isobelmtl

Writing under a Montreal sky

Author: isobel cunningham

  • Today I went to the Anglican Church. It is Pascha for me and it was wonderful to meet a nice sympatico priest who actually greeted me “Christ is Risen”There was a good organ and choir and since it is the only St James Church in Porto, here is a picture of a rather stern patron.…

  • I had a few places I wanted to see and so decided to go downtown to tick a few boxes. I’ll be leaving on Monday next so I need to hurry up. Porto, besides being an ancient town built on the steep banks of a river is also in the throes of Metro construction. The…

  • I finally got to go on my river cruise yesterday in bright sunshine and with thinned out crowds. The views from the boat were lovely but for me the calm feeling of being on the water and off the street was the most enjoyable part of it. I have decided I am not a city…

  • This is the neighbor‘s rose but it climbs the fence to get over here into our yard. You can see from the buds that we’ve only just started. Due to scheduling I spent time at home again. I am also waiting for the Easter crowds to disperse. I have hopes that tomorrow, being forecast as…

  • Came the fateful day when I was required to cook for the whole company. And somehow I managed! Cauliflower and potatoes in onion and tomato sauce for the vegetarians and pasta with meat sauce for the carnivores … and vegetable sauce for the others. Salad of course, and broccetta… is that it…. bread toasted with…

  • I had great ambitions. A walking tour of the old town. A boat ride. All started well. It was a hot day but I was well prepared with light hiking pants, my trusty hat, my Google maps, water and sunscreen. I took the metro to the old town ( I’m an expert now) and, because…

  • Tomorrow I will take a walking tour of Porto and possibly a boat tour also. So, I stayed around “ home” today. After a magnificent lunch ( again!) cooked by Francesca I retired to the hammock, slung in a shady spot in the middle of the yard. I fell asleep for a few moments and…

  • This was taken as I rested in a park on my way to the cathedral yesterday. Google Maps had assured me it would take seven minutes to get there but it turned out they meant by metro. it was a very hot day and I had taken advantage of the afternoon off to explore a…

  • At ten o’clock the pilgrims should all be out walking and the team starts cleaning. All beds and pillows must be cleaned and all floors be mopped . It’s quite a big Alberge so it took us about an hour and a half to clean the whole place. Toilets and showers got special attention. At…

  • I got here! There was a train strike so I took a taxi to some unknown bus station. I had managed to buy a ticket online and all went well boarding and travelling up to Porto. I decided to take the metro and figure out how to get to the albergue spite of a very…