Pergola House

Small hotel at Cascais

Rusty Pond

Small park at Cascais

Old Mill

This is how the mill on the previous post looks now

Decay (XXXIX)

Old mill at Moinho Beach, Carcavelos

Symmetry

Botanical Garden, Lisbon

The City Wall

Remnants of the 5 kms long 'Cerca Nova' (the Lisbon Walls), built by King Fernando in 1373(*), can be found at their original place in this 1845 building which currently is a shopping mall.

(*) King Enrique II of Castile (Spain) had previously destroyed the Visigothic and Moorish walls in his attempts of conquering the city.

Juxtapositions

A common view when a city sits on seven hills.

Rossio Square, Lisbon

The ruins of the Carmo Convent stand right above the building that's being restored. The convent was built in 1389 and partially destroyed by the Great Earthquake in 1755. It currently houses an archaeological museum.

Globe

Trendy shop in an old villa at Cascais

Macao Section

Orient Museum, Lisbon

Reflections in an Old Window

Downtown Oeiras

*

For more reflection shots check James' Weekend Reflections

Spray Cans

Montana Shop & Gallery, Lisbon

Kahili Ginger Bloom

Jardim Municipal, the downtown Oeiras park

Decay (XXXVIII)

Downtown Oeiras

The Moorish Castle

... on top of the mountain as seen from the National Palace at Sintra

Marginal Road

Scenic seaside road, built 1940, linking Cascais and Oeiras to downtown Lisbon.

Same spot, different occasions. Obviously! :-)

Punishment

Installation at the Pombal Palace, Lisbon

Sun Reflections

Quinta da Alagoa Park, Carcavelos
*
For more reflection shots check James's Weekend Reflections

"Sabes?" (Do You Know?)

An owl, the symbol of wisdom, at the Tagus River in Lisbon

The 70s

Building wall at Parede

Side Altar

São Roque Church (late 16th century), Lisbon

*

Photos are currently losing quality on the blog page. Am I the only one having this problem?

Moody's Downgraded Portuguese Debt to Junk Status

"Europe launched a barrage of fire at credit rating agencies Wednesday after efforts to resolve the eurozone's debt crisis were plunged into new turmoil by a severe downgrade of Portugal's debt.

European Union officials and ministers reacted furiously after Moody's Investors Service downgraded Portuguese debt to junk status and warned that Lisbon may need a second bailout.

Europeans were particularly angry over the timing of the ratings cut, just as Portugal begins to implement tough austerity measures in return for a 78-billion-euro EU-IMF bailout agreed in April and as the eurozone struggles to craft a new rescue package for Greece.

(...) The downgrade caused the euro to fall and the cost of borrowing for Portugal shot up, pushing up rates for Spain and Italy as well." (EUbusiness.com - full article here)

However, just a couple of years ago:

"The three credit rating agencies were key enablers of the (US) financial meltdown. The mortgage-related securities at the heart of the crisis could not have been marketed and sold without their seal of approval. Investors relied on them, often blindly. This crisis could not have happened without the rating agencies. Their ratings helped the market soar and their downgrades through 2007 and 2008 wreaked havoc across markets and firms." (Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, January 2011)

Check the video: 2008 Financial Crisis - Credit Rating Agencies commit fraud/incompetence

Moody’s and Standard & Poors were giving Lehman Brothers and other companies, triple A ratings right up to the point where they declared bankruptcy. The agencies try to absolve themselves of responsibility by claiming that their ratings represent nothing more than an 'opinion', which raises the question of why the punters should listen to them even now.

Fortunatelly the European Central Bank has decided to ignore Moody's 'opinion' now. "The global economy is still fragile and more work needs to be done in terms of regulating financial institutions other than banks", President Jean-Claude Trichet said. Better late than never!...

Countless protests by the Portuguese people, whose quality of life gets worse every day, took place on the net, such as the above Facebook page created under the motto: "Are you tired of seeing whole nations being fucked up by credit ratings agencies? Are you tired of seeing a bunch of jerks decide the fate of millions so that only a few can get even richer? Make yourself heard!"

Well, I think I've just done my part.

Bairro Alto (II)

See previous post

Bairro Alto

It took just about a decade (1980's-1990's) to this humble old neighbourhood in Lisbon with a bad reputation become the most fashionable place in town. If you're looking for some great contrasts - really cool trendy shops, art galleries, bars, restaurants, etc., side by side with still surviving small grocery stores and tabernas (dirty old pubs for local people) - this is where you want to go, but avoid weekend nights, it's absolutely crowded. 

Sea Anemone

Shallow waters on the shoreline at Parede

Behind the Gate

Little old house at downtown Oeiras

Decay (XXXVII)

Pombal Palace (17th century), Lisbon

Notice the beautiful frescoes under the brown ink layer on the walls. This room is being used for video installations by the 'Carpe Diem - Art and Research' project.

Sign of the Times

How often would you see policemen at beaches before one or two decades ago? Never.

Torre Beach, Oeiras

Straight Lines and Blue Tiles

Old buildings in Sintra

Water Lily

Oeiras Palace gardens

Words on Plates

Installation at an underground car park in Lisbon

July Theme Day: Green

Rocky shoreline at Paço de Arcos

*

Click here to view thumbnails for all participants