We simply loved Portugal. It turned out to be the perfect venue for our 50th Wedding Anniversary vacation because it was new for all of us, but had the elements of the things we love about travel; the food, the people, the culture, the history, and the joyful serendipity of the unexpected.
As the music with this video will reflect, it is a country of contrasts, from the endless expanses of limestone mosaic paving called calçada portuguesa to the noisy trolley's clatter and from the ubiquitous cod to the discovery of char-broiled octopus. Portugal surprises the eye, the ear, and the palate.
I will never forget the landscape, the cork, the tile, the blended wines and of course, Évora's Chapel of Bones. This shocking space constructed from over 30,000 human bones is about life, not death. "Why seek ye the living among the dead?" Luke 24:5-7.
As Hayden and I celebrate 50 years together with both a daughter and son-in-law on the journey and a daughter and fiance just beginning the trip, the words of the poet Fr. António da Ascenção Teles displayed in this unique chapel are prescient.
"Where are you going in such a hurry traveler? The longer you pause the further on your journey you will be"
We are blessed to have the time to pause, to contemplate, to understand the world and each other.
Kommentare