From my travel journal:
10ish pm We left the apartment to ride up the elevador Santa Justa half block from the apartment. It was hardly crowded and the views from the top were spectacular. All of Lisbon in her fine sparkle and glitter spread on the hills below. We could finally see over the hill and to the water beyond. Gorgeous. We crossed the bridge and stood where people stand daily and wave to us as we sit in our kitchen. How cool to see our temporary home lit up from the inside!
Once across the bridge we made a great discovery! Largo de Carmo – a charming square with a leafy green canopy of trees and interesting old stone gazebo which was carved and ornate. 19th century apartments ringed the square with wrought iron French balconies. There were marble double sided benches, and big concrete tables with little concrete chairs on which to sit. Quaint, charming, all of it. A couple of outdoor restuarants were busy with Friday night diners – all Portugese from the sounds of things. We’ve heard hardly a word of English since our arrival. Most of the tourists are Portugese. I do love being a stranger in a strange town!
Small streets spiraled off in all directions from the square. On one side stood the gothic 14th century Ruinous do Carmo. Music was floating out the 20 -foot high, dark wood doors. We peeked in and were ushered further inside to sit and listen to the free concert by the Lisbon Metropoliton Orchestra. So unexpected, so surprising.
We sat in tiny white plastic chairs and listened to the Blue Danube and other Viennese classics under the ancient arches which survived the 1755 earthquake and tonight held up a ceiling of black sky. Sister said, “I will remember this clearly when I am 80.” We closed our eyes and listened to the music then arias sung by a lovely Portugese opera singer in a purple dress. Both of us sealing the memory permanently into those fragile few banks of memory time will not erode.
This travel journal is out of this world. I love the layers of pages, the text added to the photos/postcards, the different size pages, and all the little details. I am so inspired I linked to this post on the Inspiration Station on the sidebar of my blog. Thanks!
Your travel journals are amazing. They must evoke such strong and clear memories when you go through them later on.
Your travel journals, and your art journals as well, are like treasure chests inviting the finder of them to sift slowly through the contents, savoring every tiny little jeweled detail…I love them! And I come back time and again to reopen the treasure chest and savor the jewels once more!
Here’s hoping that your travel journals are the inspiration I need to complete my next one. I always start with good intentions, but never get more than a few pages done. I think I try to hard to capture those first few days completely. I need to focus on just a thing or two and keep going.
your travel journals are a wonderful way to remember your travels as they happen, not just remembering “bits and pieces” once the pictures are developed… this is wonderful inspiration, and I definitely get the “feeling” of Lisbon thru your entries!
Beautiful pages….
jo – travel journal is essentially finished. it was concluded in lisbon except for the addition of a few photos. i’ve used postcards and only a few photos that i print myself from home and add once i return. we work in our journals anytime – mornings, late nights, during the day. i take leisurely vacations doing what i want when i want. many lisboans speak excellent english because they don’t dub their films – they watch with subtitles, unlike many other european countries.
I missed your posts, but I guess it was worth the wait, because this travel journal is so good! I wish i could read through it. Thanks for the inspiration!
I was so glad to open up the latest dispatch from LA and see some of your Lisbon journal pages. I’ve been patiently waiting to see how you would use your beautiful book. It’s fat and gorgeous! Is it finished? Did you add the photos while you were there or after you returned? Did you find a foto printing service there? When did you and your sis find time to work in your journals?
I know that journaling and drawing in situ cements memories and just wondered how you handle that.
Thanks for sharing your work and photos. I don’t hanker to go to Lisbon but it’s interesting seeing it through your eyes. You do speak Spanish, don’t you, so you could get along where English isn’t spoken, yet they speak Portuguese, not Spanish. Was that a problem?
You are so good at this travel log business, Mary Ann. An example to all of us who venture abroad and come home with memories we want to keep alive forever.
A warm evening,gorgeous music, a loved sister by your side, miles from home. Ahhh!
Each evening lately, before I go to bed, I check your blog, and sure enough, you have just posted another installment of your Lisbon trip…for a few moments I’m transported, entranced, by your words and photos and inspired by your journal…see you tomorrow night!
oh you paint a picture with your words in my mind (that is why teaching and art are your true calling). It makes me want to go there…..it sound beautiful