Hey gorgeous, Thank you, I am happy to hear you enjoyed reading it, Rosie and I had a really wonderful few days in Porto, the city is not like any other I’ve visited! Big love, still hoping to catch you if you make it back down to JU’s! 🥰
I’m so happy you had such a wonderful time Susie, with Rosie and with friends!
40 years ago -yes, 40!- I spent 2 days in Porto after a group vacation, but I didn’t really see the beauty of the city. Not only because I was very tired after a hiking tour in a national park, but even more because I, as an introvert, was exhausted after being with a group of people I didn’t know well for too long! It was my first and last group vacation ever! 🤪
And here you paint me an utterly beautiful picture of the city of Porto, and I thank you for that. Also for reminding me of Amalia Rodrigues and her wonderful bittersweet fado! 💃🏻
Oh JoAnna, you remind me of a friend of mine who went on a cruise many years ago, (I don’t remember where) she thought it would be the perfect way to make new friends and fulfil a life long dream. Sadly she had a bad experience the first day, was too shy to leave her cabin other than to eat afterwards and returned with the exact same sentiments as you, it was the first and last time ever.
Thankfully the trip Rosie and I took to Porto held no such disappointments, quite the reverse! Although I don’t deny being very happy to have my feet firmly planted on my hill once home again. I love travelling but not flying, if we were meant to fly we would have wings, sadly I am not blessed with such feathered limbs so I am happier to walk, or cycle!
I am very happy to have filled in the gaps your fatigued state missed all those years ago though, thanks to my gorgeous girl!
lots of love to you, I do hope you are not suffering in this horrendous heat too - I know well how you hide from it? xx💛xx
Oh I feel for your friend, so sad to have a lifelong dream destroyed by a bad experience!
As you described it Porto must be beautiful, and so wonderful to be there together with Rosie, such a lovely gift! 💝
The heat is coming our way now, from tomorrow on temperature and humidity is going up to about 33c 🥵 and I hate it! I always thought we’d move to Scandinavia if it’s going worse, but they have 30+ too now…🫣
Stay cool lovely, it must be unbearable if it’s too hot for you too 🫢 and much love to you safely grounded on your hill again! 🩵🤍
It is so hot today I have had to hide indoors lovely, as you know well this is rare but I am beaten, 42c plus is more than even I can bear.🥵 I am hoping you have a cool place to hide too, and a good book by your side…
Rosie, thank you for arranging these days for Susie. Thank you for sharing her with us. Thank you for allowing her to share your beautiful smile with us.
Susie, what a wonderful experience! I felt like I was there with you, up the stairs, overlooking the ocean, listening to all the sounds. It’s like I have now visited Porto. So grateful for that. xox
Louise, I wish everyone in the world could have a daughter like mine! She is my best and most beautiful friend and I am so grateful for her in countless ways.
I think you would have enjoyed Porto immensely, the slow pace, the cool breeze, the gulls, the crazy tiles and breathtaking architecture both ancient and modern, and the Fado music too. I am delighted to have been able to share what we loved during those three days with you, thank you always for being by my side, ours in this case! xox
I'm simply touched that she decided to share our wonderful adventure together and that it has reached so many readers here. It truly was a gift for me as much as for her ✨
As I do yours and so many others dear Fotini, my vocal cords are raw from human to human conversation with summer visitors and evenings entertaining, today, the first I have sat in peace, with no need to talk, no need to make a meal, no need to run or flutter - melt in this unbearable heat - I will just be, I intend to do just that... I send you love back, I will be with you and your words very soon xxx
"There is an eclectic lack of perfection which is contagious, " ... these words so capture Portugal's cities. Next time you must visit Coimbra (the old capital before Lisbon, and the equivalent to 'Oxford' with its old university). Smaller than Porto, less industrialised, and very beautiful. Wonderful writing - a joy to read - thank you.
Joshua, knowing how well you know the land I so briefly visited, reading your comment makes me feel that I paid attention, that I understood at least a small part of Portugal’s mellow, almost undemanding vibe.
Next time I visit, with or without Rosie, I think I will be heading two hours south of Porto before even thinking of any other destination, maybe after that Coimbra will beckon too…
Once again thank you both for such a generous and memorable evening.
Visiting Porto with you was so wonderful Susie, what utterly delightful pictures painted in my mind and gorgeous photographs. Thank you for sharing your beautiful, sacred visit with us 💛✨
Many thanks lovely Emily, this little adventure would never have even been on my radar had it not been for my wonderful daughter and if she hadn’t given it as a surprise I almost certainly would have said no, found an excuse for not climbing on an airplane, for not leaving my hill, family and animals but I was thrilled by Porto, its laid back charm, its people and their impossible to understand language, meeting Veronika and Joshua too, they were a delight, the highlight! The whole experience has given me the courage to maybe (maybe) plan another trip next year!
Have a wonderful weekend, we are under severe ‘canicule’ warning here until midweek - I am dreading the effects on a hill already tinder dry! xx
You've painted such a wonderful picture of Porto with your words Susie - I've not visited but now I have images I can now hold in my mind when I think of the city.
