“Chiado Archway” – Lisbon
“Every passage we walk carries the present forward, yet leaves a quiet echo of the past behind.” – Ed Lehming
Today’s image is another favorite of mine from the Chiado district of Lisbon. Many of the cobbled roadways have these arches that lead to large, mostly private courtyards. This particular one was open and led to several nice restaurants, and a clever florist has taken advantage of the space to showcase house plants.
Another feature, which I hinted at at the start of this post, is the cobbled streets of Lisbon. There is very little traditional pavement as we would be used to in North America, except on main streets; rather, almost all the side streets and walkways are paved with small limestone cobbles. Each is hand-cut and installed by craftsmen. They are all very polished from years of traffic and quite slippery. A warning to travelers: make sure you have shoes with good grip, and I would suggest that high heels are right out for those unaccustomed to walking on this type of pavement. They get even more treacherous with a light rain. They are beautiful, and no two are alike, but they take some getting used to.
There are also places where they have been lifted out, often for a repair to something below, and there does not seem to be any urgency to reinstall them. They just sit in a pile next to the building. Life moves at a different pace here, and you just get used to having to look down constantly for hazards.
I do like these kinds of features; they provide me with a sense of mystery as I explore the streets, and I’m always aware that many of these features have been here for hundreds of years. They are like a gateway to the past.
iPhone 14 Pro Max
Main Camera — 24 mm
1/100 sec, ƒ/1.78 ISO 125
Ed Lehming Photography 
This kind of stonework (arches and cobbled streets) tells of the ancient history of a culture – something we, sadly, don’t have much of on this side of the pond.