Now the work starts
We arrived at the Archbishop’s Palace having had breakfast on our sunny terrace spotting the usual beautiful birds and having had delicious fruit with fresh yogurt. Christopher had hired a little red Ferrari (only the colour matches the original) and drops us with plenty of bags filled with all sorts of materials brought from the UK and also purchased in India.
We have brought down four of the portraits which are the next section of the collection and examine them carefully. The students have already spent some time on them, having done a written a proposal for the surface clean and drawn a sketch as to what was being removed. With the first treatment completed, the next stage was to write a proposal for the following treatments on each painting. They have all been relined by previous restorers and nailed straight on to the frame - quite an unexpected scenario.
Two statues from the Archbishop’s private Chapel are also being cleaned, they are a pair but one has been repainted completely which makes it a very interesting project. We shall try various cleaning gels to see which ones work better.
It is lovely to get back into the Palace routine. Although the cook has gone, new nuns have taken up cooking lunch for us. It is absolutely delicious and they provide tea and biscuits not to mention the treats that arrive with the students almost each day. Unfortunately I have not had the time to walk in the gardens and enjoy the unusual birds we hear chirping but Sebastian keeps us informed.
Christopher and Sebastian have had to run around and find all sort of items which we did not bring due to the cost of the extra luggage, but after criss crossing Panjim with shops and markets they have been successful and found everything.
Our day would not be complete without a visit to our favourite tea shop, Bodega in the Sunaparanta Museum a few minutes down the road. To our dismay when we arrived there we saw a sign telling us that they were closed for refurbishment. Luckily Vandana Naik, the extraordinary chef and wonderful owner was there and she promised us that she would open the following day.
We go out to a fabulous Portuguese Restaurant which serves fresh fish and we manage to relax and absorb the surroundings, not to mention the stuffed crab.
It is lovely to get back into the Palace routine. Although the cook has gone, new nuns have taken up cooking lunch for us. It is absolutely delicious and they provide tea and biscuits not to mention the treats that arrive with the students almost each day. Unfortunately I have not had the time to walk in the gardens and enjoy the unusual birds we hear chirping but Sebastian keeps us informed.
Christopher and Sebastian have had to run around and find all sort of items which we did not bring due to the cost of the extra luggage, but after criss crossing Panjim with shops and markets they have been successful and found everything.
Our day would not be complete without a visit to our favourite tea shop, Bodega in the Sunaparanta Museum a few minutes down the road. To our dismay when we arrived there we saw a sign telling us that they were closed for refurbishment. Luckily Vandana Naik, the extraordinary chef and wonderful owner was there and she promised us that she would open the following day.
We go out to a fabulous Portuguese Restaurant which serves fresh fish and we manage to relax and absorb the surroundings, not to mention the stuffed crab.