Monday - Walking around Lisbon, Poetry Night and Fado - World Heritage

After a very early morning in the Notary´s office to sign the paperwork for the transfer of  our apartment to the new owner, my daughter and I went into a "Loja do Cidadão" which means "Citizen´s shop", a place where all Governmental departments are represented, and  people can apply for a passport, an ID card; connect or disconnet phones, water, electricity, gas; deal with problems at the Tax office, there are internet providers, Post office... 

Quite a handy place with everything under one roof. Here we changed our addresses, my daughter collected a passport she had applied for a couple of months ago and I applied for a Police clearance certificate I needed for Australia.
Then it was time for Karina to go to the airport for her flight back to Paris and I took the underground into "Baixa-Chiado", Lisbon´s city centre.

I wandered around for a couple of hours taking pictures, the day was warm and I wish I wasn´t laden with the winter jacket, scarf and a bag of documents to be more mobile as a tourist. Just before rush hour, I took the train to Cascais at Cais do Sodré station.

Rossio Plazza

The old trams around the city

Statue of the Portuguese Poet - Fernando Pessoa, outside the coffee shop where he used to sit and write.

Chiado Shopping - this whole was destroyed in a fire many years ago and reconstructed

After dinner, at my Mom´s invitation, my sister and I went to watch a Poetry night at ALA (Academy of Letters (words) and Arts) a cultural institution my Mom is part of.
I have never been a great fan of poetry, but I must confess it was interesting and the poets recited some of their own work or poems of well known Portuguese poets, and they were very well interpreted, and  an enjoyable night was had by all present.
The night was organized by my Mom who is always very active in the world of the written and spoken words.

My mom and dad reciting poetry

Another poet singing his poem

I would also like to bring to your attention the fact that Fado, the traditional Portuguese musical genre, was on Sunday voted by Unesco as an Intangible Heritage of Humanity.
Fado - "the emblem of Portuguese culture and talent".
Here are two of the youngest generation of talented Fado singers - Katia Guerreiro and Mariza.
Listen to these songs and you will feel moved by their sadness, melancholy, longing, even though you might not understand a single word.
Let me know what you think.

                                                                        Katia Guerreiro

Mariza