My quest to keep trying new things throughout 2023 continues! In October, I went on holiday to Portugal, and I tried one of my favourite new things yet whilst in Lisbon. Read on to find out more…
Inspired by BBC’s Race Across the World…
One of my favourite TV shows for the last few years has been Race Across the World – it’s a sleeper hit, where people compete in pairs to journey over thousands of miles, without catching flights, and with no smartphones or card payment methods, for the cost of a one-way flight. This autumn, the first celebrity series aired, and the teams had to travel from Marrakech in Morocco (which was extra fun for me, as I visited there earlier this year myself!) to Tromso in Norway (somewhere I’ve yet to visit!).
The journey is broken up via checkpoints, and the first was set in Portugal. This episode aired prior to my holiday and I watched excitedly. When Harry Judd and his mum were in Porto, there was a brief history of Portugal’s ceramic tiles given, and I thought, “ooh, I wonder whether I can try that…”. The internet informed me that I could! I quickly checked with the friend I’d be travelling with whether she’d like to participate too, then booked us a workshop in advance.
Booking a Portuguese tile painting workshop
We wanted to do our workshop in Lisbon, and the Visit My Lisbon site was really useful. It pointed out that it’s best to do the workshop as soon as possible during your trip, to allow for your tiles to be fired and prepared for your journey home. I duly booked for the first day of our visit, and received email confirmation and great directions to the artist’s studio. Payment was to be via cash on the day, no prepayment was required.
Tile painting in Lisbon
Having assessed the journey from our rented apartment in central Lisbon, my friends and I took an Uber. There is a bus stop nearby, and walking is less advisable because, as with most of the city, the destination is up a serious hill!
We were welcomed by our host, Marie, into her studio where everything had been prepared for us. Her own art hung on the walls, and she began with a very interesting introduction to the history and culture of tiles. She suggested that we visit the city’s tile museum afterwards (which we had already planned to do!) as it’s a 15-minute walk downhill from the studio.
Marie then explained how the tiles are painted – it wasn’t quite how I imagined, but all made total sense. We were given a tile to practice on, and coached through the technique. Then, Marie instructed us to pick a design to paint for ourselves. Again, she had done a lot of preparation for us: one of the most surprising things we learned was that they’re all painted via a dot-to-dot style template, and she had prepared tiles with the templates on in advance – all we had to do was put brush to surface.
Having a template to follow was brilliant for me – drawing and painting have never been activities I’ve enjoyed, but I love colouring, and this felt like a version of that. The process was meditative – concentrating on getting the lines to flow, filling the gaps in, and turning the tile to get to a different section. There was also a scraping tool to correct any small mistakes, which was fun to use.
Rating our Lisbon tile painting experience
Part way through the workshop, Marie provided us with drinks and snacks. We got to paint two tiles each, and firing them was included in the price 40 Euro per person, which I think is fantastic value for two and a half hours. We were also offered the chance to purchase items as ways of displaying or using the tiles – everything from simple cork backing which would be glued on, to wooden frames, boards or trays, so that the tiles could be used in a multitude of ways. The trays were gorgeous, but I wouldn’t have the luggage space to take them home, so I opted for cork backing on one tile, and a frame on the other as it is a gift.
I’d highly recommend the workshop if you’re in Lisbon for two days or more – we were able to collect ours the next day, and I’m grateful to Marie for working so quickly for us due to my friend’s flight home.
Our trip to the tile museum was brilliant too – I’m glad we went afterwards, as we understood it better, and also weren’t intimidated by the skill of the professionals when we had our own turn! I’m so pleased that I tried this activity – a great experience leading to some unique souvenirs.