tchau to the views
tchau to the cork trees
tchau to the interesting people
tchau to the special treats
bienvenue to montreal, canada
where my very kind pilot
comforted a young boy
tired after his long travels
waiting to board our busy flight
bon voyage to montreal, heading home to the states soon.
hello to this happy crew in the baggage claim in detroit!
now it feels like home.
—
‘home is where all of your attempts to escape, cease.’
-naguib mshgouz
moving around portugal
from the train station
by boats of all kinds
by bicycle
with friends
softly like our hotel cat
adorned with beautiful ribbons
with colors in the gardens, so full of life.
—
“the joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences,
and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon,
for each day to have a new and different sun.”
-chris mccandless
oranges man
physics professor turned artist
hard to decide which…
port tasting in the cellars
seamstress
washing the sidewalk before the store opens
not sure exactly, but interesting
antonio, patio cafe guy, funny, full of info, and gets stuff done
uni students earning their tuition
bird man
slow boat on the river.
—
“live in the sunshine, swim the sea, drink the wild air.”
-ralph waldo emerson
‘if we are closed?
just ask next door!
our staff will happily open the door for you in the event that the store is closed!!!’
(could life be better than having your shoes cobbled as you have a refreshing beverage?)
sunglass man has the perfect glasses for all
fish, and rice, and olives, and herbs, and the biggest clove of garlic ever
chemistry/biology major raising tuition money in the traditional way
visiting where the knights templar lived, learning their fascinating history
welconing shop
beautiful tiles everywhere, each one a treasure.
relaxing on the balcony at night
the moon looking down
winding down from the day.
—
‘portugal has a peaceful feel about it.
i sit on the terrace overlooking the vineyard there and i feel cut off from the world.
you need that sort of thing.’
– Cliff Richard, English musician.
“any portuguese town looks like a bride’s finery –
something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue.”
– Mary Mccarthy, American novelist, critic and activist
the sea, the beach, surfer’s paradise, the cliffs
club beach soccer/football championship
medieval town, bookstore, fruit
fatima, miracles, stories, ancient well and tunnel
“i believe in the uncommon, the unusual and unlikely, even the miraculous.
i believe in nearly all things except impossibilities. that i can’t fathom.”
-richelle goodrich
relaxing in a tiny grotto by the sea
ancient fortress protecting the country from sea invaders
Tiago explains how Spain and Portugal had such a powerful relationship in the Middle Ages
that they agreed to sign treaties to split the world in half
at the westernmost point of europe
in a cloudy microclimate
on a cliff overlooking the sea
in a place
the portuguese once believed to be the end of the world.
—
‘my destination is no longer a place, rather a new way of seeing.’
-marcel proust
—
portugal, summer 2024
vitta roma cafe
in a neighborhood north of lisboa
lovely outdoor seating
with lots of interesting local people
stopping in
part of their daily routine
we sat outdoors
when asked about food options
our waiter
offered us two choices
a toasted cheese sandwich
or
a ham and cheese toasted sandwich
and all kinds of delicious coffee options
when we finished and went in to pay
we discovered a lovely fresh menu
and beautiful bakery
which an indoor staff member
said was delicioso
(easily translatable to wonderfully good)
perhaps we asked for the special ‘toasted menu’?
we continued exploring
finding our way around
more charming cafes and shops and tiny outdoor bars
had the best fresh mojito i’ve ever had
at a small outdoor bar
where ‘buttered toast’ was an appetizer option
(again, the toast!)
friendly people
lots of languages
places of origin
where language is not a barrier
we meet in the middle
split the difference
come to a mutual understanding.
—
“americans who travel abroad for the first time are often shocked to discover that,
despite all the progress that has been made in the last 30 years,
many foreign people still speak in foreign languages.”
-dave barry
the world’s shortest commercial flight takes less than one minute.
i am not on this one.
my flight takes more than one minute.
still in the air, hopefully sleeping, when you read this.
Passengers aboard Loganair Flight LM711, which travels 1.7 miles between the Scottish islands of Westray and Papa Westray, are airborne very briefly. On a good day, the world’s shortest commercial flight takes less than a minute — as little as 53 seconds, in fact. There’s no co-pilot, no lavatory, and only eight passengers aboard the Britten-Norman BN-2 Islander aircraft. Tickets for the journey, which is made just two or three times a day, cost roughly $22. Both Westray and Papa Westray are part of the Orkney archipelago, a sparsely populated set of islands that have proved popular with adventurous travelers in search of a scenic journey that happens to include a record-setting flight.
—
‘you are the one who possesses the keys to your being.
you carry the passport to your own happiness.’
-diane von furstenburg
—
photo credit: loganair
i’m the praying mantis by the window
next to the fuzzy bumblebee in the aisle seat
each headed out on our own journeys
sharing a common space for a time
love talking to strangers
their story never fails to be interesting
when i wake up tomorrow
i’ll be in portugal
maybe i’ll cross paths with the flying bee again
perhaps not
everything is possible
let the adventure begin.
—
‘the earth is what we all have in common.’
-wendell berry
—
art credit: Flight of the Bumblebee by Hawaiian-born Canadian author/illustrator, Eric Fan.
a couple of weeks ago
i decided to finally learn italian
something i’ve wanted to do for a long time
half of my family hertiage is italian
though few of us know more than a minimum of words
i find it to be such a poetic language
musical and pleasant to the senses.
one day i hope to visit italia
and even use some of what i’ve learned.
so here i am
at the top of my game
for a couple of short minutes
in my online duo lingo class
not the most thorough or intense course
often like a game show format
but non-judgmental
a good beginning
and i’m learning some things.
i am now at the point where
if anyone would like to order
a croissant, a coffee, even with cream.
in italian
i am ready and happy to help.
even though i’ve begun italian
i still carry
some crumbs of french from way back:
‘je suis fatigue.’
(i am tired) – use as needed
21 years of pre-k spanish:
‘hola! hay una pinata?’
(hi, is there a pinata?) – also as needed
a lifetime of english, still in process:
(‘what the heck is going on?’) – again as needed, and used often
i will soon be heading to portugal
where none of these languages are spoken
but
the more i learn, the more i know, and the more i know, the more i can,
just kind of mash them all together
use my hands a lot
smile
try to do my best to communicate.
all while hopefully
not offending anyone,
getting engaged,
eating any weird meat products,
or adopting a child who i would have to clear through customs.
‘sliante!’ – (cheers!) to all of you-
because the other side of my family are irish
and this may well be the only word any of us knows of it.
—
‘learning another language is not only learning different words for the same things,
but learning another way to think about things.’
– flora lewis
—
.When thinking in another language, it really changes the way you think,
partly due to the way the language works and partly grasping the culture.
I didn't have my glasses on.... 