Holiday in Portugal - Urban Sketchers in Lisbon

On my last day in Lisbon, I met with a few Urban Sketchers from the area.

I was in contact with Rita Caré, who organized a meeting of Urban Sketchers Portugal at Museu do Carmo in the afternoon with whoever showed up to sketch.

She was also kind enough to forward my contact to all the members, asking if people would have time to meet me during my stay in Lisbon.

That is how I met Teresa Ruivo, with whom I spent the morning of that day sketching around Praça do Comércio / Terreiro do Paço.

Teresa sketching the other side of this view

We then sat at Café Martinho da Arcada, which has a lovely terrace under some of the many arcades of Praça do Comércio.

The waiters were very nice, too

Teresa then took me to Mercado da Ribeira, where we sketched some of the stalls and I then went for lunch at the adjacent food court. Teresa told me that the market has been revived thanks to this food court which attracts a lot of people. It was indeed a great place to have lunch, with a great variety of food to choose from.

Yummie fruit just begging to be eaten

In the afternoon, I headed to Museu do Carmo, but as I was still a bit early, I sat down to make a quick sketch of Largo de Camões.

Largo de Camões is one of my favourite places in Lisbon

I had never been to Museu do Carmo before, so it was a really lovely surprise to discover this old church with its amazing blue sky for a roof.

I was told that the roof fell during the earthquake of 1755 and was never rebuilt. Today it is used as an archaeological museum and popular meeting place for Urban Sketchers.

Every church should have a blue sky for a roof

Before leaving, we sat to do some sketching behind the museum. I loved this facade full of azulejos. So typical of Lisbon.

Three different types of azulejos on this facade

I spent great moments with these lovely people and can't thank them enough for their kindness and availability. My only regret is that I didn't get to sketch any of them. Next time.

It was time to go back home to reality and finish my Portuguese adventures of 2015 with a plane sketch, how else?

Too much time for hatching...