It’s 0652 and I have been up for a quarter hour, thinking I would go for a nice walk. My body seems to have adjusted to the time zone, although I did wake up about thirty minutes later than I usually do. I just discovered that the sun won’t rise for an hour still and, since I won’t enjoy walking around in a strange city in the dark, I have some time before I shall leave. At 0730 the first light is illuminating the street and I get going.
A few photos from yesterday:
I hadn’t eaten fish in a few years and felt clumsy eating this sole. I am sure I could have learned a lot from any twelve year old local.
The traditional national pastry:
Portugal?
If so – a country known for 3 great achievements – opening of the ocean routes, colonization of Brazil and the spread of Christianity in foreign lands.
Not sure if anyone can explain the growth and decline of the Portuguese Age of Discovery- a spectacular rise and fall.
ahh…so long ago now…however took great patience and persistence and a strong religious/lyrical feeling…maybe still in people/culture?
enjoy your new discovery
Don’t forget Fado and good football players! And a roman language which sounds beautifully soft. I once said that this is the language I would like to learn when I am older and have the time (although now I think it is probably not going to happen for too many other things that will occupy me).
I have never been there but all friends that went or live there keep telling me that they prefer the light of the Atlantic to the one of the Mediterranean.
I have loved Portugal since my first visit in 2013. I was planning to go there for a month this year but was prevented by covid precautions. I adore Fado, the language, the culture, the food, the gorgeous tile all over the sidewalks and buildings, the people, the ocean, the cities, the canaries singing in so many windows, the trolleys in Lisbon, the proximity to Spain and the rest of Europe, the laundry hanging out the windows. I peruse AirBnB constantly for places in Lisbon, Porto, Cascais, the Algarve, well, all over Portugal.
Boris, a good app for learning European Portuguese is Memrise. Don’t be fooled by Duolingo. It’s Brazilian.
Jane – Quite a love letter to Portugal! I know Memrise and have been using it in the past. Let’s say my life took a different path and other languages become more relevant. Now I am middle-aged and my head feels too filled with stuff (inlcuding vocabulary) to lean back into another new language. I guess I will rather revisit what I already have started.