More from Lisbon

I'm writing this on the morning of Thursday 14th January, sitting in our garret in Lisbon with sunlight streaming through the windows. It may not last long, it has been raining on and off ever since we arrived. Ever the optimist, George has washed his socks, pegged them out on the balcony, and gone off on a walking tour of interesting sights of Lisbon.

Yesterday surprised with a free exhibition at the new (but in a very old building) Museum of Design. I was attracted by the more than life size cut outs of the Beatles from the Sgt Pepper album cover. There were two floors of exhibition, the ground floor showing fashion and furniture from the 1920/30s through to the present, and the first floor exhibiting fashion and furniture, particularly chairs, from 1960 to 1973. I would have bought the catalogue, but it was sold out. The clothes, all of them perfect examples of the work of major designers, were displayed on the open floor with examples of contemporary furniture design. Although touching and photography were not allowed, the public could walk right up to and around the displays, no glass cases or any other barriers on the lower floor. And they were all the kind of clothes that could be worn today and still look fantastic.

Ironically, the floor dedicated to the freewheeling 60s had more barriers to close inspection, possibly because some effort had gone into recreating environments, each of which featured music from the period as well as clothes and furniture. I thought the furniture starred in this section, with all sorts of interpretations of furniture for flexible, communal and casual lifestyles. My accidentally purchased Featherston suite would have fitted right in, although on the conservative design end of the selection. I wished that Meredith could be there – it was a goldmine for a serious student of the chair. The clothes were beautiful, but there is something a bit wrong about designer clothes expressing an anti authoritarian ethos. The curators had cunningly acknowledged this by displaying the clothes on stands, and scattering naked manikins throughout the exhibition.

I think George would have passed on the design Museum, except that the young staff were so lovely, and so proud of their exhibition that he did not like to disappoint them by not looking.

It's a bit hard to tell as a tourist with no language but possibly this is now a much more fertile city for the young and arty than Paris. The old town is full of beautiful but neglected houses, I've noticed a few old buildings divided up into artisans' studios with young folk busy inside. The place is dripping with history, and there are plenty of cheap drinking opportunities. Even for tourists the cost of living is modest, and if you were really trying, the proverbial oily rag could be had very cheaply indeed

Added in the evening.

George came back from the walking tour well informed about various things including the empty, decaying houses in the city. Something to do with rent controls making it uneconomic to maintain the houses. Tragic really. Someone should do something.