for our upcoming post.  

Food

Self explanatory to an extent, we have filled our bellies with some amazing meals in Europe thus far and only plan to continue that trend moving forward. Although top foodie award has to go to Travis, I've picked my fair share of great restaurants including a memorable Thai restaurant in Barcelona (who knew?). Absolute top meals to date include grilled squids in Kotor, Pasticada in Split, and Piri Piri chicken in Lisbon.

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Top 10 Art - Spain and Portugal

After Travis' in depth review of Madrid's Museum Triangle and subsequent visits to the Calouste Gulbenkian and Berardo Museums in Lisbon (post coming soon), we thought it only fitting to share some of our favorite pieces from these collections, and possibly settle once and for all who has the better eye when it comes to art. 

You'll find our top five masterpieces below - I use that term loosely as we still aren't quite sure who determines what is and isn't art...

Travis' top five:

The Goya Sketches - Prado Museum

I am Still Learning (via)

There is Plenty to Suck (via)

Waterloo Bridge, Andre Derain - Thyssen Museum 

(via)

 
Dream caused by the Flight of a Bee around a Pomegranate a Second before Waking up, Salvador Dali- Thyseen Museum

(via)

Cana du Midi, Henri Matisse - Thyssen Museum

(via)

Mata Mua (In Olden Times), Paul Gaugin - Thyssen Museum

(via)

Calli's feelings on Travis' list (just for fun): A strange mix of styles, mediums, and themes, Travis' love of art mirrors his love of food - extremely varied, often exotic, and always in generous quantities. I'm really struggling with the Dali; where do you hang something like that and not a) have to see it every day or b) immediately create the impression that you are living in a horrible 70s bachelor pad, complete with ninja swords, an overly large taxidermy collection, and shag carpet? The only thing that would make that painting more scary is clowns.

Calli's top five:

Isabella II, Veiled, Camillo Torreggiani - Prado Museum

(via)

Portrait of a Peasant, Paul Cezanne - Thyssen Museum

(via)

Charing Cross Bridge, Claude Monet - Thyssen Museum

(via)

Racehorses in a Landscape, Edgar Degas 

(via)

Colored Campbell's Soup Can: 1965, Andy Warhol - Berardo Museum

Travis' take on Calli's picks (remember this is for fun...): To say that these are Calli's "favorite pieces" is maybe a bit of a stretch - these are more like the ones she found the least repulsive. To be fair though, this may have been a result of the 20km of "museum walking" that we did over two days, and the fact that on one of the days we had probably two hours of sleep on a bumpy bus ride through the night. Also, very little art has perfectly symmetrical straight lines...

So there you have it, our favorites from the museums we've visited in Spain and Portugal. We have a few more museum stops planned for the second half of our trip so make sure to circle around and see how we make out - Calli has tried to initiate a rule of one museum/week (on average) but it isn't gaining much traction.  

In the meantime, why not weigh in on the debate and share your opinion on our top five lists?

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Lisbon's Best Kept Secret

Half ancient convent, half museum, the Carmo Archaeological Museum is really only half a building. 

Rows of large arches

After surviving a large earthquake in 1755, Carmo Convent, roofless and exposed to the elements, was left untouched as a symbol of loss and hope for the city. Now home to the Carmo Archaeological Museum, lucky visitors can gaze in amazement at the stone columns and gothic arches that date back to 1389 - as well as a small but interesting mix of prehistoric, medieval, and per-earthquake finds on display in the covered museum. 

Stained glass fragments that have survived

A large column arches up towards the sky

One of the museum rooms featuring two mummies

Affordable, centrally located, and fascinating to explore, the museum is also extremely peaceful, quite, and seemingly tour group free (a wonderful rarity!). Oddly contradictory to the mile long line for the Santa Justa lift just blocks away.  It appears not many people have "discovered" this lovely little museum - yet. We haven't seen it featured in any of the popular guidebooks or common online references - however with just the name we were easily able to find the museum's website, hours of operation, and entrance fees.

Model of the convent pre 1755

Wonderfully preserved sarcophagus

One of two Peruvian mummies from the 16th c.

Arches, sky, and crumbled brick

A good impression of the former convent's size

Easily one of my favorite attractions in Lisbon, I couldn't take enough photos of the contrasting columns and sky, and was pleasantly surprised by the museum which houses two uncovered mummies, the first I've ever seen.

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