Saudade

One of the most beautiful words in the entire world and it has no English equivalent.

The meaning of this word is deeply connected with the Portuguese culture and soul. Fado and Saudade are intertwined ideas in Portuguese culture and the songs are generally filled with nostalgia, longing, love in all forms or short stories of the life in different city quarters. The Latin word fatum meaning fate or destiny but the explanation for the Portuguese word is much more complicated. A constant feeling of absence, the sadness of something that is missing. A deep emotional state of nostalgia or profound melancholic longing for an absent something or someone that one cares for and/or loves. It often carries a repressed knowledge that the object of longing might never be had again, a recollection of feelings and experiences, places or events which now trigger the senses and makes one feel the pain of separation from those things. It is both happy and sad at the same time. 

Fado. 

Fado gives Saudade a voice. 

If you have never experienced Fado in its truest live form you have missed out on something special. My love affair with Fado started many years ago with a Fadista called Mariza. I am lucky enough to be in Lisbon now, during the celebrations of one hundred years since Amália Rodrigues 'Rainha do Fado", the Queen of Fado, was born. 

There are places all over Lisbon you can experience Fado but Alfama is the place of its history and birth. Little taverns, restaurants, cafes and bars where men and women pour their hearts and souls into the history and stories of Lisbon and the Portuguese people. It came very close to dying out in our modern world and so first with Amália who shared it with the world and then just as it was thought to be an older persons tradition, along came Mariza.

 

Young and hip with her out of this world voice, she brought Fado back to life for the younger generation and has given this tradition new life in an incredible way. 

I sit with friends in a little restaurant in Alfama

Coraçao de Alfama (the Heart of Alfama), where the singers wander in and out, singing a song or two or three before moving on to the next place in true traditional style. 

I don't understand all the words but regardless, the music, the voices, move me in an indescribable way that brings me joy, yet on the verge of tears all at the same time. 

From an older lady in a traditional long dress and the Fado shawl, to a young woman dressed in jeans, a leather jacket and motorcycle boots, the unexpected voice of the girl that works behind the bar, the young 20 something guy in jeans and sneakers

the middle aged man in jeans and a puffy winter coat to the elderly gentleman full of grace and old world style. Each with a unique and beautiful voice, with the ability to bring you from tears to joy to sadness and back again, it will never make complete sense until you experience the uniqueness of this part of Portuguese culture. 

As we left our cozy little Fado house into the night, following the sound of Fado down the street towards the main stage of the Santa Casa Alfama Fado festival we were greeted with an awe inspiring and incredibly sad sight. 

Saudade at it's finest. This song, just listen. 

A Gente Minha Terra - Mariza 

Mariza, the Princess of Fado, on stage singing her heart out, with a small crowd of physically distanced people inside and a few die hard Fado fans (like ourselves) standing on the side of the street dancing, singing and living that moment. 

The saudade being that this beautiful festival, celebrating 100 years of one amazing Fadista, who has given rise to this next talented generation, should have been attended by thousands of people inside and outside the venue soaking up the culture and true genius of these people and their music. 

Saudade. 

Saudade - Amália Rodrigues

If you ever have the opportunity to experience this, don't let it pass you by.

Stop! Hey what's that sound....trying to stay ahead of a lockdown...

Yup, that's been my life for the last 32 days, lock down aka two weeks of quarantine peering over my shoulder and nipping at my heels.  Don't get me wrong, I had an AMAZING holiday, I fell in love with Italy, visited a brand new never been before country, Croatia, and spent some time in a place I already love, Bratislava.

It was a pretty epic journey at the best of times, oh wait, this was the best of times, I fully believe the next time I get to visit Rome or Florence they will be once again filled with admiring tourists from all over the world.  Some may call me crazy, I like to think of it as hopeful mixed with a huge dash of just knowing that all those people out there who love to travel as much as I do, will, as soon as they have the opportunity.  You might be asking yourselves why anyone would want to put themselves in that kind of 'danger' and I will ask you which danger?!  When I think of all the places I have traveled in the past few years and I think of all of the 'dangers' that I could have encountered.  

