YOUR MOTHER IS A HAMSTER AND YOUR FATHER SMELLS OF ELDERBERRIES: My first trip to a medieval castle.

Wow.

I have heard it said that Americans are easily impressed.  Is this true?  I have no real way of being objective about it, but in my current situation here in Lisbon, I find myself very impressed.  Awed, curious, wonderstruck, and enlightened also come to mind.  I am proud of my Americanness—happy to come from where I do, and grateful for the many freedoms and privileges that many before me as well as right now, for that matter have fought to establish and maintain.  HOWEVER, it is not possible NOT to be awed by somewhere or something that has been in existence ten centuries before our great nation was colonized.  Seriously! I mean, come ON! 

Today I went to:

Castelo Sao Jorge

Amazing.  And old.  Really really f-ing old.  This castle was built in the mid 11^th century, during Lisbon's Moorish period.  This fortification is situated in the area most difficult to access at the top of one of Lisbon’s hills, making use of the natural slopes to the north and west.  The purpose of the castle was to house military troops and in case of siege, the elite who lived in the citadel.  Unlike other European castles, this was not meant to be a place of residence.  It has eleven towers, a still operative (!!!) cistern, and a DOOR OF TREASON (*Love* this :D ).  Oh, and 12 peacocks and 2 cats.

Despite my open-mouthed astonishment at this castle, I could not help but immediately envision the timeless and hilarious castle scene from Monty Python’s Holy Grail.  The whole time.

Can't you just see the Spanish knight up there slapping his suit of armor and heckling King Arthur?

As far as present day Lisbon is concerned, the Casle of St. George is located in the Alfama district of the city.  Just north and west of the city’s heart, this section is the one that has truly retained the Moorish influence, and many of the buildings are among the city’s oldest.  It is hilly, windy, and impossible to navigate on foot for the first time without a map—you thought Boston was a tough city to master?  Pfft.  These streets make the cow paths of Beantown seem like the grid pattern of NYC.

    

Since we’re on the topic, I would like to extend my heartfelt appreciation to the makers of MBT shoes.  There is NO way I could have been on my feet all day in Lisbon in a regular pair of sneaks.  Worth every penny.  And they cost a few pennies, to be sure.

The still operational cistern.

 The Door of Treason, where messages were delivered to and from inside the castle.

The "Front Door".  No drawbridge, and no moat, sadly.  You can't have everything.

Stables.

A view from one of the 11 towers.  I guess it's laundry day down there.

 Este gato guarda o castelo

Fierce Kitty.

Highlight of the day:
Unexpected Peacock Family at the old castle

These birds absolutely took my breath away- I never expected them (hadn't seen them in the brochure or on the directory at the entrance), so the surprise was really impactful.  They were beautiful.

The MacDaddy and his Bitches.  

Just look at him.  I kept waiting for him to flex his muscles (show the plumage, but he didn't).  Guess we were a non-threatening crew that day.  Too bad. 

And............then I went home and collapsed. G'nite.