Beautiful, Susie. You really make me want to visit Porto! I've travelled and lived all around the world but never been to Portugal... Something I need to put right one day.
Thank you Jeffrey, I think you would find much to turn your head in Portugal and yet more to write about! I live barely a stones throw from this beautiful country and this was my first visit, I will certainly return! Not least to visit Veronika and Joshua who were so very charming.
So lovely to journey with you. I loved Orbital -- amazing to read it while flying. I love reading books with trains when travelling :) And Saudade -- always reminds me of it's cousin Hiraeth -- a similar longing in Welsh, though for place/home -- not always one that ever existed, that I understand so much better since leaving Wales. lso reminded me of the Wim Wenders film, Lisbon Story, which I love and which features a brilliant 'post-Fado group, Madredeus. Such riches. x
Many thanks Jan, I must google that film! I have loved Fado music ever since a very dear, sadly deceased friend introduced me to it.
As for Orbital, I have been rendered speechless by this book, every page is a masterpiece. I can't even begin to imagine the research that went into writing it either...
It really was the perfect choice to accompany a fearful traveller too.
I think I remember you mentioning the Welsh equivalent of the word 'saudade' when I first wrote about it, how would that be pronounced?
I hope your weekend is calm and cool, that you are not suffering the same horrendous temperatures as we are? xxx
Thank you for the pronunciation, I wondered last time how to say the word too.
We have watched in fear as a fire tracked across the forest in a hill opposite this afternoon, it is under control now but this is only day one of a five day canicule… I am praying hard for rain Jan, I’m not sure what else to do.! 🙏🏽xx
It has been years (decades?) since Dave and I have been to Europe but today you walked me right back to the architecture, the ancient stone paths, the arresting contrast of new and old, and the welcomed exhale upon meeting sea or sky or uninterrupted horizon. How special that this adventure was shared with your daughter and enhanced by a visitation from the Bonds!
“Here, we sigh our thanks for the geography, the geology, for infinite white sand and mythical boulders.” Exhaling with you dear Susie, and may it only deepen as you return to your hill with treasures to carry in your pockets of memory.
Dearest Kimberly, my thanks come with no less love than usual despite their long delay. Porto, already feels like a lifetime ago but nonetheless a city I felt completely at ease in, perhaps not at home but I felt its warmth, its proud non-conformity and welcoming ambiance. I would return without doubt, but not before travelling two hours further south to repay in some small way both Veronika and Joshua for their overwhelming and much appreciated journey to visit us while we were there. Our evening together, our conversation under a setting sun will not be forgotten.
Perhaps this is the decade when you and Dave will journey across the ocean to revisit ancient stone paths, different horizons, maybe even a hill and France and a home two hours south of Porto too... I have my fingers crossed! xx
Susie! What! You met Josh and Veronika! How wonderful. Did you know them before Substack? I love this so much. I feel awe, and possibly just a little fomo. 😀
Your photo of Rosie is just gorgeous. So special those times. My daughter wrote in her birthday card to me this year ( both of us Geminis too), that she looks forward to travels in Europe with me - dancing and eating and drinking and soaking it all up. Not sure when that will be given it takes a bit of money to get there from NZ. It's on my dream list. Aren't we lucky that our daughters want to holiday with us. Not luck actually, that is years of hard work building a relationship of respect and friendship. Thank you for sharing your beautiful time. Much love xxx❤️❤️❤️
Ah Jo, it was such a cheery, natural encounter! And, no Substack is wholly accountable for knowing such beautiful people, we had never met before except for chatting in comments here. What I hadn't realised during our making of arrangements was that Veronika and Joshua drove two hours from their home to meet us for a meal and then drove two hours home again afterwards, I thought they would be in Porto anyway, I thought they had a gap in a pre-organised schedule - I was completely overwhelmed and will definitely try to return such a kindness, somehow! Our evening is my most coveted memory of our time in Porto.
I truly hope you get to travel Europe with your daughter Jo, don't even hesitate to let me know if you get to France, you would both be welcome to stay here - what a buzz that would be!
Rosie was the perfect travel companion given the amount of walking we had to do to see all we wanted to, we covered so many kilometres in those days, over 100k steps so says my trusty iPhone! And no, I don't believe luck has anything to do with having children that want to spend time with us, I believe it is entirely the result of how we love them, how we respect them as human beings, how we allow them to learn to just 'be'.
Biggest love to you, I hope the weekend is smiling down on you! ♥️xx
This brought tears Susie. Again!! My heart is so open at the moment. Open to all the beauty and the love in the world which sits alongside the sheer terror of being alive sometimes.
That is key: " how we allow them to learn to just 'be'. Our acceptance of letting our children be themselves empowers them to shine.
