An Afternoon Drive
We decided to get off of the ridiculously expensive Portuguese toll highways and take the scenic road less travelled and were amply rewarded. Portugal was under Moorish (Muslim) rule for 600 years and did not admonish that history when it was reclaimed by the Catholics. The houses were covered in beautiful painted tiles, and there were iron-railed balconies, donkeys – the works.
We had quite quite a discussion about the interplay of art and religion and came to the conclusion that we (Protestants) sure lost something precious when we completely shunned the ostentatious in favor of severity.