Yellow is not a blue colour

There's no limit to the colours and patterns of painted tiles, azulejos. Azul means blue, and originally most tiles were blue and white, blue colour being the cheapest.

Some tiles look 3D, some are that. Sometimes it's difficult to know which is which. The eye is easily fooled!

Yellow tiles in intense sunlight are full of energy, joy, heat, calor. There's  nothing blue or sad about them. Yellow is not a blue colour.

Top: Faro, 2012

Middle: Malta, Vila do Conde, 2012

Bottom: Vila do Conde, 2013

The Good End (part 2)

Last week I shared with you some B&W photos of Bonfim in Porto. Being a city in Northern Portugal, Porto is far from black and white. It is all colour, if somewhat faded. That's what I love the most about Portuguese cities and villages; the colours - strong, live (viva), faded, peeled, fresh, luscious, of all shades and for all tastes. Bonfim is the perfect example of a traditional Northern town. When you close your eyes to the more modern buildings, that is. Personally, I prefer to see the beauty and forget the rest.



























All photos Bonfim, Porto, 2015

The Good End (part 1)

What do you see in the pictures? Derelict houses that should be demolished? Potential reconstruction projects? Memory of the good old days long gone?

The Bonfim ("good end") quarters in Porto do not have the best of reputations. Yet. Some of the historical houses have been renovated, beautifully, respecting the traditional beauty of the buildings. The rest are waiting for their turn. I happened to go there by chance, and found a piece of Porto that was all new to me. Sometimes the best things happen by chance. Actually, most times.

This time photos in B&W out of respect for the historical buildings. Next time: colours.