Trespassing on the wrong day but the right place.

 

The day begins with a collection of photos of the beautiful mosaics you see on the streets and sidewalks. They are cobblestones of black and white volcanic rock. Easy to fix. Is there a hole? Just put a rock in it. Must work well because these have been here since the 15th century and still look pretty good.

Take a really close look at the sidewalk photo below. Remember we told you how clean everything is? No trash anywhere. Well, we finally found a piece of paper thrown on the sidewalk, probably by some tourist certainly not the people who live here. We have seen residents of the tiny cottages that line the streets, actually come outside and mop the side walk in front of their front door step. Look closely at the photo and try to find it.

Give up?   It is there.  Ok now look at the close up photo below and find it.

                             See we told you it was there !

Woke up a little late this morning. We looked at the date and thought this was our last day here. So after a quick breakfast we set off to photograph everything we thought you might like to see. Then about noon it became obvious we were on the WRONG day…..this is the next to the last day. The result is we got a lot of photos.

Now a garden update……..Those secret gardens are tough to enter. We KNOW they are there because we could see them from the airplane as we landed. But those high walls and gates prevent entry. Even the little cafe’s have a hidden patio or secluded eating area that is not visible from the street.We managed to view an important one though. 

We think we did it via illegal entry…but not on purpose. There is a historical site called “Palace of the Captain’s which was a former Jesuit College. Parts are now a museum. Wandering around taking photos we were lost and looking for something else when we saw a large group preparing to enter this impressive historical site. 

We simply entered with this group and followed them about as their guide narrated the tour in Portuguese. It was interesting even if we did not understand much of what he was saying. Then as the group departed to their tour bus, we wandered out with them. So the hidden garden with the fountain in the middle is at this Palace. The tree in the middle of the photo is called a Dragon Tree and it is over 300 years old.

I will let the photos tell the rest of the story this time. It was a tiring day. The streets here are hilly and in some places like San Francisco streets. Sidewalks on the smaller streets are very narrow. When two people meet one has to step into the street to let the other one pass. Since I am an old lady and walk on the cobblestone sidewalks with a cane, the other people politely step into the street so I can pass without falling over! We probably walked more today than all last year.

                                       Down the hill we go.

                                         Uphill with cars but a nice sidewalk.

                                                     Up another hill!

We always start our walks by going uphill so when we are tired we can just roll down hill.

  We have no idea what this impressive building is. We were lost when we saw it and if you don't know where it is on a map you can't identify it either. 

Tucked up a side alley was this little local bakery shop.

A fixer. Next photo is the close up so you can see some of the delayed maintenance . These buildings are so old that if the door or lower windows are open you can smell the dampness and mold. 

Most of them are unsafe to enter and unstable since the earthquake in 1980. 

Beautiful old tile work. These are called "Azulejos" in Portuguese. The blue and white tiles became popular in the 15th & 16th centuries. The tiles are square and thin. Interiors and exteriors are decorated with them. You might remember in the museum photos you saw an entire room with them including large tile murals decorating the walls. 

And the last photo is my favorite balcony.