It sounds like such a wonderful time Susie. And I can just tell Veronika and Joshua are beautiful genuine and interesting people. Curious people. Kind people. Just like you. The type who would drive a total of 4 hours to make the connection. Oh how I love this Substack world. Imagine if that type of caring and connection, imagine if it could be a microcosm of what could happen in the world at large. Just Imagine. ❤️
No, we met on Substack. When Susie mentioned she was flying to Porto, I immediately asked her about the dates. I mean, Porto... that's just up the road from us. It's a 2 hour drive, but a lot closer than Susie's hill in Southern France. So it was a no-brainer to me, and Josh said 'yes' 😅
What a perceptive and tender rendition of Porto — the city from where ships and airplanes sail to many ports — "There is an eclectic lack of perfection which is contagious, and, its obvious languid humour, as if laughing indiscreetly at the ridiculousness of the rest of the worlds cities with their big-city ideals" — indeed, this eclectic lack of perfection, manifest not only as buildings "precariously clad in scaffold half renovated with no visible rush to finish" is a trait found all over Portugal, perhaps mocking the relentless striving found in the rest of the Western world.
'Com calma!' say the Portuguese, 'What's the rush?' Over the years we have found that Portuguese life slows you down to its own rhythm and pace. Life in the slow lane changes your priorities, allows the heart to speak louder than the head. This is a life where driving two hours to meet a friend whom we've never met — and two hours back home — makes perfect sense. A memorable gorgeous evening to nurture the soul and remind us (among other things) of the priceless gift of real human connection face to face.
Dear Veronika, my liberty to read or reply in peace over the last week, due visitors and food preparations and the general constant attention guests need all within the most horrendously overheated temps (I hope you are not suffering as we are?), has been visibly lacking. I am at this moment seated though, in the almost cool of early morning, the house still silent, feeling somewhat wilted but not yet beaten, making the most of late sleepers and a few quiet minutes to reply to your comment.
As I said to Joshua in a similar empty moment yesterday morning, who picked the same line as you have, "knowing how well you know this land I so briefly visited, reading your comment makes me feel that I paid attention, that I understood at least a small part of Portugal’s mellow, almost undemanding vibe." I didn't mention that it reminded me of Eire thirty years ago, before the Celtic Tiger roared its way across the country leaving in its wake a trail of chaotic modern busyness that changed the country and its people entirely. It was the reason we 'upped sticks' to the wilderness of the Aveyron.
I loved Porto, I loved its laid-backness, its "Con Calma" its rhythm is one I not only love but need in the ever changing flux and flow of an increasingly busy life. I loved even more that it allowed you to make a long journey - anisi le retour - to meet us. Living as I do (Rosie less so in the hustle and bustle of Frances fourth largest city) meeting people face to face, to share time and space with them, to appreciate more than a quick message on a mobile telephone which may or may not be heartfelt, is, as you say, "a priceless gift".
In the case of our gorgeous evening together, a treasured memory and one I would love to return one day. Bless you both, bless Portugal for a pace of life that still allows such connections to be possible. 💛🌿✨xxx
yes, this was one of the reasons why we chose Portugal, not only for its laid backness but also its relative 'backwardness', where people still connect with the heart, where chaotic modern busyness is regarded with bewilderment and quietly dismissed, where airport staff take time to talk to small children (and delight in it), where teenagers and young adults are respectful towards older people, where the daily lunch hour(s) is sacred, and the locals meet in their cafés after dinner to share a cafezinho, gossip and laughter.
These are many of the reasons we chose to move to Ireland Veronika, I pray hard for you that the Portuguese remain impassive to the world elsewhere, sadly the Irish (government) didn't, the country moved on and so, eventually, no longer feeling the slow life that was, we did too...
Here in one of the least populated departments of France we have - almost - found what we hoped for. I too say, Long may it last! 🥐☕️☀️xx
our hopes (and experiences so far) here in Central Portugal are rooted in the history of the Carnation Revolution April 25th, 1974) which is still in the living memory of many people. Despite the pressures towards 'modernisation' there is also a palpable resistance against authority, bureaucracy, and arbitrary legal measures.
I think in the cities the 'modernisation' is advancing faster (especially with anything related to raising prices). Where we live, people still get their cafezinho for under 1 €, or a 3-course set lunch (prato de dia) for sometimes as low as 7 € (including drinks).
Everything is slow, in part because nobody likes to be told what to do... we won't disagree with that!!
But right now, in the fire season, the quick reactions of the bombeiros is also impressive as they quench one bushfire after the other 🔥
This feels like the biggest threat, while also tying people together in their defence against greater forces. Life in the slow lane is a choice (the Portuguese are signalling through their actions) Why rush through life if you don't have to? I believe that's such a fundamental feature of the Mediterranean temperament, which won't be snuffed out in a hurry... going with the tides and rhythms of the seasons 🌊 🐚 💫 🐝
I am ashamed to admit I know little of the details of the Carnation Revolution, only that it was the end of colonial wars, but it it is good to hear that, at least in the rural parts of Portugal, there are still those that resist modernisation. Long many it last!
Here too there are many bush fires breaking out, I feel like I am on constant watch! So far all have been small and quickly and efficiently contained but I wish they weren't quite so close to home. I am always amazed by how quickly these small rural communities are capable (and willing) of pulling together in the face of danger - this is why we are here. In England, moral, physical and emotional support are notcpibly absent, in Ireland they were there, then greed and desire for bigger and better smothered all the old ways.
