On a rainy Wednesday afternoon
The kids had a doctor's appointment for their yearly check-ups at a new clinic on the Amoreiras park. We planned to play in the park before the appointment, having arrived with 45 minutes to spare. As usual, it was raining. Across the park, at the end of a long aqueduct, is a water museum, Museu da Agua. The museum is actually a reservoir that was at the end of the aqueduct finished in 1748. The water history of Lisbon, however, dates back to the Romans. The kids and I ran from the rain into the museum just as the doors were closing. The woman inside the entrance told us they were closed, but quickly added that she wasn't leaving as they were setting up for an event set to start two hours from then. A man was stacking clean wine glasses on a table covered with white linens and a woman was setting out cheese wheels and fruit platters. We were told that it was the opening night of an art installation throughout the reservoir, and, if we wanted, we could walk around to see the art--as long as we stayed in the front room only. We were happy to comply, and it turns out that the art installation was stunning and perfectly appropriate for two little kids. The artist, whose name I have horribly forgotten, works with wire and gauze to design animals. Above is a butterfly emerging from its cocoon. It was a perfectly typical Lisbon discovery of beauty and depth entirely unexpected and pleasantly fulfilling.