I could have been robbed or thrown in jail overnight that time I slept on the train station floor in Berlin.  How about malaria, rabies or the sleeping disease when I was in Africa?  That flight from Frankfurt to Calgary where I could have sworn I was going to fall out of the sky with 6 hours of the worst turbulence I have ever experienced on an 8 hour flight.  Or that time I found myself in the main bus terminal in Charlotte, NC at 3am with very little money, no address and only the phone number of a friend who was supposed to pick me up, didn't and wasn't answering his phone. I'm not going to lie, the crowd in there was rough and I was the only female and there was a police officer who rushed me out of there and drove me to a motel. Once before I spoke any Czech I had a what turned out to be a kidney stone but unable to communicate that was just bent over screaming and crying in pain, thank god my boyfriend at the time understood enough English for the word hospital.  There are many more scenarios I could share but I'll leave it with this one, the one where I take the chance to get hit by a car walking across the street anywhere in the world, a car accident, a plane crash, a robbery gone wrong in the local Tesco or Walmart.  I could look at life as death waiting for me, everywhere I go but oh man,  I would rather live life to the fullest and know that when it is my time, I hope I don't see it coming.

So facing the fear and taking the necessary precautions, I am so happy that I went out into the world. I am now spoiled having been to all of these beautiful places with minimal tourists.  

Rome

Pompeii

Florence

San Gimignano

Cinque Terre

Venice

Burano

Trieste

Crikvenica

Split

Dubrovnik

 and finally, Bratislava

Along my way this past month I caught up with friends, made a few new ones, did my best to support the guide/tourism economy by doing as many tours as I could and just enjoying myself in these places. Speaking of near death I'll have to remember to tell you about my almost ocean kayaking incident in Dubrovnik, which could lead to that time I almost died sea kayaking in the Broken Islands in British Columbia a few years ago. Oops digressing again 😉

I still did my yoga almost every morning, wandered/toured, ate delicious food, did some more wandering/touring and just tried to soak up as much of these places as I could.  The best part was catching up with friends, who also thought I was a little crazy but not for the reason you are thinking. There is a reason rational people who live in those places tell you not to visit in July and August, of course that is normally to do with the massive amount of people, but also the heat. 

Smart friends take their crazy traveling friends to pools when they visit in Florence and its 38 degrees Celsius 💕

I can't even begin to imagine what this trip would have been like with both of those things together.  I discovered that my new favorite thing is loose fitting linen dresses. The only thing that hides the fact, or partially hides the fact, that the instant you step outside it is like being in a shower, water running down your back, dripping off your fingertips, my neck was sweating, my neck!  Bet you enjoyed that pretty mental picture didn't you :).  

Enjoy this beautiful sunset to make it better! 

So I find myself back in Prague, 

without a real plan, for an entire month! It's been a long time since I gave Prague this much undivided attention (although so far I've mostly given the inside of my apartment my undivided attention).  I'm planning to see friends, spend time with them, visit my family, take a couple little trips within the country and figure out where I go from here. Although that will only be a vague plan as you can't really plan anything in advance these days, hence the title of this blog.

My journey to get here was pretty fly by the seat of my pants, things change over here daily with case numbers, borders stay open but rules, restrictions, quarantine requirements change sometimes on a daily, if you're lucky, weekly basis.  

I booked my flight to Rome 3 days before I flew, my accommodation after I booked the flights, I booked Florence at the same time but made sure my booking for Venice could be cancelled if I had to change my plans before I got there.  Train tickets I bought at the station a few minutes before it left.  On a side note, high speed trains, are the BEST! 

I booked my bus ticket to Croatia 2 days before I left. Buses in Croatia, or really anywhere if they aren't a Tauck coach, are not the best way to travel....but we will save that story for when I tell you about my Croatia travels.

Split accommodation and bus I booked just before I left. Honestly, I didn't even know until I got there that I was even going to go further south. Dubrovnik and my flight the day I left for Split.  

When I flew to Vienna (which was completely full btw) to catch the bus to Bratislava I found out that as of midnight the next night anyone coming from Croatia to Austria would have to quarantine unless they were literally just passing through. Since then it has been extended to the Czech Republic and a few other places.  

I'm about to have a lot of time for more in-depth blogs about my actual travels and experiences from the last month, just don't ask where I'm going next. 

Always trying to stay one step ahead of quarantine, so watch this space for more fun on the run and what a person with no actual fixed place to live does during a global pandemic.

Rome. Need I say more? 😍

Wow. Just wow. I wish that I could infuse my words and pictures with the feeling of complete and utter awe I felt being surrounded by and literally standing in a place of so much history.

