The colour of money.
A beautiful golden €200 note. http://instagr.am/p/jcsK/
Life, edited.
Dispatches from the iPhone of Blue Perez.
Baptista Mercado.
Baptista Mercado | A delightful place to shop and dine
When I first discovered Baptista Mercado, only two days ago, it was an experience of surprise, followed by genuine delight.
Having just returned to Praia da Luz, my Portuguese base, after a year away travelling, I was keen to check out the town and catch up with any changes. Baptista Supermercado was top of my list, and, as usual, didn’t dissapoint. The finest quality fruit and veg, at excellent prices, the most eye popping selection of wines one could wish for, and one if my favourite cheese counters in the Algarve. Inside the supermercado also sit a wonderful padaria [bakery] and pastelaria, with seats outside where one can sit and sip bicas [a kind of Portuguese espresso] and watch the world go by.
Stepping out of Baptista Supermercado, armed with an array of fresh fruit for the day, I took a backstreet to head down to check out the sea front. Just a couple of hundred metres down the road, another Baptista sign caught my eye by the cobbled pavement.
This time, it was called Baptista Mercado. A minimarket perhaps? Surely Rui Baptista, founder and owner of the brand [there is no intention to make a chain of the brand] would not open a minimarket just a few steps away from the main supermercado?
No, this new Baptista is a mercado, yes, it is small, but it sells only fresh produce, fish, breads, fruit and vegetables. Oh, and thank you Rui, it also sells a select range if fine wines.
The concept [and this truly has the feel of a concept store] is simple. Fresh food, served as tapas, mezze, sandwiches and so forth, even sushi! In Luz? Perfect. This place ticked all the boxes for me. Stylish, unique, fresh food prepared from fresh ingredients [you can hand any fresh fruit from the shelves to the serving staff, and they will juice it for you!]. What a genius concept. No coffee, which at first disappointed me, until I realised it would change the vibe [and smell] of the place. The ambience here has something special. Artful and playful too – brightly coloured painted fruit produce crates hang high on the walls, as an art form. Right next to them, a sign lettered onto the wall – LABORATORIO reminds me that I’m in a place of experiment, of adventure, of cutting edge food. Superb, and what fun!
Next, to sample the food. I could hardly wait, but as I had a plan to head uptown to work on some client projects over wifi, I would wait a day or so.
The food. I took my partner in for a light nibble for lunch, happy to sit inside out of the mid day sun. Both vegetarians, we were happy to find ourselves catered for here. Sandwiches, well priced, included a range of cheese combinations, and salad options. They weren’t just any old sandwiches [don't think of those lifeless British things]. A selection of tapas was also available, and included vegetarian options.
On leaving, it was clear the superb level of design crafstmanship that had gone into the interior, as I stepped up to the two checkout tills. Beautifully constructed from wood, right down to the hollowed out coin tray in the counter for exchange if coins, it was refreshing to escape the plastic and steel of the archetypal supermarket checkout.
Would I visit Baptista Mercado again? Oh yes!
subject | Baptista Mercado
location | Praia da Luz, Lagos, Algarve, Portugal
photography | © Blue Perez 2010
Moroccan dream.
Moroccan dream.
She often dreamt of Morocco. It was hard for her to keep it out of her mind, even in the day time.
Manuela knew that one day she was going to have to realise the dream. How long could a person sit at the most southerly point of Europe, gazing across the Straits of Gibraltar, and not dream of Africa? The heights of the High Atlas visible from the beach, she would sit out on the balcony at night, bathed in candlelight, the warm breeze wafting the scent of Africa and promises of things to come. A heady mix of Frankincense, warm sand, palm dates and oh so many spices, filled her mind with magic and mystery.
How might she travel there? Fly? No, that wouldn't be the way for this trip. Although to fly over the coast of Africa would certainly be an experience worth remembering. Boat? Oh yes. The ferry, from Tarifa to Tangiers. Not that hydro hulled noise monger, the slow boat, now that would be the perfect way to arrive.
In the carpet bag that she always travels with, she would take a few packs of her favourite expired Polaroid 100 film, and a most favourite old camera, the Land 350. It would be the perfect way to explore, and she would be able to share her vision with the people she met. That would bring it's own riches. Then perhaps, when she returned home, an exhibition, maybe even a few print sales. Now that would be truly magical, and worth a dream or two.
The whisky cabinet.
Her favourite piece of furniture. The whisky cabinet. Ever since her father first introduced her to the delights and complexities of whisky. What a baptism of fire that had been. Fire water, actually. She truly was her father’s daughter.
Now, her own whisky cabinet, one of two beautifully tattered old rococo cabinets, deplete of their glass, stood proudly behind the bar, for all to see. Not for whisky alone these days, but accompanied by the liqueurs shelf at the foot of the cabinet. But to Alessandra it would always be ‘the whisky cabinet’.
She knew all the flavours so well. The Johnny Walker Red, and now, the later Black. The J&B, the Bells, the Islay 12 year malt. For fun, she recently explored a range of whiskies presented in what looked like pharmaceutical decanters and bottles, labelled like medicines. What fun, what crazy fun moments she had with those! But her firmest of favourites remained Old Grouse, her father’s favourite whisky of old. The perfect blend of fire and water to her seasoned palate, what warmth it brought to her soul. A warmth of peat fires, smoked herring, truffles and all the good things she shared with Douglas, her father.
subject | drinks cabinets
location | Sagres, Algarve, Portugal
photography | © Blue Perez 2010
Pinhole Lab.
I visited this great little expo yesterday at Centro Cultural de Lagos. Pinhole Lab : Lagos through the pinhole was a show of large [up to three metres long] pinhole camera images of the Lagos and Luz area. It was wonderful to see such giant pinhole images, the large black and whites had such presence, and as such, were perfect for representing a sense of place. I also particularly loved the way the show was presented in an a black walled gallery space, rather than white. It really worked for me, strengthening the sense of light in the images.
On display too, were cabinets with small samples of hand made, customised, and factory built pinhole cameras, all of which had been used in the making of the images. The Pinhole Lab project was co-ordinated by Jorge Pereira and Rui Cambraia, both pinhole photographers, and prints were created with the involvement of members of the local Lagos community, of all ages.
More images here.
subject | Pinhole Lab exhibition
location | Lagos, Algarve, Portugal
photography | © Blue Perez 2010
The view from the café.
I love travel. My iPhone camera loves the colours of travel. The purples here embrace the wonderful colour experience that is infuses my world or travel. The smells, the colours, the changes, "vive la difference" [yes, I am currently considering whether to spend summer in southern France, or in north west Italy this year - Portugal is my spring and autumn base, winter and summer are for other adventures]. Ideas and possibilities are on the table. Meanwhile, a new project is under way, to tie together my web presence and to market the tales that I capture through my iPhone. There may be opportunities for others to get involved too.
Whilst things develop, I shall feed this page with occasional visual titbits to hold your interest. Enjoy.
subject | Café balcony, Portimaõ Retail Park
location | Portimaõ, Algarve, Portugal
camera | iPhone 3Gs
photography | © Blue Perez 2010
The end of the world.
While I'm busy working on the new journal, I can't bear to desert my blog any longer, so I thought I would share this landscape image with you. Shot yesterday, early evening, at Cabo de Saõ Vicente, Sagres, Portugal. In earlier times, Cabo de Saõ Vicente was known, particularly by seafarers, as 'The End of the World'.
subject | Cabo de Saõ Vicente
location | Sagres, Algarve, Portugal
camera | iPhone 3Gs
photography | © Blue Perez 2010
New content coming soon.
On the road again.
