And while Michael was putting the flowers in the vase that he bought
today---oups---so, while Michael was kindling the fire, Chang was taking
pictures of the sunset behind the house:
And while Michael was writing this post, Chang was taking this
picture:
Hold on..."putting the flowers in the vase that he bought today..." Yes, we never thought we would get there, but there you have it:
And--since this blog deals in educational content, among other things--here your have the lyrics:
I'll light the fire
You place the flowers in the vase
That you bought today
Staring at the fire
For hours and hours while I listen to you
Play your love songs all night long for me
Only for me
Come to me now (Come to me now)
And rest your head for just five minutes
Everything is done
Such a cozy room (Such a cozy room)
The windows are illuminated
By the evening sunshine through them
Fiery gems for you, only for you
Our house is a very, very, very fine house
With two cats in the yard
Life used to be so hard
Now everything is easy 'cause of you
And our
La-la, la-la-la-la-la
La-la-la-la, la-la-la-la-la
La-la-la-la-la-la-la
La-la-la-la-la-la-la-la
La-la,…
We'll soon have some Machiavellian comments on these love songs, what else do you expect from us. Stay tuned...
Ludwig Beethoven was born 250 years ago, supposedly on Dec. 16. We don't know for sure, but he was christened on the 17th, and in those days people normally got christened within 24 hours after birth. Enjoy:
It's Saturday, so we took another break from our acres, and went to Paredes
da Vìtoria, 500 years ago an important harbour. The harbour got silted up,
and what's left is a little village with less than 100 inhabitants
(Wikipedia informs us cruelly), that serves as an ancillary beach resort 10 km north of
Nazaré.
What's left of the port
Paredes da Vitoria, seen from the beach
More beach, shortly after high tide
Beach bar
Michael misbehaved, as usual, by pointing out to the bar tender that the restaurant attached to the establishment uses furniture bought at Ikea, much to Chang's distress (Michael's misbehaving), even though we bought exactly the same table (only one) for the lunch corner in the kitchen. Namely this one:
And here, as a bonus, a picture taken this morning of a flock of charming sheep, our dear neighbours:
Well, we took a brief break from the hardwood and went for dinner at the storied restaurant Antonio Padeiro, 600 m or so from our abode. Two pictures as we walk across the square in front of the monastery of Alcobaça:
"You haven't been particularly creative neology-wise, writes a friend, but now
you've created a new one, at least implicitly: Spaceporn. As neologism
go, it's not a particularly good one..."--with friends like him, who needs
enemies--"but it deserves a place in your tiny dictionary of self-made
neologisms."
No, it's not Glenn who sent this letter, but he's right. In fact,
appointing a space doesn't make it smaller, it enlarges its appeal, and
hence its psychological roominess. Compare this three pictures:
So, we are now in place since 11 days, and there's a lot of progress.
One observation: the locals are very special, and the more you get in contact with them the more consistent the Portuguese experience gets: most--almost all--feature a strange combination of sweetness, softness, and something that passes as natural kindness (even when it comes to bureaucrats). Chang and Michael are exchanging views every day, telling each other that they are so happy here, and even happier than the day before.
And here's the view from the bedroom this morning, at 07:50 local time: