"See you one of these days..." SOLODANCER's Profile

Spring and Summer: to Lusitania via Maghreb

AH, HERE WE GO AGAIN OF LOVED PLACES LIKE LOVERS INTERTWINED

It's all about trips, about grand thoughts of exciting intriguing places...places far and near, those loved and the exotic for their adventurous sonorousity and many for their nearness to our heart in their familiarity like new and long-held loves hand-in-hand to explore, rekindle, scale and even dance with into endless adventures, search for the undiscovered self - the essence and pure spirit in the journey which is life.

We all travel differently. Thank goodness for that or the oneness in that purpose will condemn us all to an imponderable boredom. Places are there to be sought after, met and then experienced...like the one heard so much about, encountered, courted after and then made love to...like the way of our own.

Travel to me is such a hallucinatory experience. It's a thoroughly different space, that's why I float as well in being even before I can board another flight. And all along, I remain sleepless but stoked and strangely empowered yet not thoroughly comprehending it all but swept away by the onrushing magnet of new insights and brave possibilities.

But also defying all that, even when experiencing during a lengthy period or time simply staying put or whereby not being able to get up and go somewhere far, the landscape and territory of one's home base as in my case - the chameleonic New York City - becomes a known place to be further explored from a deeper layer of sensibility and surrender.

As I've noted down somewhere...EVERYDAY YOU MUST JOURNEY A PATH THAT LEADS YOU NOWHERE BUT TO A FIELD WITHIN YOURSELF SPREAD OUT IN THE WIDE OPEN.

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The Big Event of Summer 2009-My first Euro Meet

Lisbon: Shimmering Poetry

By now, you must have read and heard (and seen the pictures and videos especially those by Hansi) aplenty about the incredible Portugal Meet at the end of May in Cascais. To a few this description might well be disputed as a bit overblown but for a first-timer like myself, it certainly was a perfect introduction and great fun. Okay, so I missed a day-and-a-half of its proceedings unfortunately due to a twisted ankle as a result of a miscalculated landing from one giant rubber tree at Belem's Jardim de Agricola Tropical which I had eagerly climbed onto in order to hug its massive branches. The picture of apparent child-like amusement belies the mishap which followed shortly thereafter.

Hobbling around a bit afterwards, resuming participation with the rest of the festivities, I could not wait to be back in the great company of newly-discovered friendships with one amazing VT group especially.

And, to be in Lisbon - a much beloved city of mine - for this great VT Meet could not have been a more spectacular setting.

Thereafter, having the rest of June all to myself (well, on the surface of it), I headed down south of the country, the Algarve, to its hidden gem of hilly interior - to be in the company of an ancient stone farmhouse undergoing a transformation, a village's ultra-tranquil setting, to commune with a new summer, to nourish and wholly recuperate under a dreamy arbor.
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ON JOURNEYS...

Sunset over Alcochete

A journey of whatever length...is a metaphor for life and existence. Everything is determined by the strangely proscribed and mysteriously given steps. We carry and release them as are the empowerment and pounding of our breaths...we are beholden to them, taking as much or as little in slow pace and as quick, far and away or simply to a lover's bedside, dependent upon our needs - adventurous solicitousness, self-compass and a personal choreography. At whatever pace, we know that we will hit upon a cliff...the moment which like any other...rattling with wind, drenched in heavy rain and darkness, in full brightness of day, on a moonlight or within an empty stare with all one's memory foregone; then, suddenly, a push invisible from our back from which we fall stagger and resist...we slitter down and if we have an instant more, we stab the self with one last arrow of words...'journeys, were all that for the making of wings?'
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NOW

Delay the pleasure and you stretch the doubt.
Doubts which haunt one's time.
Time which shall never return.

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TRAVEL JOURNAL ENTRY:

Why is it that there are some of us who desire to never ever go home again
where from we had been born and where childhood was spent even in a most
paradisiacal way?

It is an open wound - not inflicted - but one that already came with the
being that had around its edges sweetness and core fatality.

You leave it behind out of a necessary desire, a pestering dream, conviction, a force behind your back that kneads upon the open wound...
and the shudder that is being ignited causes the feet to wander off beyond the proven fire of intimacy and companionship. Another place is always another place in the mind to settle in. It starts out feeling alien where the newness of the terrain is filled and completed with strangeness, want, seductions, leaps and uphill climb...you breathe from this embrace and now
it is more than you with yourself.

-SoloDancer-
Algarve, October 2011

WELCOME TO MY ISLAND OF MANHATTAN

NYC: Scale of an urban Stravinsky

This is my town. My beloved and maddening town of Manhattan.

An island so small yet so special and precious it's been from the very start coveted by many who have and will search for a well-balanced existence...arms welcoming everyone, but not to all, but those who love an uncompromising brand of freedom, liberty, unbridled equality for all and an openness - that true American spirit - a unique individuality and an inexhaustible promise of opportunities.