I stood, walked, in the same places, on the same ground as Nero, Julius Ceaser, Constantine, Michelangelo, Raphael, Bernini just to name a small handful.

The Pantheon....Two freaking THOUSAND years it has been standing in that spot. Think of all the people you read about in history, famous or not, who have stood inside and outside of that building. 

The Trevi Fountain, still working with water running from a Roman aqueduct built in 19BC, the aqueduct not the fountain. 19BC. Just think about that, that water is still drinkable to this day.

Water fountains are everywhere in Rome, all the water in Rome comes from 3 of the remaining aqueducts from the original 11 in the city. 

I miss these water fountains which could be found all over the city to refill my water bottle. 

They built the first highway in the world, the phrase all roads lead to Rome exists for a very good reason. And although the part I'm standing on under the first original city gate is not the original paving stones, move over about 3 feet to my left and the original stones are still there!

My first glimpse of the Colosseum was unexpected and in the distance, I wasn't actually looking for it. 

I stopped dead and just smiled, I mean, there it was, history smacking me in the face. The tour I took a couple days later brought the Forum and the Colosseum to life. It took 8 years to build, only eight years, ok, they had a few thousand slaves working on it but that's still a short time for something so huge and ornate. Or at least what it was before the popes and everyone else recycled all the marble and statues for other things. 

A lot of it was used in St Peter's Basilica, where you unknowingly get to walk amongst the ghost of the Colesseum.... 

Visiting Rome now, spoiled me forever! No crowds, no lines! I popped into the Pantheon every day, just because I could! I had my own guide for the Vatican museum and shared the Sistine Chapel with maybe 50 other people. No, I didn't take any sneaky pictures, that is a mind memory, sneaky pictures would have never done that ceiling and Michelangelo's work justice. 

Michelangelo's Pieta is very photogenic (although this is the copy in the museum as I could get closer to it) 

Rome was surprisingly walkable, the people were friendly, the food was delicious, oh my god, the pasta. I tried all three of the typical types of the area.

Cacio e pepe is with pecorino cheese and black pepper, Carbonara add an egg and bacon, skip the egg and add spicy tomato sauce and pig cheeks for Amaratriciana. Yummy! Cacio e pepe was my favourite, then Amaratriciana.

I did a really cool scooter tour on my last evening in Rome and she took me to a place that had over 60 artisan gelato flavours that were ALL dairy free! What a treat 😋 I had a scoop of ricotta with grand marnier and orange peel and a scoop of strawberry cream, recommended combo by the gelato maker and turned out to be the perfect combo! Who knew.

I was sad to leave Rome, even now, almost two weeks later, I'm wondering how I can work it into my plan to go back, even for a day, before I head back towards Central Europe. 

In the midst of magical adventure appears the tiny grump

Funny how even in the middle of my 'picture perfect' holiday, Grumpy Daisy came out to play. 

Where did these people come from, why are they walking so slow and why do they have to take up the entire path?! I admit, I was also hangry which never helps but I do have to laugh at myself, I mean, what would I have done if there was the normal amount of tourists here? Or any tourists, really!! 

I have been so lucky on this tour of Italy. At the same time as I love the lack of lines, being able to see the sights with a handful of others, eating when and where I want, no waiting, no pre-buying tickets for sights or trains. It also makes me sad, so many hotels, restaurants and shops unable to open, either from lack of people traveling not making it viable or lack of money to actually do so. So many people out of work, losing jobs, businesses and, worst of all, dreams. Knowing that this is only the beginning of an inevitable recession, as I mourn for those that struggle now it makes me think a little too hard about my own future.

Travelers are out here, I hear them as I go about my day, French, German, Italian, Czech, British and Scandinavians. Individual travelers, a lot of solo women, couples, some families with kids and a few adventurous guys. Smiling at each other as we pass, or move out of each others way to take that precious photo with no one else in it, as if we belong to a special club....which I guess we do.

Some would call us reckless, some adventurous, some crazy but I think we do it because we love it. 

We understand that even in hard times, even amidst fear and uncertainty, the need to live and find joy still exists. We are giving hope to ourselves, to each other and to those who wonder if anyone will come to see what they have to offer ever again.

