The day began with an interesting lecture on Portugal's history. Then we toured the palace of the former kings and queens...much larger than The Little House On The Prairie. Driving to the sea coast we followed it for miles seeing a number of monuments until my monument bladder was full.
Dinner was at a restaurant reached by a narrow winding walkway with many steps, much to narrow for autos. Surprised to see the decals announcing it had received Michelin Awards in 2016, 17, 18 and 19, the food lived up to its billing. It was accompanied by superb Portuguese wine. Our group of 23, including our guide, had a room to ourselves. The room with stone floor and walls had an open ceiling showing the 6" X 18" rafters on much larger beams.
A special treat was live Fado music provided by two string players and two soloists. The following explanation of Fado is from Wikipedia:
Fado (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈfaðu]; "destiny, fate") is a music genre that can be traced to the 1820s in Lisbon, Portugal, but probably has much earlier origins. Fado historian and scholar Rui Vieira Nery states that "the only reliable information on the history of Fado was orally transmitted and goes back to the 1820s and 1830s at best. But even that information was frequently modified within the generational transmission process that made it reach us today."[1]
Although the origins are difficult to trace, today fado is commonly regarded as simply a form of song which can be about anything, but must follow a certain traditional structure. In popular belief, fado is a form of music characterized by mournful tunes and lyrics, often about the sea or the life of the poor, and infused with a sentiment of resignation, fatefulness and melancholia. This is loosely captured by the Portuguese word saudade, or "longing", symbolizing a feeling of loss (a permanent, irreparable loss and its consequent lifelong damage). This is similar to the character of several musical genres in Portuguese ex-colonies such as morna from Cape Verde, which may be historically linked to fado in its earlier form but has retained its rhythmic heritage. This connection to the music of a historic Portuguese urban and maritime proletariat (sailors, dock workers, port traders and other working-class people in general) can also be found in Brazilian modinha and Indonesian kroncong, although all these music genres subsequently developed their own independent traditions.
Well, there you have it! And, yes, I did stay awake for the lecture helped by the dynamism of the lecturer...though I snoozed a little on the bus at one point. After our morning lecture we are going to explore more of Lisbon today.
Takk for alt,
Al
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| The peninsula behind me is the western most point of Continental Europe, degrees lattiud. |
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| In the palace. |
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| The Palace |
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| At dinner. |
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| Fado soloist. |
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| Fado musicians. |
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