Saturday's Especial Program

Torre de Belém, Lisboa

Yesterday was really a especial day!
First of all I ended up going to bed late as hell, though I knew quite well I had to be ready at around 11:00 a.m. for Saturday's especial program I'd worked out with a friend.

We headed first to the Modern Arts Centre (CAM) of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation (FCG), one of the lovliest spots in Lisbon, where you can start by strolling through a marvelous park. That's what we did. High temperature - 30ºC - and not even a light breeze to help us. So we decided to get into the CAM and have an early, summer lunch: nothing cooked and no alcohol; just an «enriched salad» and water, glasses of it... It all tasted divine. Afraid as I was I might fall asleep where I shouldn't at all, I had a large cup of coffee just the way I like it: so black my lips turn brown for a while...

Afternoon's first stop - An exhibition of a few paintings by JOÃO QUEIROZ at CAM.
Large canvas not depicting landscapes, but where you can easily recognize large horizons. Definitely works of a guy who knows perfectly what he's been doing for some decades now.
Yes, I did enjoy it and wouldn't mind at all to bring one of them home with me...

Afternoon's second stop - The exhibition of the day: the Portuguese DOMINGUEZ ALVAREZ of Galician ascend (1906-1942) in the nearby building of FCG. Almost 200 works of a man who died young of tb. Curiously enough (or not) his colours get darker and darker as he approaches the end. Different styles, from naïf small paintings to rigorous, minucious pencil drawings.
As I knew so little of his work, it was a wonderful chance to go through his short career. Moreover, as my friend is a professional of the same area - painter and teacher - I could ask away about what I felt like to. So I felt like a fish in the water...

Afternoon's third stop - Let's go to the movies! Yes, good idea! It's cool inside, the room is almost empty (each and every crazy went to the beach), and we'll watch something worth while in a real movie theatre, not in some crowded mall.
Six short movies by six different directors (among them Spike Lee, Jordan & Ridley Scott, Emir Kosturica, John Woo) under the common title of «All The Invisible Children». If you're not ready to see children suffereing and becoming adults all of the sudden because life says so, then save it for a better opportunity...
Yes, it was important for me to watch it, though I cannot say I've enjoyed it.

By the time we left the movie theatre it was high time to drink something really refreshing before driving back home. We sat nearby the Tower of Belém (yes, there's a picture today, I didn't forget this time) for a while, had our drinks by the river, and then headed home.
I still had something rather boring to do - going to the supermarket... Gosh, how I dislike it!

I'm a bit tired now, but feel quite rewarded. Small things count the most.
I wish you all guys a similar rewarding prize this weekend! Go for it!