Monday, March 17, 2025

Shopping

Only two shops were on my list this morning, but they were both interesting and historic establishments: a bookshop and a glove shop.

Bertrands claims to be the oldest bookshop in the world:



They have a big English language section and I was keen to find something to read on the long journey back to Australia. I was really pleased to spot a new Elizabeth George that I didn’t know about: Something to Hide. Just the job!

The bookshop goes on and on, till you arrive at a little cafe right at the end:



I sat reading my book over a coffee for a while, hoping no earth tremor would bring down the dodgy ceiling!




The glove shop was not far away. I walked down the street with H and M on the right. The walkway of the Santa Justa lift is up above.  Luvaria Ulisses is on the left. It’s tiny! I was alerted to it by Michael Portillo on his Long Weekend in Lisbon and I really wanted to be fitted for my own pair of leather gloves:





Customers are served individually with great care to ensure the perfect fit. A Portuguese man waited patiently behind me. He was buying gloves for some friends who were celebrating their 50th birthday. I got him to take my photo:



My gloves are black, trimmed with red between the fingers and lined with cashmere. Very posh!

The proprietress wanted me to take a photo of the ceiling, too:



Lunchtime was coming up, so I dropped into a quiet Vietnamese place for some pho.




1 comment: