Museu Nacional do Azulejo

December 11, 2017 by Rachel in Portugal

Yesterday we visited the Museu Nacional do Azulejo (National Tile Museum). Azulejo comes from the Arab word azzelij or al zuleycha, which means "small polished stone" and Portugal is known for its decorative tiles. This is especially true in Lisbon where so many of the buildings are covered in colorful tiles. The museum is housed in a 16th-century convent and the collection has tiles dating back to the Ottoman Empire.

Lisbon

December 05, 2017 by Rachel in Portugal, Food

We arrived in Lisbon on Wednesday and have spent the past few days touring around and seeing the sights. It is much more spread out than Porto and there are SO. MANY. HILLS! Lisbon is built on seven hills which is not only great for your calves (ha!), but also makes from some beautiful views. It is also one of the oldest capital cities in Europe, second to Athens and was first ruled by the Romans, Germans, and Arabs before Portuguese crusaders finally conquered it.