All posts in category Art

Picturesque Pena Palace, Portugal

Ciao Readers!

So, if you’re anything like me, you get back from a nice vacation with the “real world” already knocking on your door – whether in the form of a nasty cold, tons of voicemails, or a new home repair task…..

Before I totally lose the magic that was Portugal, I wanted to share some photos of a super quirky, beautiful, eclectic site – Pena Palace in Sintra (about a 45 minute train ride from Lisbon). I think this website describes it aptly: “The palace is a hedonistic mix of vividly painted terraces, decorative battlements and mythological statues, all of which stand at stark contrast to the lush greens of the Parque de Pena forest.”  The palace is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and its existence goes back to the Middle Ages. I will spare you the entire history here – but what started off as a chapel, turned into a monastery – which was then battered by all sorts of things, including lightening and the great quake of 1755 (which destroyed much of Lisbon) –  and was eventually acquired and greatly added to by King Ferdinand in the mid 1800’s. It was commissioned to be a summer palace for the Royal family and was modeled, in part, on castles likely seen in Germany. Just to be quirky they decided to add some Medieval, Islamic, and other decorative elements to the palace (notice the Moorish tiles, the minaret-ish tower, the Triton gateway…..). We had read that the outside was much more the draw than the inside, so we bought tickets to the surrounding park (which also lets you access the scary-thin terraces surrounding the palace) and wandered around marveling…..returning down the very steep hill by tuk tuk (with a driver that knew where we live – Albuquerque  – through Breaking Bad – “Ah, Sim, Pollos Hermanos!!!”), for just a few euros more than the packed city buses.  All in all, a lovely last full day in Portugal:

 

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by Newmexicotoitaly on January 15, 2020  •  Permalink
Posted in Art, Diversions to Other Places, Portugal
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Posted by Newmexicotoitaly on January 15, 2020

https://newmexicotoitaly.com/2020/01/15/picturesque-pena-palace-portugal/

Museu da Marioneta (the Puppet Museum in Lisbon)

Ciao Readers!

We are back state-side and slowly adjusting to the 7 hour time difference after a 24-hour commute home (I love travel… traveling, not so much). I hope your new year has started off well.

Having recently shared my life-long affection for puppets (see my Muppet post), it will be no surprise that when I stumbled upon the fact that Lisbon has a puppet museum, I knew we had to go! (In contrast, feel free to skip their largest art Museum, the Gulbenkian – if you’ve been to any other large/famous museum you’ve seen better.) The puppet museum is funky and dark (even their tickets, below, are cool and weird). There are puppets from throughout the ages – from early Thai shadow puppets, Vietnamese water puppets, lots of old European and traditional Portuguese puppets, and on through modern day stop-action animation figures (complete with mini props!). It seems that puppets were often used as an entertaining way to make subversive cultural or political statements, including during the latest fascist regime in Portugal (did you know they had a dictator until 1974?!). It was kinda surreal and creepy in there, but supercool (they even have a place you can put on your own puppet show). I felt in-the-know finding this off-the-grid site, seeing how it’s not even in travel guru Rick Steves’ Lisbon book.  Take a look…..

Next time we travel to the nearby town of Sintra to see its very eclectic Pena Palace….

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by Newmexicotoitaly on January 9, 2020  •  Permalink
Posted in Art, Diversions to Other Places, Portugal, The Puppetinos, Travel Tips
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Posted by Newmexicotoitaly on January 9, 2020

https://newmexicotoitaly.com/2020/01/09/museu-da-marioneta-the-puppet-museum-in-lisbon/

Feliz 2020 from Lisbon, Portugal

Olá Readers! Happy 2020!