"Why rush through life if you don't have to?" The logic in these few words touches my own in so many ways, but, though I try hard to live by them, try hard to say to myself, 'stop, there's always tomorrow and the next day and the next...' I am always rushing, it has become habit hard to break.
Today however, I am forced by this horrendous and extreme heat to halt everything, to remain seated in a cool, quiet place and forget the chores, the unfinished projects, the wilting garden and just be.
And, I am surprised by just how pleasant it is... I could learn something! 💛🌻xx
nothing to be ashamed about! I only learned about the Carnation Revolution while learning Portuguese in the year before we planned to move here. It's a wonderful story, and it made us fall deeper in love with this country and her people... There is a film about the story called 'Capitães de Abril' (April Captains) hailed as 'one of the most beautiful chapters of World history of the XX century'.
Meanwhile we are firewatching under a grey yellow sky, ashes raining down on us, thanking the heavens for the bombeiros and keeping busy with unfinished projects. Keep cool and safe xxx
Susie, I so love Samantha Harvey's _Orbital_ that I posted this fan letter on the Auraist site here, hoping she might see it"Dear Samatha, I have been wanting to write you a fan letter ever since I read _Orbital_, and now I hope that this Substack is the best way to get the message to you. The novel is lyrical prose that shows how much you read and admire the poetic style that I so hold dear. When I read your novel, I felt as if I had Carl Sagan's "blue dot" on the page: the photographic quality, the vulnerability of the astronauts and all you accomplished about seeing Earth from afar astonished! Kudos from heart to yours."
What a vacation with your daughter--what a gorgeous essay here!
I love that you enjoyed this book as much as I did Mary, I even think I remember reading your fan letter, indeed would likely have written something similar had I read 'Orbital' at the time. The book is remarkable, astonishing, even now weeks after finishing it I am returning to passages just to remind me of S Harvey's magical prose. I am speechless at the hours and hours of research she must have undergone to have produced a novel so precise and exquisite in its details. I doubt I could have chosen a more calming work of art to gaze upon during the minutes of that flight to Porto - I felt no fear, only an almost, blissful oblivion.
Thank you always for your heart comments, for reading so generously my humble words, those few days with my daughter were amongst some of the most precious I have spent, I hope that perhaps they will be the first of many. xx
What a glorious gift you give us with your writing. Thank you for taking us along, introducing us to Rosie and sharing your divine gathering with dear ones.
The writing of your journey is particularly dear as I gave up flight in the walk of Hurricane Helene. It was not a noble gesture rather an apology to Earth for the many miles I spent above her in my corporate life. (I may have to make an exception if I move to Villandraut but for now I can’t imagine leaving my mountain.) Talk soon. xx
Katharine, I am not surprised to read of your noble gesture. My fear of flying is not wholly due to disliking leaving solidity, I too have knocked up too many air miles in my life, I too promised this beautiful planet a more empathetic existence on arriving here on my hill. And I have, in twenty years I have left by plane just three times, twice to visit friends with their time diminished to just weeks by cancer and once to Porto with my daughter. I am not perfect but I have tried hard not to add unnecessarily to my already deep carbon footprints.
I looked up Villandraut, I think I said, it is but a few hours from here, close enough to drive! Though I understand any reluctance to leave a place that has become loved, I could no more leave this hill than sever my own hands, we become attached to the land we live on don't we? We love it as if it were part of our own skin and bone... good grief yes, I understand!
My guests have left, my daughter and her best friend have left too, my son is away by the coast with his girlfriend and I have a forced quiet week due a heatwave that is pinning me to my desk, this is a good week to talk! I will spend the rest of today catching up here on Substack and message you later to organise when! I am excited! xx
My gesture was truly not noble. In my corporate days, I was in the air at least four days a week. Had I had a clue that I was inflicting extensive damage to the planet, I hope I would have left that world earlier than I did. Yours is the noble gesture. We all must travel sometimes; you have found a fair balance.
I am so drawn back to Villandraut. I think my night dreams take me there.
Wonderfully written
Emily, thank you so much for reading!
How do you do it Susie… your writing is so rich and full of imagery, thank you ! 🙏🥰
Hey gorgeous, Thank you, I am happy to hear you enjoyed reading it, Rosie and I had a really wonderful few days in Porto, the city is not like any other I’ve visited! Big love, still hoping to catch you if you make it back down to JU’s! 🥰
I’m so happy you had such a wonderful time Susie, with Rosie and with friends!
40 years ago -yes, 40!- I spent 2 days in Porto after a group vacation, but I didn’t really see the beauty of the city. Not only because I was very tired after a hiking tour in a national park, but even more because I, as an introvert, was exhausted after being with a group of people I didn’t know well for too long! It was my first and last group vacation ever! 🤪
And here you paint me an utterly beautiful picture of the city of Porto, and I thank you for that. Also for reminding me of Amalia Rodrigues and her wonderful bittersweet fado! 💃🏻
Good God 42, that’s horrible! 🤯
I hide indoors too, rereading a favourite novel.
