Fridays

With the beautiful, sunny weather, it has been easy to get out and about, explore a bit, and see things literally in a new light.  

Fridays take us to town early because we begin with language class first thing in the morning.  It has become one of our favorite days because it is the great day of Friday or sexta-feira, we take a day off from homeschool, and it is our day for new adventures.  This past Friday was no exception.

We began with language school.....

 

....and then hit the market.

The market felt especially hectic, almost as if the sun had brought new and abundant produce. There is really no way to describe how enchanting it looks and feels to walk within this space.  I have tried to take a few photographs from the second floor because that view is the closest thing to sharing with you the way if feels to me to walk around in the middle of it all. There are flowers, baskets, goods, crafts, fruits and vegetables, fish, and so many colors.  

 

 

It is not uncommon for a vendor to offer you a taste of a fruit or a vegetable to get your attention.  Zelle, Bishop, and I were particularly fond of a fruit that was new to us.  It looks a little like a cross between a small tomato and a pomegranate.  I am still trying to find the exact name.  I will let you know when I do.  The way you eat them is to cut them in half, mix the insides with a teaspoon of sugar, and slurp it all out of the "shells."  At least, that's the way we ate them at the market and that is the way we continued to eat them at home. I am certain there is a more civilized way to do such. 

  

Outside the market, there are more and more and more flowers.  

One can easily create a small arrangement such as this one.

After we had lingered long enough, we headed down to the water, Bishop's most favorite spot, to see if we could spot any neat ships, 

play a bit on the rock walls in the park, 

and walk to a great looking fort that caught our eye on our trip to Monte.  

It is Fortaleza Sao Tiago or Fort St. James, and much to Zelle's delight, it houses Madeira's Contemporary Art Museum.  We immediately loved the contrast of such an old structure being the home of such new art.  

The exhibit that we enjoyed was one that focused on the theme of eggs, chickens, egg crates, egg shells, egg cartons...you get the idea. It was one of the most interesting installations I have ever seen.  

One thing that we loved was a room where the floor was covered in crushed eggshells.  We had to wear protective "booties," and it was a fun feeling to walk on that floor.  As you can imagine, it made a terrific sound.  Zelle wondered if the artist began with only partly crushed eggshells and allowed this work of art to evolve over days of being stepped upon, or if the artist got to do all of that fun crushing. 

 

One aspect of this exhibit that I was quite thrilled for Bishop and for Zelle to see was the way the artist chose to display the many drawings and plans leading up to each final piece.  They didn't just happen the day before the exhibit was to be installed...or the day before the paper was due or the night before one's recital or the five minutes before room inspection...etc.

Okay, and I could not capture this in a photo very well, but this huge wall of drawings on sticky notes was once a book of sticky notes that made a flip book where the pictures appear to be moving when you flip them fast enough. You know...the ones that many of my former students have made with the sticky notes that they were supposed to use for asking questions while reading...I know you know.  Anyway, the box of light in the second picture is a little movie of the flip book that the sticky notes once made.  Very cool.  Perhaps I shouldn't have confiscated them all, kids.  Sorry.

On our way home, we trotted through our favorite park and saw, yes, another poised canine.  

Then, when the day was just about over, and we thought we couldn't view another delightful sight.....we saw one of my most favorite cars ever....in RED of all things.  So great looking isn't it?  I wonder if  Mr. Pye could find one of these for me back home?

Well, I'll end here. It's late, and I'm sure you've had enough.  Here's to Fridays. Boa noite.