Aveiro em dia de S. Martinho

Gosto muito de Aveiro, desta cidade onde 'nasci', e não raras vezes vou até lá só para passear nas ruas. Há um qualquer conforto em sair à rua e ainda assim sentirmo-nos em casa, a nostalgia de acompanhar as mudanças e saber o que me espera nas diferentes direcções, o que, naturalmente, não acontece com qualquer sítio. A mim, pelo menos. Na última vez havia o objectivo específico de caminhar até encontrar este fumo...

 

My own little paradise

My kind of peace.

Farmer's life

I wanted to write about this place for ages now! It's the house/farm of my seamstress and also long time family friend. For whatever reason we go there, we always end up in the backyard and I make sure to treat  myself with seasonal nature's goodies (strawberries, peaches, tomatoes, raspberries, 'aracá', you name it!). I like it very much as it reminds me the roots I came from: my green, my village, my sky, my people somehow.

It's a place I want to photograph every single time I go there but never remember in advance, meaning, I always managed to forgot camera at home. This past saturday though, thanks to my new toy, it was possible, oh the perks of having a smartphone with a reasonable camera... (Nothing compared, of course, with the perks of having a farmer's life quite like this!)
Enjoy.

Slowly again

I'm crazy about this place, waking up here is a true privilege. I always been more of an early bird than a night owl person, so mornings are to enjoy and sabour. Here, all mornings look like sweet and calm sundays. My favourite.

This time I was greeted with a grey and foggy scenario. The air is getting crispy and I warmed myself up with a cup of tea before breakfast, absorving the silence and looking at the whole mountain in front of me.

Life is so full of unpredictable beauty and strange surprises. Sometimes that beauty is too much for me to handle. Do you know that feeling? When something is just too beautiful? (...)

Mark Oliver Everett

Restaurante da Ti Lena

Este passado Domingo foi dia de 'coisas' novas e 'coisas' velhas, de regresso e de novidades.

Regressar aquele maravilhoso fim-de-semana de amigos em Janeiro e regressar a um dos locais que nos viu nascer, sem sabermos. No Domingo regressámos juntos, a dois, porque foi assim que aconteceu. Amor que acontece assim, sem esperarmos nem nos apercebermos. A outra novidade é que naqueles breves momentos que passámos na aldeia há uns meses atrás, achei que tínhamos conhecido aquele xisto todo, mas não. Voltámos ao mesmo sítio para descobrir um andar novo, que oferece o Restaurante da Ti Lena.

Começa-se por bater à porta, que se abre com um 'faça favor, têm reserva?' e entra-se logo na cozinha, onde já estão as duas irmãs que tão bem tomaram esta casa. O nome deu-se em honra da última habitante do Talasnal, a Ti Lena, cujos retratos aparecerem repetidos pelo restaurante. A decoração é vasta, cheia, acolhedora, de madeira e pedra. Precisamos ir com tempo para este sítio e até agradecemos que a comida se demore porque há muito que apreciar ainda antes de começarmos a comer. A lareira já estava acesa e o ambiente torna-se ultra acolhedor. Emociono-me sempre que sítios têm esta capacidade de chegar a mim, e de olhar para a frente e ver aquele amor tão grande! Os lugares são poucos, a ementa é curta, o preço fixo, a comida regional farta e certeira. De resto como sempre que a qualidade se sobrepõe à quantidade.

O Talasnal é um sítio muito especial para mim e há mesmo muito amor nestas palavras que escrevo.

Palm Beach

... and the time to happily start thinking about this again. :) Not necessarily Palm Beach itself, I'm just happy with the idea of any palm tree, warm weather, a dive in the pool everyday and a lot of relaxation time. The kind of summer I didn't have this year and hopefully it will arrive later this year.

Little by little, I feel like I'm back on track

After experimenting what can be told as a totally uninspired period in my life (oh, and I wish it was only about the blog...), I feel like back on track! Urging to write, photograph, document, inspire and get inspired! Specifically looking at this little web corner, I feel like doing some changes, making it more... I don't know, will figure it.

To celebrate this fact, what better start than this super hike in the mountains this past Saturday. Sometimes you just need to push yourself (or to be pushed) to your limits (not even close!) to see the matter you are made of!

El Camino de Santiago de Compostela

Cleaning out the dust here on the blog, I found this from the archives somewhere in 2014, after I did El Camino de Santiago de Compostela myself. It was such a life time experience and, after 1 and a half year, I still don't want to add anything to what I wrote back then.

I've always had this "problem": to find on others the words I'd like to write myself. You know, putting down quotes and texts nicely and make them having sense with the underpinning thoughts, not too strict, not too soft, not too tough, not too flowered. In other words, I lack the ability to write. Invariably, of course, it seems I always find on others the things I wanted to say myself.

Nonetheless, I've finding out this thing about myself: I'm best at talking! I can say I'm a good speaker, I like it when I have (some serious) conversations and I notice my thoughts been linked and I surprise myself with some serious stuff I can articulate with the flow of a good conversation... That's when I'm more prone to ramble, because when it comes down to me and a keyboard, I have quite strict and rational writing.

Regarding "El Camino", I found this quote"The Way is a very personal journey" - I heard in this movie - all I wanted to say about it. Nothing more, nothing less.

With that said, I should just add that I feel really fortunate for had been able to do "The Way" and it came, again, in a peculiar phase of my life which, giving my sceptical mind a little benefit of the doubt, made me believe everything really happens for a reason (and why not, a little cliché never hurt nobody!).

"It's your road and yours alone. Others may walk it with you, but no one can walk it for you." 

Edit your life

Edit your life frequently and ruthlessly. It’s your masterpiece after all.

Nathan W. Morris