Our recent travels to the British Isles began (aside from a very brief stopover in London) with a lengthy visit to Skye and the northwest of Scotland. After that first adventure we returned to Inverness and took a train to Aberdeen for a few days. After more than a week in the wild open spaces of northwest Scotland, returning to this urban setting was quite a contrast!
Continue reading Netherkirkgate
Every city has a unique character — though my perceptions can be affected by which parts of a city I visit, what I do there, and even the season. When we spent a few days in Liverpool recently, it was almost always gray and often wet, and our lodgings were in a section of the city that is vibrant and alive, though with some rough edges.
Continue reading Posters, LIverpool
This is a little street scene in Lisbon’s Alfama neighborhood. The area rises from the river’s edge toward the hill of the St. George Castle. This was the original center of Lisbon before it expanded, and it later was the home of less wealthy citizens of the city. Its age (it escaped destruction in the 18th-century earthquake that destroyed much of Lisbon ) means that the area retains the original narrow and twisting streets.
Continue reading Largo do Peneireiro
I love little off-kilter scenes like this one. In the center are two tile illustrations of the fado music tradition of Portugal. (The tiles were seen in an earlier post on this website.) They are aligned to perfect verticals and horizontals. But everything else tilts — the bench on the cobbled sidewalk, the pipe that frames the image, the wiring attached to the walls. A door at the left, barely intruding into the frame, is the only other thing that lines up.
Continue reading Bench, Wall With Fado Tiles