so where were we?

I left you in Rome back in September, and I'm not sure where to go from there since there have been several other adventures since. I never did finish posting about the Eternal City, but I think I'll save it for another time. Though we've got the Sahara, the High Atlas, and a little oasis near the Algerian border to cover, I thought I'd start with what I did for New Year's and travel backwards. Oh! There was also a trip to Paris full of art and food— but before I get lost, let's go brave the chill of Marvão.

Wanting to quietly ring in 2017 by a fireplace in the middle of nowhere, we found a cute bed and breakfast in the town of Beirã that once operated as part of an old train station by the Portuguese-Spanish border. New Year's Day was white with fog, and since breakfast would not be served until ten, we decided to pile on the layers and take a little walk. Pedro counted his first birds of 2017, and I photographed what remained of the once bustling Marvão-Beirã train stop. The air was crisp, and sent a chill right through to the bone— were it not for the little heating unit in our room and the cackling fireplace in the common seating area, I would still be thawing out!



It must have been a sight to step off the train, luggage in hand, and see Portugal's major architectural attractions tantalizingly depicted in blue and white azulejo. These are some of the finest panels I have seen, with a beautiful sense of light and depth captured. The artist was none other than Jorge Colaço, who also painted the stunning tiles on the Estação de São Bento in Porto and the Pavilhão Carlos Lopes in Lisbon. I'm becoming quite a fan of this guy...

the prettiest train station

The Estação de São Bento in Porto is the prettiest train station I have seen, with the landscape, culture, and history of Portugal delicately painted on thousands of tiles that cover the walls of its vestibule. This is the work of famed azulejo painter Jorge Colaço, who created this masterpiece in the early 1900s— I was unaware of it at the time, but I had photographed some of his azulejo panels at the Pavilhão Carlos Lopes in Lisbon last year.



It's truly a remarkable space— wonderful for waiting in, while getting lost in your thoughts over a paper cup of coffee.

yellow and blue

My apologies for the silence, I was away and unplugged for a little spell!

stories in blue

Lately my life has been something of a bee's life; buzzing to work and buzzing home, getting up with dawn and rushing off to work again. Life in Büyükçekmece is peaceful, and there isn't much to write about or photograph, so I've been stretching the Zagreb trip to its limits as far as posts are concerned. Elections in Turkey are just around the corner, which is likely to disrupt things, but being far away from the city centre, I'm not sure what to expect. Buildings are plastered with massive campaign posters and obnoxious lines of flags are twisted and draped between and around street lamps, signs, and just about everything. Everywhere I go I feel a politician's eyes on me...

I was in Lisbon at the end of February, and it was so good to be back. Though my Portuguese is still quite limited at this point, and navigating the city is just now becoming a little less confusing, I felt like I was going home.



This beautiful aging pavilion is named after Carlos Lopes, Portugal's first ever Olympic Gold medalist. The details in the azulejos are simply stunning... Lisbon makes me want to draw.