💙🩵🤍
Oh JoAnna, you remind me of a friend of mine who went on a cruise many years ago, (I don’t remember where) she thought it would be the perfect way to make new friends and fulfil a life long dream. Sadly she had a bad experience the first day, was too shy to leave her cabin other than to eat afterwards and returned with the exact same sentiments as you, it was the first and last time ever.
Thankfully the trip Rosie and I took to Porto held no such disappointments, quite the reverse! Although I don’t deny being very happy to have my feet firmly planted on my hill once home again. I love travelling but not flying, if we were meant to fly we would have wings, sadly I am not blessed with such feathered limbs so I am happier to walk, or cycle!
I am very happy to have filled in the gaps your fatigued state missed all those years ago though, thanks to my gorgeous girl!
lots of love to you, I do hope you are not suffering in this horrendous heat too - I know well how you hide from it? xx💛xx
Oh I feel for your friend, so sad to have a lifelong dream destroyed by a bad experience!
As you described it Porto must be beautiful, and so wonderful to be there together with Rosie, such a lovely gift! 💝
The heat is coming our way now, from tomorrow on temperature and humidity is going up to about 33c 🥵 and I hate it! I always thought we’d move to Scandinavia if it’s going worse, but they have 30+ too now…🫣
Stay cool lovely, it must be unbearable if it’s too hot for you too 🫢 and much love to you safely grounded on your hill again! 🩵🤍
It is so hot today I have had to hide indoors lovely, as you know well this is rare but I am beaten, 42c plus is more than even I can bear.🥵 I am hoping you have a cool place to hide too, and a good book by your side…
With much love and hot hugs 🔥🤗xx
Rosie, thank you for arranging these days for Susie. Thank you for sharing her with us. Thank you for allowing her to share your beautiful smile with us.
Susie, what a wonderful experience! I felt like I was there with you, up the stairs, overlooking the ocean, listening to all the sounds. It’s like I have now visited Porto. So grateful for that. xox
Louise, I wish everyone in the world could have a daughter like mine! She is my best and most beautiful friend and I am so grateful for her in countless ways.
I think you would have enjoyed Porto immensely, the slow pace, the cool breeze, the gulls, the crazy tiles and breathtaking architecture both ancient and modern, and the Fado music too. I am delighted to have been able to share what we loved during those three days with you, thank you always for being by my side, ours in this case! xox
You both are so lucky, Susie!
Yes, Porto sounds charming. Perhaps one day.... I'll let you know and the three of us can go! 😉
I might have to hold you to that Louise 💛xx
Miracles do happen❣️
I'm simply touched that she decided to share our wonderful adventure together and that it has reached so many readers here. It truly was a gift for me as much as for her ✨
It was the best gift ever darling! Far more enjoyable for having you beside me! I love you to the moon and back again. On repeat! xxxx
I need to catch up with your writing, dearest Susie. While I read, I send you my love - wherever you are :)
As I do yours and so many others dear Fotini, my vocal cords are raw from human to human conversation with summer visitors and evenings entertaining, today, the first I have sat in peace, with no need to talk, no need to make a meal, no need to run or flutter - melt in this unbearable heat - I will just be, I intend to do just that... I send you love back, I will be with you and your words very soon xxx
"There is an eclectic lack of perfection which is contagious, " ... these words so capture Portugal's cities. Next time you must visit Coimbra (the old capital before Lisbon, and the equivalent to 'Oxford' with its old university). Smaller than Porto, less industrialised, and very beautiful. Wonderful writing - a joy to read - thank you.
Joshua, knowing how well you know the land I so briefly visited, reading your comment makes me feel that I paid attention, that I understood at least a small part of Portugal’s mellow, almost undemanding vibe.
Next time I visit, with or without Rosie, I think I will be heading two hours south of Porto before even thinking of any other destination, maybe after that Coimbra will beckon too…
Once again thank you both for such a generous and memorable evening.
De nada, senhora. Estamos aqui para visitar. :)
Obrigado de nós os dois 💛 (thank goodness for DeepL)
Visiting Porto with you was so wonderful Susie, what utterly delightful pictures painted in my mind and gorgeous photographs. Thank you for sharing your beautiful, sacred visit with us 💛✨
Many thanks lovely Emily, this little adventure would never have even been on my radar had it not been for my wonderful daughter and if she hadn’t given it as a surprise I almost certainly would have said no, found an excuse for not climbing on an airplane, for not leaving my hill, family and animals but I was thrilled by Porto, its laid back charm, its people and their impossible to understand language, meeting Veronika and Joshua too, they were a delight, the highlight! The whole experience has given me the courage to maybe (maybe) plan another trip next year!
Have a wonderful weekend, we are under severe ‘canicule’ warning here until midweek - I am dreading the effects on a hill already tinder dry! xx
You've painted such a wonderful picture of Porto with your words Susie - I've not visited but now I have images I can now hold in my mind when I think of the city.
Thank you Lin, it is such a diverse city, I am happy to painted at least a vague idea of the colours!
