Weeks 2.5 – 3.5: Portugal (Cont.)

Portugal Part 2: Lisbon

Following the short course in infectious disease/paleopathology at the University of Coimbra, I took the train from Coimbra to Lisbon Tuesday evening for a talk about my research that I was going to give on Wednesday evening.  I got to my hostel in Lisbon later than I had planned (which, by the way I was in a 4-person room, but had it all to myself both nights I was there!), but I still had time to walk down to the river/ocean and see this beautiful sunset!

Sunset over the Rio Tejo in Lisbon.

The next day I met up with Vanessa and her friends (I had met Vanessa at the American Association of Physical Anthropologists meeting in Knoxville, TN in April, but had known about her previously because my fellow grad student Christina had met her on a previous trip to Lisbon).  Vanessa is the one who contacted the Museu Nacional de Arqueologia (National Archaeology Museum) in Lisbon to arrange my talk.  We met near the Mosteiro dos Jerónimos (Jerónimos Monastery) which is actually the building housing the Archaeology Museum-- it was rather an impressive venue!

The Mosteiro dos Jerónimos in Lisbon.

A wider shot of the Mosteiro dos Jerónimos in Lisbon.

Me at the Mosteiro dos Jerónimos in Lisbon.

Once I met up with Vanessa and her British friend Cheryl, we walked around for a bit to wait for Vanessa's other Portuguese friends.  In the meantime, we walked over to the water (Rio Tejo) to see the Padrãodos Descobrimentos (Monument to the Discoveries).

 The Padrão dos Descobrimentos (Monument to the Discoveries)
facing westward, toward the New World, in Lisbon.

The Padrão dos Descobrimentos
(Monument to the Discoveries) in Lisbon.

Me at the Padrão dos Descobrimentos
(Monument to the Discoveries) in Lisbon.

Note the mosaics on the ground.
According to Vanessa, they're "very Portuguese," still made by hand,
and other places in the world fly in the Portuguese craftsmen who make them.

The Padrão dos Descobrimentos
(Monument to the Discoveries) in Lisbon.

Facing westward from the Padrão dos Descobrimentos (Monument to the Discoveries) in Lisbon.
You can see the Cristo-Rei (Christ the King) statue which was inspired by the statue in Rio de Janeiro.
Also pictured is the 25 de Abril Bridge (formerly Salazar Bridge).

Here is the Ponte 25 de Abril which I passed on my way to meet up with Vanessa & co.,
renamed from Ponte Salazar after the Carnation Revolution on April 25, 1974.

Eventually Vanessa's other friends arrived and we then went to the Pastéis de Belém (Belém being the are of Lisbon we were in) to get the Pastéis de Belém (i.e., the egg-tart pastry the area is known for).  It was DELICIOUS!

The bakery Pastéis de Belém.  The pastries are sold all over the area,
but this is "the original" which supposedly has a "secret ingredient"
that makes them different from the rest.  They were REALLY good!

My Pastéis de Belém and cappuccino.

After enjoying some pastries, we then meandered back to the water to see some more sights.

  

Torre de Belém built in the early 16^th century 

as part of a defense system and ceremonial gateway to Lisbon.

Torre de Belém.

Torre de Belém.

And then it was time for my talk.  I gave a talk first, followed by a Portuguese lithic archaeologist, Nuno Bicho (who delivered his talk in Portuguese).

Giving my talk (about chins, of course) at the Museu Nacional de Arqueologia.
Photo courtesy of the GEEvH – Group of Studies in Human Evolution.

This is the Museu Nacional de Arqueologia, a part of the Mosteiro dos Jerónimos.

There were actually a number of Americans at the talk who had just flown in to Lisbon that day and were going to be doing some archaeological field work in Portugal.  They mostly stayed awake, which impressed me given the jet lag they must have been dealing with!  After the talk I got dinner with Vanessa and her friends which was a nice way to wrap up my time in Portugal.

I really liked Portugal a lot, but on Thursday morning I flew to Paris!  In Lisbon, I took a taxi to a metro station and the metro to the airport, and I left my hostel around 6:20 am and the person who was working was kind enough to get out of bed and walk down the street with me (in her PJs) to point out the nearest taxi stand (it was really close, but I’m not sure I would’ve noticed it without her help)!  This is just one more example of the kindness and friendliness I’ve experienced while in Europe thus far!