My trip has been very distinctively three tours in one. Rome I was all out sightseeing, I loved the history that was embedded in every inch of that city. Florence is such a lady in comparison, full of style and grace, this time there was about touching base with friends and relaxing. Venice, what a surprise, what I was expecting and yet more charming and mysterious.

I thought this blog would follow more of a format and my actual travels but apparently it, as I, is at the mercy of whatever whimsy my brain decides to follow. Welcome to my world 😂

Is this the hill you choose to die on? *mini rant warning*

Well I'm here, learning a lesson, which is to make sure you save your blog after you spent an hour working on it.....this is actually my third attempt as I wrote the first draft yesterday sitting in the shade in Monterosso in the Cinque Terre contemplating life and the view.

I scrapped the first one as it bored me to tears, writing it and reading it this morning! The second one I lost looking for a picture 🙄 now you get a ranty one 😂

As I post all these beautiful pictures and maskless selfies traveling around Europe (I ditch it for a photo, yes, but I put it right back on) I realised that as touchy a subject as it is for some I can't talk about my travel experiences right now without touching on the 'great mask debate'. 

It reminds me of the 70`s when wearing seat belts became mandatory. 

So today is an informative blog, I honestly don't want to discuss whether it is right or wrong and opinions can be saved for some more important occasion. Although I guess I make mine pretty clear 😂

Yes they are weird and uncomfortable, especially in 40 degrees (as a glasses wearing gal -40 with a mask can suck as well) but if it is required by law, especially in a country that is not my own, you better believe I'm wearing one when required.

Here in Europe they have become a bit of a fashion statement, color/style, and even how you wear them when they aren't required! 

I once had a friend ask me how far I was willing to go on something that I found extremely unfair and upsetting. She asked me if this was the hill I was prepared to die on. Figuratively, of course. 

The hill you want to die on describes something so important to you that you are willing to fight to the death to accomplish it. Often used when describing something that will make or break one's reputation, or result in either glory or ignominy.

For me this is not that hill. I might consider the one below! 

Arriving in the Czech Republic at the beginning of July, the normality was both a relief and uncomfortable.  I like to think I'm pretty open minded but so much fear and death in the last little while has made normal feel strange.

Here is a better explanation of what the Czech Republic did to get where they are right now. Please note I'm not onboard with bashing other countries but the explanation of how the Czechs dealt with this particular situation. 

What the Czechs did...  Click this link! 

Friends told me how in the beginning they hated to go out, how strange and uncomfortable it was to have your face covered, even on an empty street. How quickly it felt normal, in the Czech Republic material was donated, help your neighbours was encouraged, millions of masks were made and given for free to the public. 

Then when under control, it was no longer mandatory outside, only inside and for now only mandatory in metros and medical facilities, encouraged in taxis and other public transport. 

My friends told me how they continued to wear them all the time because it felt wrong not wearing them and gradually became comfortable only wearing them when required or in large crowds. 

On planes they are mandatory, some airports mandatory and some requested, make sure you find out for each place you go.

So how do you eat? Well, I usually prefer with my mouth but whatever floats your boat 😉

Of course you can take it off to eat and drink but then you are kindly asked to put it back on when you are done. At the moment restaurants in the Czech Republic don't require masks but they did. In Italy they are mandatory indoors, no exception, in some places outdoors, so know before you go!

Restaurants in Italy you wear them whenever you are moving, entering and exiting, going to the bathroom but not once you are sitting at your table (inside or out).

You don't like? You want to make a fuss? Remember that staff member behind that mask they have to wear all day didn't make the rules, do you really need to to make their day worse by taking your frustration out on them?

I work with the public, well, not at the moment but let me tell you, asking people to follow rules is awkward, uncomfortable and just damn hard. Under current circumstances even more so, save your belligerence for the lawmaker if you want to be a law breaker. Kindness, compassion and sensitivity should be automatic. You don't know the waiter, the flight attendant, the museum guard, the tour guide, the police officer.... 

You don't know how this has affected them, their life, job, family, loved ones. It isn't our job to make sure what we might not like, makes their day one that has them sitting at home in tears after their day is done.

Put yourself in their shoes and treat others with the kindness and respect that you would expect yourself.

I personally don't care if you wear a mask or not, I care that you be kind and respectful no matter your stance.  Alright rant over....because this took me so long that I had to finish it here.....and now I'm off to enjoy that pool!