patrícia furtado

Last week, as I was heading to Barcamp08, I had the chance to take some snapshots of beautiful Coimbra. And it was indeed by chance, as the event’s venue was in the modern but remote Polo II, well removed from the city centre. Head in the clouds as always, I failed to check google maps before I left home, and made my way up the hill to the old University buildings instead.

Downtown Coimbra was teeming with strollers and shoppers, silently inviting me to slow down and enjoy the sun that was finally coming through the dissipating clouds. I did have some time to spare before the meetings, so why rush?

It wasn’t until I reached the summit of that very steep climb over irregular stone pavement, and dragged myself around the impressive university buildings in a wild goose chase, that I realised the department I was looking for was miles away.

My high-heeled feet weren’t too happy to find that I needed to walk all the way back down to my starting point and catch a taxi. But inn the end, the touristing around such beautiful surroundings, with my camera in hand, was worth the pain and made my weekend away just a bit nicer and richer.

Praia da Areia Branca, Portugal.

Banned as I am from sunbathing this year, this is probably as close to the beach as I’m going to get. As it happened, there were pretty big clouds over the sky, so I could keep my jealousy of the sun-basking- holiday-makers in check, and use up my time taking photos of the dull grey misty skies.

But it’s funny how Photoshop works. You just have to pull a few sliders to cool the temperature, up the contrast and the saturation, lower the exposure, and you end up seeing things that were hidden to your eyes.

Spotting Sunday and Cookie cuddling together like this, I had no choice but to reach for the camera.

In case you’re wondering, Sunday, the mom, is the one on the right.

I can’t help but to have mixed feelings for Venice. Much like a theme park, it’s ridden with loud American tourists, the food is not so great but very overpriced, as are the gondola rides, and you can’t find any decent ice-cream. Also, it literally reeks of old and decay, it feels like it all could crumble down at any moment, and you’re likely feel seasick by the end of the day.

However, the beauty and charm of this living ruin tend to make you forget all that, once you step out of the touristic bustle of the Grand Canal and the Rialto Bridge and get lost into the small and almost deserted alleyways and canals, where you can be surprised by picturesque views and architectural gems every corner you turn. Venice is such a cliché, it can even turn you into a romantic person while you’re there. No worries, it wears off…

Here we are again, another August spent in Lisbon.

Eight years ago, however, someone thought it would be a good idea to have a holiday in Italy in the hottest of months. And four more agreed. Crazy or not, the five of us landed in Rome and slowly made our way up to Milan, swimming through a crowd of tourists and pilgrims (yes, it was 2000, the year of the jubilee), stopping in Sienna, Firenze, Bologna, Venice, Verona and Lake Como.

I bumped into these photos yesterday, while tidying up the office, and got a bit nostalgic of this awesome holiday with friends.

So I decided to scan them and post them here. Everywhere but Venice on #1. You can guess what will be on #2, can’t you?

- Cookie, I’m bored. Since Pat placed a net over the window, I can’t jump out. And it’s such a nice day outside!

- I know, Muff, I’m bored too.

-I have an idea, lets be artists! I want to do an art installation!

-Great idea, what do you have in mind?

-See that round Ikea paper lamp? That’s so uninteresting, everybody has one… I’m going to personalize it. If I go on that table, I can just reach it with a jump. See? Beautiful!

-Yeah! Let me have a go too! That’s so much fun! There, what do you think? One of a kind!

-Awesome! Think Pat will like it?

When you’re crossing the 25 de Abril bridge, driving into Lisbon, the National Pantheon, also called Sta. Engrácia’s Church, is one of the landmarks that stands out from the gorgeous cityscape.

Beautiful as it is from afar, on my ramblings a couple of weeks ago I found out it’s quite impressive from the inside too.