Some of my favorite travel experiences come from trying a craft myself rather than simply admiring it. In Portugal, hand-painted tiles grace church walls, shop fronts, palaces, and even train stations, so I wanted us to learn the art behind them and then paint our own.
We visited a family-owned studio where tiles have been made and painted by hand for four decades. Before we picked up a brush, we learned how their composition and drying process allow them to endure for centuries. Every pigment is drawn from natural minerals.
We began with the classic: a traditional blue-and-white tile in cobalt, painted over a stenciled design as we tried to match the example before us. The women of the studio painted with effortless precision, and we quickly discovered how much skill that takes.
The studio fired our tiles and delivered them to our hotel in Lisbon the next day, and I think we were all pleasantly surprised by how beautifully they turned out. Even the Dalmatian.