So far it’s been an interesting start to the new year here in Lisbon – last night we partook in what has to be the most mellow midnight celebration ever – just about 200+ folks, including lots of kids, hanging out by the Belém Tower (pictured below) watching fireworks go off in other parts of the city. There wasn’t even a real countdown, so maybe it’s still 2019…….? Then today we had a leisurely and delicious Indian food lunch out in the sun – never expected to eat Indian food here, but we kept walking by this place and it smelled so good, and it was! (And, unlike in every other place we’ve been to in Europe – especially Italy – it is okay to get your leftovers to go). If I have one major observation so far, it’s that Portugal is super chillax about most things compared to other EU countries – people seem mellower, not so fashion conscious, and fairly open and friendly. There don’t seem to be as many rules (i.e. obstacles) like you run into in Italy – for one small example, only post offices and tobacco stores in Italy sell stamps – the other day I bought some here at the gift store where I bought postcards – so simple, but who woulda thunk!?!

In any case, I thought I’d take this lazy day to post some of the photos I’ve been saving up – from our food tour, food and sights around town, and some more tiles and mosaics. Wishing you, dear Readers, peace and joy in the new year!

From our Taste of Lisboa  food tour, which was super fun and educational (and shared with tourists from Sweden, Wales, Luxembourg, and even Portugal!):

From our visit to the most famous pastry shop in Portugal, Pastéis de Belém, and our fancy New Year’s Eve day lunch:

From our walks around town and the tower on New Year’s Eve:

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by Newmexicotoitaly on January 1, 2020  •  Permalink
Posted in Art, Diversions to Other Places, Food, Portugal
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Posted by Newmexicotoitaly on January 1, 2020

https://newmexicotoitaly.com/2020/01/01/feliz-2020-from-lisbon-portugal/

Tiles of Lisbon (a photo anthology)

Olá Readers! Happy (almost) New Year!!!

I have many thoughts and insights (and food) to blog about, but for today I thought I’d just share some photos. Portugal is known for its beautiful tiles (azulejo), and you can pretty much see them covering buildings on any street. If you want a short history, you can find one here. In any case, to prove my point, here are some photos I just took, all within about 2 blocks from our apartment …enjoy!

 

Até a próxima!!!
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by Newmexicotoitaly on December 30, 2019  •  Permalink
Posted in Art, Diversions to Other Places, Portugal
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Posted by Newmexicotoitaly on December 30, 2019

https://newmexicotoitaly.com/2019/12/30/tiles-of-lisbon-a-photo-anthology/

(Not quite) More Muppets than Imaginable (or a trip to a museum closer to home)

Ciao Readers!  Happy Almost-Back-From-Turkey-Day!

So, today we venture to the Albuquerque Museum for the Jim Henson Exhibition, which just got underway this past week.  While our museums can’t compete with the big guns (or apparently even Omaha, Nebraska – which gets a Monet even though they have 100K less people than we do (see last post)), this is a pretty cool exhibit.  It features a history of Jim Henson and the muppets and we even get some of the real muppet puppets on loan from a bigger museum in NY.

So, a little personal history, which also explains why this exhibition is a big deal to me….

I was just a few months shy of turning 3 when Sesame Street premiered on November 10, 1969. As you may know, it just marked its 50th!!! anniversary!  When I was a kid I LOVED the muppets – so much so that my 13 imaginary brothers and sisters that all lived in an imaginary dresser were muppets, not people (insert psychoanalysis here). My favorite easy-read books were all from Sesame Street, and the one pictured below, The Monster at the End of This Book, was my all time favorite, and an original is on display at the museum (notice the price in the corner):

Even as an adult, I still love the muppets and my own Jim Henson Muppet Factory puppets have starred in their own epics, such as “The Puppetinos Move to Italy.”

 

In any case, there were several cool old muppets from the 50’s and 60’s (I didn’t realize most of the muppets were created for commercials, like Rowlf the dog for Purina), some old sketches, notes and videos, and several actual muppets (though not the 47 the museum in NY has – play small violin here). I tried my best to take photos without people in them, but this is a big deal for little ‘ol Albuquerque and it was a full house….Enjoy!:

 

 

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by Newmexicotoitaly on December 1, 2019  •  Permalink
Posted in Art, New Mexico, The Puppetinos
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Posted by Newmexicotoitaly on December 1, 2019

https://newmexicotoitaly.com/2019/12/01/not-quite-more-muppets-than-imaginable-or-a-trip-to-a-museum-closer-to-home/

More Monets than Imaginable (or a VERY quick trip to Denver)

Happy Thanksgiving Readers!!!!!

