Faro (Algarve): Catholic Tile Art on the Houses

Couldn't help but notice the Catholic tile art that was on the front of some of the houses in Faro:

Of course, there was always going to be a series of tiles showing Our Lady of Fatima:

Seville: Royal Alcazar Palace

In Seville, I saw all these people queueing to get inside this big castle-type structure (above and below).  As I wanted to get to see as much of Seville city centre (especially the bull ring) as possible in the three hours that I had, I didn't join this queue.
 

However, when I got back to Warsaw, I checked out what the castle-type structure was, discovering that it was the Royal Alcazar Palace (originally a Moorish fort built in the 1300s), and, from the pictures below (taken from the internet) showing the inside of the place, then sorely regretted not having joined the queue:

Lisbon: Triangular-Shaped Windows

Was walking through one of the less spectacular parts of Lisbon city centre, when these triangular-shaped windows suddenly caught my eye.

Lisbon: A Number 28 Tram

Got this picture of a yellow number 28 tram in Lisbon at quite close quarters.  Glad that I managed to catch a couple of the people's faces at the back of the tram.

Think that our guide mentioned that the number 28 was the most famous tram in Lisbon, taking about 80 minutes to complete its journey, thus, passing many interesting parts of the city for tourists.

Seville: Torre del Oro ('Gold Tower')

Back in Seville here with the palm-enshrouded Torre del Oro, ('Gold Tower'), a watchtower built on the river in the city centre by the Moors in the early 13th century.

Nearby, I couldn't help but notice this streetlamp covered in palms:

And below, I tried to capture the 'Gold Tower' in some kind of Gothic-type frame:

Just read that the  'Gold Tower' was also some kind of prison during the Middle Ages.

Whenever I think of Seville now, the first thing that springs to mind is the wonderful palm trees there. Below, I'm trying to get 'inside' the palm tree to attain a better understanding of this magical thing:

And the 'Gold Tower' itself, well, it couldn't help but give me a sense of awe and enchantment (not dissimilar to that which I would experience a few days later when getting to see the Tower of St. Vincent/Belem Tower in Lisbon):

Lisbon: The Memorial to the Fallen Portuguese Soldiers (1961-1974)

A few minutes to the right of the Tower of St. Vincent (Belem Tower), I came across the deeply moving memorial to the Portuguese soldiers who fell fighting nationalist movements in former Portuguese colonies in Africa between 1961 and 1974.

The picture below catches the Portuguese soldier who stands in front of both the triangular-shaped memorial and flame: 

Behind the memorial and flame, the names of about 9,000 fallen Portuguese soldiers from 1961-1974 are etched on a wall:

While looking at the memorial, I couldn't help but think of the former Portuguese leader, Antonio de Oliveira Salazar (1889-1970):

And when I got back home, I wanted to get to know a bit more about him, more than what Western politically-'correct' revisionist accounts of history say about him (e.g. they reduce him to the level of being a 'dictator' when he seems to have been far more multidimensional). 

And interestingly enough, just through a basic internet search, I discovered that Salazar had been a devout Catholic; had been a gifted economist who saved Portugal from communism/socialism; and had been one of the most (if not the most) vocal Western critics of Hitler during the 1930s (I wonder why Western politically-'correct' revisionist accounts of Salazar do not seem to mention the last point ???).

Seville: Down by the River

Would've loved to have got to the other side of the river to have seen exactly what the church (-type) building was on the left of the picture above, but I only had a short afternoon in Seville so I didn't get there.

Would've also liked to have gone on a boat ride down the river, but, again, I simply didn't have the time:

But I did pass the wonderful building below which was next to the river, not far from the Plaza de Espańa Palace:

And further up river, just past the Eiffel Bridge as it happened, there was the amazing business (-looking) tower below:

Lisbon: Praca da Rossio (Rossio Square)

This is where our coach dropped us off at Praca da Rossio (Rossio Square) for our afternoon in central Lisbon.

Like many people, I guess, my eyes gravitated towards the swirling black and white tile design on the floor rather than the bronze fountain piece(s) or the King Dom Pedro IV statue up in the sky:

Having said this, the King Dom Pedro IV statue; black and white tiled floor; and bronze fountain piece(s) do form a kind of harmonious unity:

Ozric Tentacles at Warsaw Klub Progresja (25th April 2015): A Few More Shots

Here's a couple more shots from the Ozrics' incredible gig at Warsaw Klub Progresja last night (still buzzing from it):

And one of the opening act, Mantis Mash:

This gig really gave me an uplift, such is the power of great music.

Ozric Tentacles Live at Warsaw Klub Progresja 25th April 2015

This gig definitely surpassed my expectations.  Had never seen the Ozrics before so I thought it'd be a good idea to catch them at Warsaw Klub Progresja, and I'm really happy that I did.

Ozrics' mainstay, Ed Wynne seemed to have a few technical problems with his keyboards (I think???), but this simply didn't matter, as the band generated one of the best atmospheres I've ever seen at a gig.

Don't normally go in for purely instrumental bands, but I found the Ozrics' musicianship mesmeric.  And the sublime friendly atmosphere was lead by bassist, Brandi Wynne:

This lady really does have the 'touch and feel' for the bass guitar:

Won't pretend to know the names of any Ozric Tentacles' tunes, but was pleased to recognise (by melody alone) almost half of the songs that the band did last night.

In all, I enjoyed this gig immensely.  And all the 'Serotina' stuff hanging from the ceiling of the concert hall just added an incredible visual dimension to the Ozrics' great psychaedelic-type music:

Seville: The Eiffel Bridge

Had to get a couple of shots of Gustave Eiffel's Bridge in Seville:

Then went for a quick walk over the Eiffel Bridge away from Seville city centre, where I was first greeted by the Marian tile art below:

And where I was able to get a couple of decent shots of Seville city centre from a distance:

Love the juxtaoposition of sky; interesting-looking buildings; palm trees; and river here:

Then it was quickly time to cross back over the river towards the city centre:

Initially passing the small religious-looking structure below:

Alcantarilha (Algarve): The Bone Chapel

Some pictures from the 'bone chapel' in the small Algarve village  of Alcantarilha here:

The 'bone chapel' can be found somewhere round the back/side of the church below:

To get to the 'bone chapel' my friend, Dave Dealy, lead us on a 2-3 mile walk from the Algarve seaside setting of Porches to Alcantirilha:

From some of these pictures, the chapel, containing about 1,500 human remains, may look a bit 'gruesome', but in the place itself it was in no way morbid:

In reality, the place is only a small side chapel which helps to negate any sense of the place being morbid:

But still there is no getting away from the fact that the place is made from human skulls and bones:

However, in the village of Alcantarilha itself, there didn't seem to be much else other than the interesting red building below:

And a couple of other churches: