I couldn't sleep last night and at 3:30 this morning I took a stunningly beautiful photo of the sky, a deep sapphire blue brightening to turquoise at the horizon with thin strips of pink-orange cloud streaming away from the point where the sun would soon rise.
Then I went back to bed and read until a few minutes ago when I came down here, plugged in the camera and accidentally wiped the memory card.
Fuck!
So … No lovely photo of this morning's dawn.
Instead - as I've got the scanner out and I have nothing to write about - here are some touristy photos I took of Peña Palace in Sintra, Portugal with a startlingly deep blue sky.
These haven't been Photoshopped; all I had was a UV filter over the lens. It was just one of those days that you sometimes get up in the mountains in Portugal. An intense blue that I could stare up at for hours.
Peña Palace is without a shadow of a doubt the most bonkers building to come out of the architecturally unhinged nineteenth century. I love it.
Mad.
Mad.
Mad.
Mad.
And mad again.It reminds me of the way the Portuguese dress (and decorate their houses); a charming yet alarming collision of elegance and kitsch.
Apropos of nothing in particular, but I suppose because I'm feeling a little perkier than last week and thinking back to better days, here's "Better Days" to listen to (this album's been on pretty heavy rotation just lately).
18 comments:
What a mad, mad structure. What goes on there?
The tone of the song fits, but I would never have imagined you choosing this style, Dive?
Dive, I love it
I'll come back tonight and read this splendid post, but Bing left a comment in my posts for me to tell you that she DOES NOT play the oboe, but the french horn or something....
Like it matters....sheesh.
mad, crazy architecture, sugar, surely influenced by all the porto. xoxox
re tupac...cool sound. why the heavy rotation now? is the anniversary of his death or being used as some sort of political statement?
Robyn: it was a royal palace, which says a lot about the sanity of European royalty.
And what's wrong with Tupac? I love this album.
Prudence: Hee hee! Excellent!
Anonymous: I'm glad to hear it, but who on earth are you? That's gonna bug me all day.
Maria: I am somewhat relieved Bing doesn't play that impossible non-instrument. I still maintain that nobody has ever got a squeak out of one and that so-called oboe-ists are merely faking it.
Savannah: "Porto" Hee hee hee!
The heavy rotation is only in my house. It's one of those albums that helps lift me out of a downer, so I've been indulging.
xoxox
I thought Gaudi's work was odd (and love it for that reason). I think this is mad without quite as much charm.
I'll argue with anyone that rap done well is poetry. And Tupac reminds me of Sue & Lee. Thanks for posting it.
Gaudi is wonderful, Pea. I was so jealous when your mum swanned off to Barcelona that time! I've still not been.
This is just an unhinged Portuguese King building something mad to impress a girl. Hey ho.
If you still see Sue at all, please give her my love. She was great fun.
if i haven't said it already...if i weren't already married, i'd propose to you, sugar! ;-) xoxox
I love it when you say that, Savannah. It makes me grin for a week.
xoxox
Dive
Keep cool. Nevermind but:
Anonymous is...anonymous. Sorry.
And: OK,Gaudi is wonderful!
That looks like a Las Vegas casino on acid.
Actually, that architectur's quite tasteful for it to be a Las Vegas casino...
Very strange building but some nice pics of the deep blue sky ... you were not the only one wide awake in the wee small hours but holy moley, what time does the sun rise over there? Here in the midst of winter, one is a bit silly to get out of bed until at least 10.00am.
As for Tupac, I think I've seen his music before but rap was not something I would normally listen to. Is he dead? Was he muslim, with a name like that?
Anyway, I persevered and tried to listen to the lyrics which were plentiful and meaningful. The tune was quite listenable-to. :) for today - you're half way through the week and if you're good, you can have icecream on the weekend. xxx
Doh! "seen his music" should read "seen his face"
Love the crazy mad architecture! No one seems to have money to build wild buildings and palaces these days, so glad there are few around. Were there lots of tiles inside? When I think of Portugal I think I beautiful tiles.
Bummer you deleted that great sounding photo. I don't suggest repeated rising at 3:30 am to try to recreate it though.
Busy, busy buildings....
And I liked that song, it was very juicy.
Way too tasteful, Istvanski!
Mme: We're pretty far north so sunrise and sunset in midsummer make it daylight at 3:30 in the morning and 10 at night, which is great for partying but makes sleeping a real pain.
Tupac was shot dead in a drive-by in 1996. This is from an album of out-takes and left-overs that I really like. Yes, his lyrics were fantastic.
Ooh! Ice cream on the weekend! I'll make green tea ice cream with a touch of ginger. I like that.
Katie: Nobody had the money to build wild palaces back then, either, but they built them anyway and let the peasants rot. Hey ho.
Yes, there are the lovely Portuguese blue and white glazed tiles everywhere (azuleijos).
Maria: Juicy?
Daylight at 3.30 am is amazing. We have daylight at about 5.00 am in the summer. No wonder you are accustomed to rising at 4.30 am.
Mme, I will NEVER get accustomed to waking at 4:40. My body does it but my mind screams in anguish and despair.
Sigh …
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