the golden only lasted a few days.

it's back to cold and wet.

the soft, yet bright, omnipresent light can still be enjoyed though.

may god have mercy on the guy that gives me back my negatives! it's been two and half weeks closed since i left them there... and it's still closed...

the days are no longer grey. nor wet.

tonight the sky is clear, and golden. 

i can see gradients of blue, orange and pink with a big, white, crescent moon.

the city lights, far away, look specially good when the sky is like tonight.

but most of all, this means we can enjoy long walks (and short runs) by the river and by the sea, once more.

zoology

my dad's zoology book, dated 1967, and its beautiful illustrations.

i'm glad i found it, accidentaly, while reorganizing the inumerous books hidden in the bookcase compartiments.

it's still as good as new, with a few annotations and drawings my father made, but it has that incredible smell of old books, which i love.

a good distraction from the overwhelming smell of paint and diluent in my house.

from him

today, a dig through old files, made me smile. 

i found the folder with his photos from our summer vacations. and these were my absolute favourites of his.

it was the tragic sunset my camera was m.i.a.

i was jealous at the time that he got to record such a beautiful vew and i didn't.

now, i'm just grateful he had his camera there.

it was such a beautifully intense sunset, in a new, lovely location.

now, if i could only catch the lab i left my films at, three days ago, open.... it would be amazing! grrrrr!

hometown

it always amazes me the fact that, in most cases, the city you know the least, is the one you live in.

i've been to most monuments, museums, churches in the cities i visited abroad. 

but not in porto, my hometown.

so last october, me and tó decided we'd visit one of the iconic monuments of the city - the clérigos tower.

there were hundreds of steep stair to climb. they were narrow and when we'd cross someone coming down we'd have to perform something that looked like a circus number.

as we finally reached the top, strong wind brushed our hair, and chilled our cheeks.

the day was foggy, just like today.

and the view was something worthy.

it just reminded us the importance of acknowledging what's there, right in our face, to be seen and experienced.

 

buçaco in a few words

i'm back from the road trip and i miss being surrounded by nature already.

buçaco was all i expected and then more.

the sun was blazing above 40ºC that day, but the dense flora made it a pleaseant trip.

we walked through three of the six listed paths - some paved, some not. 

and were graced with views of two lakes, a few big squirrels, a white swan and a black swan, mini trees that resembled palm trees, fish, a huge amount of insects, lots and lots of little old chapels on a path that took us 800m up, and a panoramic glare at the whole environment with the palace.

the palace itself was exquisite, with lost of intricate details. 

something that caught my eye was the setting of some tables on a balcony overlooking the loveliest of gardens.

the weaved furniture, with all white apparel and the cristal clear glasses againts that aged rock was just sublime...

i can't wait to have my films developed!

buçaco, i'm coming!

tomorrow morning we leave for a little road trip.

we'll stop at the woods and palace of buçaco, first.

 i'm expecting it to be a little like the gardens i saw in tivoli, italy, where the lucious, wild, green flora meets beautiful and elaborated architecture.

i wanted to go there in autumn, and be envolved in lovely warm orange tones. 

but, although it is indeed autumn, i belive i'll see all green around me.

it will be grand either way!

        

the october before last

 as i sadly found out my regular lab isn't working right now, leaving me with 3 rolls yet to develop...

i started browsing through my old photos.

it's a beautiful thing to see that time has passed. 

the habits change, the places we visit on a regular basis change, clothes change, hairs change.

but so far the friends are still the same.

farewell

tomorrow we'll be saying farewell to olga. 

she's taken a chance i wouldn't dare to. she's going to mexico, to work, all by herself.

that's fearless to me.

and tomorrow we'll all have luch, by the sea, to remember the fantastic moments shared, enjoy her company, and wish her good luck.

she deserves all the best!