I hope you are all safe and warm!  We are snowed in, which is perfect since we weren’t going anywhere and we cooked everything yesterday.  Pretty, huh?

 

In any case, this is a post about Monet and Denver, so on with it….

The Denver Museum of Art is a pretty amazing place, and right now it is showcasing the largest Monet exhibition in the U.S. When I read about it, I HAD to get tickets, which I did, for this past Monday at 12:00. So, off we go to Denver on Sunday….I had checked the weather several times throughout the week and the driving weather there, and back on Tuesday, looked great. Which is why it was a bit perplexing as we drove in Sunday evening to keep seeing road signs saying “Storm Warning: Expect Road Closures for Monday-Tuesday.” Being the modern age, I was able to get on my iPad and weather.com, and what d’ya know, it was supposed to start snowing Monday about 3:00 and then pretty much not stop. Time for an impromptu plan….

Our tickets were for 12:00 on Monday and it wasn’t supposed to start snowing until 3:00+, so no problem, we could see the exhibit, then hit the road and beat the snow! AND – I almost forgot – before we went I discovered Denver has a Shake Shack (you may recall my obsession with shake shack burgers from previous posts).  We had planned to go to Shake Shack after the museum, but new plan – get to Shake Shack before they open at 11:00, be the first in line, get our heavenly burgers, then high-tail it back the 40 minute walk to the museum just in time for our ticket time!   And, amazingly enough, we pulled it off!

The exhibition was beyond description – when I had read “100+” Monets, I expected a few big ones and lots of little half sketches, etc. NOPE – it was room after room after room of giant, gorgeous, mind-blowing Monets!!!  I read the info on each and every one because I wanted to know where they came from – they were sourced from all over the world including Tokyo and a museum in Omaha Nebraska!  Second only to the Stendhal Syndrome-inducing exhibit was my amazement at what it took to get all those paintings to the Denver Museum all at once for this show. In any case, if you are anywhere near Denver (when it is not snowed in) before February 2nd, I cannot recommend this exhibition enough.

So, street art on our walk to Shake Shack; our beloved burgers; and just a taste of the Monets….Enjoy!!!

 

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by Newmexicotoitaly on November 28, 2019  •  Permalink
Posted in Art, Denver, Diversions to Other Places
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Posted by Newmexicotoitaly on November 28, 2019

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A Last Look at Lovely Lucca

Ciao Readers!  Happy Monday!

So, here we are at the end of my trip to Lucca (boo hoo)….  I still have so many nifty photos I haven’t posted as well as some random stories, so thought I’d do a final photo-centric wrap-up with some  sights and info from my adventure.  Enjoy:

Photos from the “Verdemura” (green walls) flower and growers festival:

Check out  the facade of the Cathedral of San Martino (building began in the 1100’s!). Notice how each column is different from the others?  Legend has it that there was a competition to design the columns for the church (these artistic competitions were common in Italy during the Renaissance) – but instead of picking a winner, the town stole and used all the designs and didn’t award a prize or pay anyone!:

This is the “famous” Torre Guingi (the one in the background with the trees growing on top of it – pretty unique feature, no?), which has 227 step to the top that I did not climb:


Remember the handmade pumpkin torteloni I bought back in the “shopping” post?  This is me turning it into a scrumptious dinner – just add butter, sage and parmesan:

One day I just wandered all over town, including down empty alleyways (always so picturesque); I happened upon this large (about 12 feet tall) piece of art made entirely from recycled cardboard, literally in the middle of nowhere….

And, finally, a peak-a-boo farewell to the sea (though technnically not in Lucca):

Thank you, Dear Readers for coming with me to New York and Italy.  Hopefully I will have more blog fodder (i.e. ADVENTURES) soon!

 

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by Newmexicotoitaly on April 17, 2017  •  Permalink
Posted in Art, Italy, here we come!, Trips In Italy
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Posted by Newmexicotoitaly on April 17, 2017

https://newmexicotoitaly.com/2017/04/17/a-last-look-at-lovely-lucca/

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