💚
🙏🏽💛✨
Beautiful, Susie. You really make me want to visit Porto! I've travelled and lived all around the world but never been to Portugal... Something I need to put right one day.
Thank you Jeffrey, I think you would find much to turn your head in Portugal and yet more to write about! I live barely a stones throw from this beautiful country and this was my first visit, I will certainly return! Not least to visit Veronika and Joshua who were so very charming.
So lovely to journey with you. I loved Orbital -- amazing to read it while flying. I love reading books with trains when travelling :) And Saudade -- always reminds me of it's cousin Hiraeth -- a similar longing in Welsh, though for place/home -- not always one that ever existed, that I understand so much better since leaving Wales. lso reminded me of the Wim Wenders film, Lisbon Story, which I love and which features a brilliant 'post-Fado group, Madredeus. Such riches. x
Many thanks Jan, I must google that film! I have loved Fado music ever since a very dear, sadly deceased friend introduced me to it.
As for Orbital, I have been rendered speechless by this book, every page is a masterpiece. I can't even begin to imagine the research that went into writing it either...
It really was the perfect choice to accompany a fearful traveller too.
I think I remember you mentioning the Welsh equivalent of the word 'saudade' when I first wrote about it, how would that be pronounced?
I hope your weekend is calm and cool, that you are not suffering the same horrendous temperatures as we are? xxx
It's an amazing novel, isn't it -- I keep going back to passages.
he-rye-th with a slightly rolled r :)
it got to 26 today which my husband says is too hot, but nothing like the south!!
Thank you for the pronunciation, I wondered last time how to say the word too.
We have watched in fear as a fire tracked across the forest in a hill opposite this afternoon, it is under control now but this is only day one of a five day canicule… I am praying hard for rain Jan, I’m not sure what else to do.! 🙏🏽xx
oh Susie -- the world is so wounded -- that beautiful world that the astronauts see from space. I am sending every rainy hope within me. xxx
Thank you Jan, those hopes just might be fulfilled this evening! I pray the storm we are forecast is the kind and refreshing type is all. 🙏🏼xx
It has been years (decades?) since Dave and I have been to Europe but today you walked me right back to the architecture, the ancient stone paths, the arresting contrast of new and old, and the welcomed exhale upon meeting sea or sky or uninterrupted horizon. How special that this adventure was shared with your daughter and enhanced by a visitation from the Bonds!
“Here, we sigh our thanks for the geography, the geology, for infinite white sand and mythical boulders.” Exhaling with you dear Susie, and may it only deepen as you return to your hill with treasures to carry in your pockets of memory.
Dearest Kimberly, my thanks come with no less love than usual despite their long delay. Porto, already feels like a lifetime ago but nonetheless a city I felt completely at ease in, perhaps not at home but I felt its warmth, its proud non-conformity and welcoming ambiance. I would return without doubt, but not before travelling two hours further south to repay in some small way both Veronika and Joshua for their overwhelming and much appreciated journey to visit us while we were there. Our evening together, our conversation under a setting sun will not be forgotten.
Perhaps this is the decade when you and Dave will journey across the ocean to revisit ancient stone paths, different horizons, maybe even a hill and France and a home two hours south of Porto too... I have my fingers crossed! xx
Susie! What! You met Josh and Veronika! How wonderful. Did you know them before Substack? I love this so much. I feel awe, and possibly just a little fomo. 😀
Your photo of Rosie is just gorgeous. So special those times. My daughter wrote in her birthday card to me this year ( both of us Geminis too), that she looks forward to travels in Europe with me - dancing and eating and drinking and soaking it all up. Not sure when that will be given it takes a bit of money to get there from NZ. It's on my dream list. Aren't we lucky that our daughters want to holiday with us. Not luck actually, that is years of hard work building a relationship of respect and friendship. Thank you for sharing your beautiful time. Much love xxx❤️❤️❤️
Ah Jo, it was such a cheery, natural encounter! And, no Substack is wholly accountable for knowing such beautiful people, we had never met before except for chatting in comments here. What I hadn't realised during our making of arrangements was that Veronika and Joshua drove two hours from their home to meet us for a meal and then drove two hours home again afterwards, I thought they would be in Porto anyway, I thought they had a gap in a pre-organised schedule - I was completely overwhelmed and will definitely try to return such a kindness, somehow! Our evening is my most coveted memory of our time in Porto.
I truly hope you get to travel Europe with your daughter Jo, don't even hesitate to let me know if you get to France, you would both be welcome to stay here - what a buzz that would be!
Rosie was the perfect travel companion given the amount of walking we had to do to see all we wanted to, we covered so many kilometres in those days, over 100k steps so says my trusty iPhone! And no, I don't believe luck has anything to do with having children that want to spend time with us, I believe it is entirely the result of how we love them, how we respect them as human beings, how we allow them to learn to just 'be'.
Biggest love to you, I hope the weekend is smiling down on you! ♥️xx
This brought tears Susie. Again!! My heart is so open at the moment. Open to all the beauty and the love in the world which sits alongside the sheer terror of being alive sometimes.
