The backyard...

I was surprised and THANKFUL today when my grandfather gifted me a Nikon D90. In the spur of the moment, in order to try this new toy, I went for a stroll down the street and took a few pictures...

This is a compilation of a selected few from a total of 669. This first segment "O Paredão" captures the walk of the entire boardwalk that connects the various oceanside towns. Tomorrow I will finish with Cascais and the walk back.

I won't say much. Take your time or rush through it...come back with a coffee in hand, or try to beat my record of scrolling through all of the pictures... do as you please but I hope that you enjoy my 6 hour adventure of today.

if you wanna get in here...

you have to climb through here

even sand can cry

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OKAY!

here begins the next section. It is late.

Since I know that mom will not be able to wait until tomorrow for more memories, I have a sneak peak of what's comin'.

(I will venture a guess that some of these will be her favorites)

Lucid Dreaming

Finding a time to relax during finals at Williams is a challenge. However, here and there, students find themselves involuntarily snoozing in beautiful locations; Jenness Porch is one of my favorites.

Today while perching on the chair on this porch, I pondered on how to best portray the dream I had just had. I decided to go back to sleep and take a camera with me to best describe what I was seeing.

When I woke up... 

I found myself walking down my grandparents' marble lined apartment entrance. My mind/legs quickly transported me down the street to a corner where maple trees were nowhere to be found.

A bit confused, I walked up the street a bit, looked back...

and realized that Williams was a few miles that < way (down the street is the Atlantic) and that I was ACTUALLY walking. Actually breathing in the soothing ocean scented breeze that is carried through the streets of São João do Estoril. All excited, I began jumping like the 13 year old I had once left behind, dropped some beats for my grandma's entertainment and, since I had that dream camera in hand (the iPhone's 1 million megapixel camera does some wonderful stuff) I resumed my picture taking.

On the way to the station, we stopped to say hi to some friends...

Actually we went to my grandmother's hairdressing store and I got caught up with all the gossip =p

Then we got on one of these:

(note: I will have to capture some good graffiti to prove that it is not just a way to defile public spaces)

and we went to Cascais to run a short errand

Here in Rua Direita, I was gifted with my first remembrance of the beautiful art of Portuguese cobblestones that cover sidewalks in the Lisbon area.

Since I was a still a bit unsure of whether this was a dream or reality, I decided to pick this gentleman's proboscis. He was sure to react if this were a dream! He did... he got all offended and stormed away.

 I settled on the fact that today had to be both a bit of real and a touch of dreamy.
Onwards through the streets of Cascais...

 Seeing all of these beautiful esplanadas, or restaurants with outside eating areas, made me turn in my Jenness porch chair/made me hungry, and I sleepwalked/walked into a café with my grandmother not realizing that we had arrived in

PARADISE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

what to choose??? I had one of these yesterday...

 salame

Therefore I decided to enjoy one of THESE

Bola de Berlim (with cream!!!)

while in the most wonderful company that finally fixed the dream/reality paradox. I was with family.

then we came home...

As per usual, I did my 2 hours of guitar practice a day, this time in a newly refurbished space.

Then I had a Portuguese home cooked meal, which always comes with delicious soup, a delicious entreé, and BREAD!!

Now I am here

 tired of doing nothing all day... praying for more wonderful dreams/moments.

A day of remembrance

There is no doubt that I got LUCKY with my 20D assigned flight seat.

 I had enough leg room to build a house and live in it! It was so wonderful. Then, out of nowhere, and I stress this "nowhereness" because there is not enough space for a kitchen on these planes, they brought me this delicious cheesecake that led me to melt into a very needed slumber of bliss. 

I later found out that the cheesecake had been carved out of the Atlantic Ocean clouds we had just been flying over.

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After 5h40min and some wasted time being lost in baggage claim, I had the very first sight of home on this side of the horizon: my grandparents were waiting for my arrival and it was a beautiful encounter.

 The first thing to notice was obviously the smell of Portugal. After 8 years of American naturale, I was not gonna budge on my belief that Portugal would have its distinct smell, which it did. I then spent some time drooling over my own fascination/ignorance for not realizing that every car was going to be so much smaller in Europe, that most road signs were blue, and that driving distances were so short, that I barely had time to look out the taxi window. I wish I could have Mike's Toyota Tundra to ride over some of these "road bumps" we call cars here.

Conversation in Portuguese is fluid and effortless. I believe that as my speaking and writing in english developed with school, it helped me embellish how I communicate in any language. Portuguese in this case was simply beautiful and mesmerizing to listen to. 

When I heard the name "Lisboa" my heart melted...

Also, my name is no longer confused with Rogue, PAdro, Pay-dro (chill nickname I must admit), and it is pronounced effortlessly and without all the social, racial, and ethnological associations that it is subjected to in da States.

... Since it is getting late and I just had an adjustment day, and I haven't taken all that many pictures, and since I will have more first impressions to write tomorrow (after I have had some time to dream) , I will now leave you with some shots that I could not resist taking today as I wondered.

 Unfolding memories

Walking the rocks of inspiration

The birthstone of a writer

 As the soul experiences, the mind and the body live dreams...

 here we see a wind whisper, submerged in the horizon waters.

PS: Today's sunset was a bit special...

where is home?

As I travel to Portugal for the first time in 8 years I am on the ultimate search for the meaning of home. For these long years many have asked "where are you from?", and without fail I always respond "I am originally from Portugal but I live in Mass". The truth of it all, is that home lives with us. For me, home in fact is where my mom is:

My hope for this voyage is that I will be able to experience Portugal, its culture, history, and life, so that I may then carry it with me through other journeys and discoveries, while always remaining true to myself in a continuous process of growth.

With family there is always a chance for some chill time. Mike and I just couldn't resist the opportunity to look fly... before flying to my land and nation.

 On May 28th at 8am , I finally arrived in Lisbon after 7 years, 10 months, and 21 days.