Hello from Lisbon!
I couldn't help but think back to a year ago. Everything was changing around me, and fast. A virus was shutting down borders and travel. I barely made it from Austria to Croatia before it all came to a screeching halt. Soon afterwards came my first lockdown - it lasted five weeks.
Fast forward a year later and I'm locked down again - but this time in Portugal. And if I have to be somewhere, I'm glad it's here. Our lockdown that started January 15th continues, but it was lifted just a bit mid-month. We can now get coffee and drinks to take away! Yay! Oh, the little things.
On the serious plus side, spring is here and the weather just keeps getting better and better. The city is still beautiful, and the lockdown will be lifted even more starting April 5th. It's supposed to fully lifted April 15th - which makes this a three month lockdown! Hopefully, we're now done with it since vaccinations are underway.
Henry the Navigator
You can't miss the Monument to the Discoveries in Belem - a district along the Tagus river here in Lisbon. The monument was built between 1958 and 1960 to celebrate the 500th anniversary of the death of Henry the Navigator. It was intended to romanticize the idealization of Portuguese exploration. You can see Henry out front leading the way, with 33 historical figures (other navigators) behind him.
Fame Reducer
It's been really fun connecting with a group of creative film people here in Lisbon (we call ourselves Filmmaking Lisboa) and especially comforting during lockdown. So a group of us gathered for a few days to film a short series called Fame Reducer. The storyline is that Faye has the psychic ability to reduce people's fame, and my character (Seb Keller) has the FBI after him and definitely needs his fame reduced!
We filmed two episodes, and I'm in Episode 2! To see just my scene, you can forward to the 5:00 mark. If you want to watch all of Episode 1, you can click here!
Cascais, Portugal (Devil's Mouth)
Cascais is a quick train ride out of Lisbon and has been one of my favorite places to spend a day. It's known for nice beaches and beautiful seaside cliffs. Devil's Mouth (also known as Boca do Inferno) is quite spectacular, especially when large waves come crashing in. However, it also can be quite dangerous and people have died there exploring areas where it's not safe. On the days I've visited, the waves were impressive, but quite tame.
Finally...
Due to Covid and limited travel, immigration has extended visa stays through the end of 2021! So, I'm heading to Porto, Portugal for a few months starting in early May. Porto is the second largest city in Portugal (after Lisbon.) It's a seaside town about four hours away by train - or an hour if I wanted to fly. But I love train rides, so I'll be saying "all aboard" in early May!
I've been to Porto before for a quick day visit, and I've been told it's very different from Lisbon. The weather is a bit cooler, and can rain a bit more. Even though I love it here in Lisbon and have made some friends, I really want to move on and explore a different part of the country. You're sure to see much more of Porto in future blogs!
Thanks for following along! Stay safe and healthy everyone!
ACTOR // CREATIVE // VOICE TALENT
TAPP
Bob Tapper
tapp@bobtapper
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