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rick steves radio interview: portugal

Rick Steves radio interview, Portugal

In case you were taking a break from the World Cup yesterday & listening to one of these radio stations, you might have heard me. Sim, eu. Recorded in January 2010 during the big week of reunions/meetings, Rick taped about 60 minutes worth of interview time with me & Cristina Duarte about the pleasures of Portugal. There were even call-in questions from listeners! Very different from the 2005 radio interview I did with Rick about Argentina (which BTW is pretty dated now).

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lisboa: color palette

Lisboa Lisbon color palette

[Since the hotel we use for the Portugal tour is next to the still undeveloped Parque Mayer (Gehry has since pulled out), I thought it was a good idea to repost these two items. Originally published under the same title on 08 Jan 2008 & 05 Apr 2008.]

Recommended reading by Brendan, Brand Avenue suggests that cities —even entire nations— have color schemes. It makes sense. One of the things I’ve always loved about Lisboa is its light… a beautiful shade of yellow with just a hint of orange. The Portuguese also have an affinity for pastel tones, painting even public buildings in what I would call Easter colors.

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feliz cumple!

Not just any birthday, today Argentina celebrates the 200th anniversary of breaking from the Spanish crown. Technically Spain was being run by Napoleon’s brother at the time so they broke away from the French as well… saying goodbye to two empires at once! Buenos Aires was not the first to reject Spanish authority, but it was the largest city to do so & the capital of a Viceroyalty. As such, the Revolución de Mayo marked the beginning of the end of Spanish control in the Americas.

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bogotá: cementerio central

Cementerio Central, Bogotá, Colombia

King Carlos III of Spain declared burials inside or beside churches illegal in 1787, but the American colonies waited awhile to implement those new rules. Old habits are hard to break. Buenos Aires opened Recoleta Cemetery in 1822, but Bogotá inaugurated their first public cemetery much earlier in 1791. The same plan for that first cemetery was used for the layout of the Cementerio Central, opening in 1825.

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bogotá: main museums

Museo de Oro, Bogotá, Colombia

I’ve enjoyed going to museums my whole life. Every Saturday as a kid growing up in Memphis, I remember pestering my mother to take me to the Pink Palace –a fantastic natural history museum– if we weren’t going to the zoo or to the movies. Or maybe do all three! No matter how many times I went, there was always something new to learn.

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bogotá: architecture

City view, from Atlantis shopping center, Bogotá

Bogotá’s growth as a city seemed to be outward rather than upward. Its relative lack of tall buildings point to the fact that acquiring new land was more economic than tearing down older structures & constructing taller ones in their place. Also, the fact that the region is prone to earthquakes made building low a priority. Good examples of colonial buildings dot La Candelaria. The biggest wow for me was the Franciscan Iglesia La Tercera, with construction beginning in 1760 & full of exquisite Rococo carvings… probably of walnut, very dark & sensual:

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