hard task for me, almost impossible to translate this poem of Torga, without using all the twists the portuguese language offers. it’s about a specific peek on a hill in the margins of the douro river, called s. leonardo, or, the ‘terrace of the douro’.

compulsory high school portuguese literature, the meaning of the poem is much better captured when you’re up there, surrounded with vineyards on hills that resemble waves. this is the landscape of the “alto douro vinhateiro”, the region where porto wine is produced.

a truly magic (non-planned) roadtrip stop :)

prado, santarém. junho 2009

balloons, masks, music, banners and smiles for single cause: equality.






most pictures by paulo.

hidden away in a small street next to rua de cedofeita, in porto, you’ll find the casa de ló. the name comes from a portuguese desert, pão de ló, which used to be sold here back in the days of the old casa margaridense. the space has since been renovated in line with its traditions, and now sells portuguese sweets and deserts, while housing a cozy tea house.

add to this alluring environment a couple of friendly people and some nice music, and it’s hard not to feel right at home. we shared some mint tea and tried the apple pie, and wow… i wasn’t prepared for the irresistible decadence of it. look, look:

can you see the softness of it? can you smell the cinnamon sprinkled on top? is your mouth watering already? just go! it’s on travessa de cedofeita, 21A (google maps). you can thank me later :)

red things from prado (small village near santarém), last june. these diptychs are going to have a category of their own from now on – so there’s more from the series here.

Thousand Origami Cranes (千羽鶴 Senbazuru or Zenbazuru?) is a group of one thousand origami paper cranes held together by strings.
An ancient Japanese legend promises that anyone who folds a thousand origami cranes will be granted a wish by a crane, such as long life or recovery from illness or injury. The crane in Japan is one of the mystical or holy beasts (others include the dragon and tortoise), and is said to live for a thousand years. In Asia, it is commonly said that folding 1000 paper origami cranes makes a person’s wish come true. This makes them popular gifts for special friends and family.

(from wikipedia)

seen a bit everywhere, in the streets of porto.

the informatics engineer turned beekeper, has gracefully introduced me to his new hive.

i dressed the whole white suit, gloves and wellies, just to get near them, and then, i didn’t even take so many pictures… i’ve never been bitten by a bee (fingers crossed) and i wasn’t planning on that, so i kept my distance and let the zoom do the work :P

it’s funny how they work – you just stack a wax frame with a very shallow pattern on the hive, and slowly and meticulously, the bees grow the pattern and fill it up with honey.
he’s hoping he’ll have loads of honey by christmas, and i don’t doubt he will. things are looking (and smelling) pretty good!