That is key: " how we allow them to learn to just 'be'. Our acceptance of letting our children be themselves empowers them to shine.
It sounds like such a wonderful time Susie. And I can just tell Veronika and Joshua are beautiful genuine and interesting people. Curious people. Kind people. Just like you. The type who would drive a total of 4 hours to make the connection. Oh how I love this Substack world. Imagine if that type of caring and connection, imagine if it could be a microcosm of what could happen in the world at large. Just Imagine. ❤️
Jo I imagine that so often it hurts! 🥲xx
looking forward to meeting you and your daughter in Portugal, Jo 😉 💕
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No, we met on Substack. When Susie mentioned she was flying to Porto, I immediately asked her about the dates. I mean, Porto... that's just up the road from us. It's a 2 hour drive, but a lot closer than Susie's hill in Southern France. So it was a no-brainer to me, and Josh said 'yes' 😅
I am so happy he agreed Veronika! Next time I will drive to you though! xx
me too 💗 and I look forward to next time and the surprises it will bring 🎶 🦉 💕
Absolutely wonderful Veronika! xx
What a perceptive and tender rendition of Porto — the city from where ships and airplanes sail to many ports — "There is an eclectic lack of perfection which is contagious, and, its obvious languid humour, as if laughing indiscreetly at the ridiculousness of the rest of the worlds cities with their big-city ideals" — indeed, this eclectic lack of perfection, manifest not only as buildings "precariously clad in scaffold half renovated with no visible rush to finish" is a trait found all over Portugal, perhaps mocking the relentless striving found in the rest of the Western world.
'Com calma!' say the Portuguese, 'What's the rush?' Over the years we have found that Portuguese life slows you down to its own rhythm and pace. Life in the slow lane changes your priorities, allows the heart to speak louder than the head. This is a life where driving two hours to meet a friend whom we've never met — and two hours back home — makes perfect sense. A memorable gorgeous evening to nurture the soul and remind us (among other things) of the priceless gift of real human connection face to face.
Dear Veronika, my liberty to read or reply in peace over the last week, due visitors and food preparations and the general constant attention guests need all within the most horrendously overheated temps (I hope you are not suffering as we are?), has been visibly lacking. I am at this moment seated though, in the almost cool of early morning, the house still silent, feeling somewhat wilted but not yet beaten, making the most of late sleepers and a few quiet minutes to reply to your comment.
As I said to Joshua in a similar empty moment yesterday morning, who picked the same line as you have, "knowing how well you know this land I so briefly visited, reading your comment makes me feel that I paid attention, that I understood at least a small part of Portugal’s mellow, almost undemanding vibe." I didn't mention that it reminded me of Eire thirty years ago, before the Celtic Tiger roared its way across the country leaving in its wake a trail of chaotic modern busyness that changed the country and its people entirely. It was the reason we 'upped sticks' to the wilderness of the Aveyron.
I loved Porto, I loved its laid-backness, its "Con Calma" its rhythm is one I not only love but need in the ever changing flux and flow of an increasingly busy life. I loved even more that it allowed you to make a long journey - anisi le retour - to meet us. Living as I do (Rosie less so in the hustle and bustle of Frances fourth largest city) meeting people face to face, to share time and space with them, to appreciate more than a quick message on a mobile telephone which may or may not be heartfelt, is, as you say, "a priceless gift".
In the case of our gorgeous evening together, a treasured memory and one I would love to return one day. Bless you both, bless Portugal for a pace of life that still allows such connections to be possible. 💛🌿✨xxx
yes, this was one of the reasons why we chose Portugal, not only for its laid backness but also its relative 'backwardness', where people still connect with the heart, where chaotic modern busyness is regarded with bewilderment and quietly dismissed, where airport staff take time to talk to small children (and delight in it), where teenagers and young adults are respectful towards older people, where the daily lunch hour(s) is sacred, and the locals meet in their cafés after dinner to share a cafezinho, gossip and laughter.
Long may it last! 💛 💚 ♥️ 🌿✨
These are many of the reasons we chose to move to Ireland Veronika, I pray hard for you that the Portuguese remain impassive to the world elsewhere, sadly the Irish (government) didn't, the country moved on and so, eventually, no longer feeling the slow life that was, we did too...
Here in one of the least populated departments of France we have - almost - found what we hoped for. I too say, Long may it last! 🥐☕️☀️xx
our hopes (and experiences so far) here in Central Portugal are rooted in the history of the Carnation Revolution April 25th, 1974) which is still in the living memory of many people. Despite the pressures towards 'modernisation' there is also a palpable resistance against authority, bureaucracy, and arbitrary legal measures.
I think in the cities the 'modernisation' is advancing faster (especially with anything related to raising prices). Where we live, people still get their cafezinho for under 1 €, or a 3-course set lunch (prato de dia) for sometimes as low as 7 € (including drinks).
Everything is slow, in part because nobody likes to be told what to do... we won't disagree with that!!
