Cork Harvest
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Time to Mow the Roof!
I pity the residents of this apartment building who still have to contend with mowing the lawn, which seems to exist without a purpose.
Hellmouth
This place is referred to as the "Boca do Inferno", which translates as Hellmouth. (I understand there's one in Sunnydale, too.)
Danger!
I came across this curious paper taped to a wall in the historic part of Lisbon. I've translated it below, leaving out the name and passport number:
Do You Know This Man?
If you don't, consider yourself lucky. If you do, then it's best to exercise caution. His name is *****, he's German, and his passport number is *****. He mostly hangs out in the areas of Príncipe Real, Bairro Alto, Castelo and Graça, and he's one of the biggest conmen to ever come to Portugal.
Never put money into his hand! You'll never see it again. . .
He came from Germany to escape from the debts he had there. He says he's a student, a teacher, a translator, a painter, but he's a salesman (The problem is that he sells contraband). . . Be very careful!
He never liked to work and has always depended on women to support him. He has betrayed friends and conned customers at a business that he created and then abandoned.
He specializes in biting the hand that feeds him. Furthermore he's homophobic and incapable of respecting anyone's privacy!
Be alert! Never trust him!
Wax Offerings
At Fátima religious pilgrims may purchase and burn wax representations of the things they want to pray for.
Ancient Tile Panel
The Portuguese are renowned for their tile work. This is a sixteenth century panel depicting a maritime theme.
Unripe Olives
This is what an olive tree looks like. Below, you can see unripe black olives clinging to a branch.
And here are some olives I picked. Eating unripe olives is ill-advised.
Butter Bird
It's not often that you come across a bird made entirely out of butter. This was on the buffet table at the hotel restaurant. The funny thing is that I was looking for butter for my roll, and this was the only butter I could find. Strangely, there was no knife nearby, and I didn't want to be the first person to assault the bird, so I had to make do without.
Chicken Mythic
McDonald's was launching a huge ad campaign in Portugal for their new Chicken Mythic sandwich. I wonder if it will ever get to the US.
Gil
This is Gil. He's the mascot for the Parque das Nações located along the Lisbon coast and built to host EXPO '98. Note the pair of skyscrapersbuilt to mirror the shape of Gil's head and the conical red tiled fountain in the background.
Portugal for Kids
This was taken at Portugal dos Pequenitos, which is a sort of outdoor museum/amusement park of miniaturized works of Portuguese architecture on which children can amuse themselves.
Smoking Kills!
Cigarette warnings are much more emphatic in Portugal than here in the US. This translates as "Smoking kills".
And here is one that says "Smoking may cause a slow and painful death":
The duty free shop in the airport carries cigarette packs with translated warnings:
Extreme Bovine Productivity
Someone, please milk this cow!!!
Monkfish
I tried monkfish stew before I had an opportunity to see what the fish actually looks like.
Here's the stew:
Religious Ecstasy
It's almost as if the mannequin were custom-made for the shirt.
Here's another one:
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