The Andrea Bocelli concert was heavenly. We were concerned initially that his voice sounded a little rocky, but after a few numbers he was in perfect form. By the end, he had both of us in tears — we were overcome by the beauty.

We started our day with a visit to the Batalha Monastery. What an incredible building. The height of the vaulted ceilings was awe inspiring, as were the lovely windows and all of the carvings. Apparently this is one of the sites that get many local visitors. It also was the site of two weddings while we were there. I can’t imagine getting married in the middle of hundreds of tourists being wedding crashers.

It also was a really interesting day visiting Leiria. The streets were filled with students graduating that day, so much revelry and singing. They all were wearing their robes with dozens of patches that represented activities or events important to their education. What looked like their diplomas were edged with long, dangling ribbons. The tradition is that at the end of all the ceremonial activities, the ribbons are burned to signal the break between childhood and their ongoing education and life. By the end of the evening the students were all weaving their way through the old part of town in boozy celebration. Oh to be young again (or not)! I didn’t take any photos of the students (it felt too intrusive) but did get at least a few shots of the old part of town in Leiria.

It feels like we’ve been on a dead run since then. Our life is supposed to be relaxing, but we keep finding fun things to do on the weekends. This past weekend had us on a bus trip north to Porto. The town is the 2nd largest in Portugal, and was jam-packed with tourists. I know we will see some of that here as the summer wears on, but so far Caldas da Rainha is blissfully quiet and unhurried.

Porto is definitely an up and down city with long, steep hills. We did lots of walking, and actually did one of those bus city tours to get a feel for the town. The architecture and tiles were magnificent to see, but I certainly can’t imagine living there. It’s definitely a city for the young. Above all, it is a city fully under construction. Cranes everywhere, big holes in the ground, streets tied up, and a sort of exciting chaos that goes along with all of the building.

Being in Porto was only the beginning of our trip. We were there to leave on a wine-tasting tour/cruise. It turned out to be very little tasting and a cruise not worthy of writing home about. If I had to give it a grade, the tour got a C-. We did learn a few interesting facts about port, and the countryside was absolutely spectacular, so it wasn’t a total loss. I’m really glad we did this early in the season…not just for crowds, but it gets up to over 54 degrees C (130 degrees F), that I can’t even imagine. The hottest time is when they are doing the harvesting and grape stomping. Some of the wineries actually still do their port making by foot, as it were, and again, I can’t imagine even standing up in that kind of heat.

Probably the best thing about the tour was the group. You never know who will end up in your bus, but in this case we had 3 ladies from Hong Kong, and a couple from Kazakstan who are currently living in Dubai. All of them were very outgoing and willing to talk about themselves, so what an opportunity.

Meanwhile…

I’ve been knitting a bit more, trying to make headway on the bee socks. Heel and gusset done, and now just working down to the toe. As much as I like the colors, I don’t think they work as well as I’d hoped. The yellow has lots of brown flecks in it, and tends to recede into the background. I really like the heel in the contrasting color, and I think it will look even better when the toe is done the same way.

At the same time, I decided to stop torturing myself and have taken up some “frivolous knitting.” My definition of that is anything you don’t need, but is mindless and will work up quick. In this case, it’s an over-blouse thing (I don’t know what to call it). It will be two rectangles joined at the sides and shoulders to drop over a boring dress to give it some oomph. I’m making it out of two strands of crochet cotton, which because of all of the holes shouldn’t be too heavy. The pattern — such as it is — uses multiple yarn overs to make drop stitches between rows of garter. This is not a planned garment — it will be what it will be.

Always Too Late for Cilantro

Somehow despite my best laid plans, I end up needing to go to the farmers market on Saturdays. I know better — it’s jammed with people and hard to get around. Also, since I tend to dawdle, I’m always too late to get cilantro. Cilantro and flat-leaf parsley are used here in great quantities, and I need them both for gazpacho as well as some of the middle-eastern recipes I like. I’ve also gotten into tapas recently, and cilantro seems to figure large in them as well. The other bad thing about Saturdays is that I really can’t bring my trolley because of the crowds. Since I always buy much more than I had planned, this means a slow, heavy way home. Some of the things I didn’t plan on today were fresh figs, rosemary, and whatever this round thing is. It was sitting right between fruits and vegetables at one of the vendors, so who knows? I’m sort of hoping for a melon.

This upcoming week will bring us into a new phase — house hunting. We’re looking for an apartment with a view and a bit of outdoor space. Our agent has lined up 5 properties for us to look at…stay tuned.

In the meantime, stay calm and craft on. I do keep up a little on what’s going on in the US, but try to stay emotionally uninvolved. That said, my heart aches for those of you having to deal with the chaos on a daily basis. Stay well.