But right now, in the fire season, the quick reactions of the bombeiros is also impressive as they quench one bushfire after the other 🔥
This feels like the biggest threat, while also tying people together in their defence against greater forces. Life in the slow lane is a choice (the Portuguese are signalling through their actions) Why rush through life if you don't have to? I believe that's such a fundamental feature of the Mediterranean temperament, which won't be snuffed out in a hurry... going with the tides and rhythms of the seasons 🌊 🐚 💫 🐝
I am ashamed to admit I know little of the details of the Carnation Revolution, only that it was the end of colonial wars, but it it is good to hear that, at least in the rural parts of Portugal, there are still those that resist modernisation. Long many it last!
Here too there are many bush fires breaking out, I feel like I am on constant watch! So far all have been small and quickly and efficiently contained but I wish they weren't quite so close to home. I am always amazed by how quickly these small rural communities are capable (and willing) of pulling together in the face of danger - this is why we are here. In England, moral, physical and emotional support are notcpibly absent, in Ireland they were there, then greed and desire for bigger and better smothered all the old ways.
"Why rush through life if you don't have to?" The logic in these few words touches my own in so many ways, but, though I try hard to live by them, try hard to say to myself, 'stop, there's always tomorrow and the next day and the next...' I am always rushing, it has become habit hard to break.
Today however, I am forced by this horrendous and extreme heat to halt everything, to remain seated in a cool, quiet place and forget the chores, the unfinished projects, the wilting garden and just be.
And, I am surprised by just how pleasant it is... I could learn something! 💛🌻xx
nothing to be ashamed about! I only learned about the Carnation Revolution while learning Portuguese in the year before we planned to move here. It's a wonderful story, and it made us fall deeper in love with this country and her people... There is a film about the story called 'Capitães de Abril' (April Captains) hailed as 'one of the most beautiful chapters of World history of the XX century'.
Meanwhile we are firewatching under a grey yellow sky, ashes raining down on us, thanking the heavens for the bombeiros and keeping busy with unfinished projects. Keep cool and safe xxx
Susie, I so love Samantha Harvey's _Orbital_ that I posted this fan letter on the Auraist site here, hoping she might see it"Dear Samatha, I have been wanting to write you a fan letter ever since I read _Orbital_, and now I hope that this Substack is the best way to get the message to you. The novel is lyrical prose that shows how much you read and admire the poetic style that I so hold dear. When I read your novel, I felt as if I had Carl Sagan's "blue dot" on the page: the photographic quality, the vulnerability of the astronauts and all you accomplished about seeing Earth from afar astonished! Kudos from heart to yours."
What a vacation with your daughter--what a gorgeous essay here!
I love that you enjoyed this book as much as I did Mary, I even think I remember reading your fan letter, indeed would likely have written something similar had I read 'Orbital' at the time. The book is remarkable, astonishing, even now weeks after finishing it I am returning to passages just to remind me of S Harvey's magical prose. I am speechless at the hours and hours of research she must have undergone to have produced a novel so precise and exquisite in its details. I doubt I could have chosen a more calming work of art to gaze upon during the minutes of that flight to Porto - I felt no fear, only an almost, blissful oblivion.
Thank you always for your heart comments, for reading so generously my humble words, those few days with my daughter were amongst some of the most precious I have spent, I hope that perhaps they will be the first of many. xx
What a glorious gift you give us with your writing. Thank you for taking us along, introducing us to Rosie and sharing your divine gathering with dear ones.
The writing of your journey is particularly dear as I gave up flight in the walk of Hurricane Helene. It was not a noble gesture rather an apology to Earth for the many miles I spent above her in my corporate life. (I may have to make an exception if I move to Villandraut but for now I can’t imagine leaving my mountain.) Talk soon. xx
Katharine, I am not surprised to read of your noble gesture. My fear of flying is not wholly due to disliking leaving solidity, I too have knocked up too many air miles in my life, I too promised this beautiful planet a more empathetic existence on arriving here on my hill. And I have, in twenty years I have left by plane just three times, twice to visit friends with their time diminished to just weeks by cancer and once to Porto with my daughter. I am not perfect but I have tried hard not to add unnecessarily to my already deep carbon footprints.
I looked up Villandraut, I think I said, it is but a few hours from here, close enough to drive! Though I understand any reluctance to leave a place that has become loved, I could no more leave this hill than sever my own hands, we become attached to the land we live on don't we? We love it as if it were part of our own skin and bone... good grief yes, I understand!
My guests have left, my daughter and her best friend have left too, my son is away by the coast with his girlfriend and I have a forced quiet week due a heatwave that is pinning me to my desk, this is a good week to talk! I will spend the rest of today catching up here on Substack and message you later to organise when! I am excited! xx
Susie,
My gesture was truly not noble. In my corporate days, I was in the air at least four days a week. Had I had a clue that I was inflicting extensive damage to the planet, I hope I would have left that world earlier than I did. Yours is the noble gesture. We all must travel sometimes; you have found a fair balance.
I am so drawn back to Villandraut. I think my night dreams take me there.
Talk soon. I am excited, too. xx
We have all made mistakes through necessity and are all learning every day, it's the acting on our findings that counts!
See you later xx