Everything is here: the old and the new, the exquisitely beautiful, as well as the repulsively ugly and more, besides. It is not a place for the faint-hearted or the overly sentimental, nor the sort of soul lacking in courage. It is a tough town demanding quick instincts and the ability to acquiring the necessary street smarts. New York City is the very place evocative of a hot but voluptuous caldera from which derived a certain unique existence rendered in what Virgil called "the tears of things", life filled with nobility and brutality, passion and terror.
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SERIES: Letters from New York - No. 40

Canto CLXXI:

THE CONCERT

Whose music is it but yours
Staying with the day
Unsolvable puzzles face toward the sinking sun
Richter at the piano sowing Mendelssohn
Like seeds across the open chest
Posters from Ortygia
Books black and white fotos
Of family once intact
Potted plants impedementa all
In here create linear shadows
Time-warps
Inner transaction standing still their
Cocked ears merciless while
I on the sofa face the
Window's frozen-looking light
The silvery skyscrapers of Manhattan
Burning streaks on mirrors and
On glass like rain
Long concerto upon these breaths.

R.G.O. (aka Solodancer)
NYC, Early May 2013 ____________________________________________________________

Streets of discoveries

The hip of Union Square

Walk on any street in New York City and you walk into a minefield of corruscating visual and fecund explosions. These city pathways incisively ask of you to be open, to adapt and stretch out, to be all-humanity, dream and linger, give take and be taken, expand, be thoroughly free....and thus nourished evolved and very possibly, redeemed.

MY IMMEDIATE NEIGHBORHOOD....

Life and art in NYC: A constant intersecting

The area of Manhattan island I live in and been living in for many years is called Hell's Kitchen. Don't let the name scare you, please. It's the district west of 8th Avenue between 34th and 56th Streets which is Westside Midtown of the city. Below 34th Street, the area becomes the Garment District or the Fashion District and above 56th Street, there is the grand arts venue of Lincoln Center.

So, Hell's Kitchen, a name which conjures up all sorts of mind-bending stories about the place, in actuality is really a wonderful nice upcoming neighborhood in the city that has over the years come around on its own.

In truth also, it had a very turbulent past especially around mid-1800's when the Hudson River Railroad opened here which brought with it factories, lumberyards, slaughterhouses and tenements to house a new wave of immigrant workers which bred the resulting negative factors of prostitution and gangster-style crimes. Riots erupted between the Irish Catholics and Protestants and between the Irish and African-Americans as well as a widening rift between the Jews and the Italians. No wonder this place was condemned then as "Hotter than Hell"! thus precipitating the name Hell's Kitchen which stuck until today. It is, for one reason or another, an apt description of the area's virulent history but also one which continues to be romanticized in the movies, literature, music, etc..but especially to the current die-hard residents of today.

The good and exciting mix of people from different worlds or cultures - as is the norm in NYC - living in Hell's Kitchen continues the tried and true age-old American tradition of a cohesive pluralistic societies. In recent years, this neighborhood has become an in-place to live at with more and more young and fashionable crowd coming in spinning off new and trendy cafes and restaurants. Like most of NYC neighborhoods, Hell's Kitchen, which by the way is also called Clinton (not after Bill but for a former New York mayor Dewitt Clinton) is fast becoming gentrified which, however good or bad one looks at it, is definitely evolving in many imaginable as well as unimaginable ways. Hell's Kitchen, these days, is still not only 'hotter-than-hell' but hotter because it's heavenly.

LAST VT MEET ATTENDANCE - July 1, 2012

Summer lunch with my Portuguese family.

Lisbon: A Summer Lunch

Sunday. The city eerily quiet, summer after all - the first day of July like a sudden gust of warm air having returned full circle. Lisbon redux.

An occasion to meet up with friends - old and new alike. Meeting for the first time Ulrich (Colares) and his wife Ulla from Germany both of whom also love frequent visits to Portugal especially their favorite spot on the slopes of Sintra. And then there's the die-hard Alfazinhas (native Lisboates): Antonio (alopes), Carlos (jorgec25), Gloria (Lusatraveller) and myself from NYC.

It is a perfect day and afternoon. Some typical Portuguese restaurant that Antonio has recommended located slightly above old Lisbon. I will not remember the restaurant's name and on which street. I don't care. It is simply great to be back in this beguiling city, a place to me always giving and full of intrigue. There are many cubicles to this old restaurant and in one somewhere in the middle room, here we are like long lost relatives eating beans, chorizos, mackerel and grilled lamb. Once again, VT stories, peals of laughters, a sense of eternity fan heavily by godly red wines of Portugal and dark dark coffee cap with cherry liqueur.

A perfection duplicable only by the next one.

Intro Updated May 17, 2013
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Comments (214)

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solopes Sep 11, 2012 at 4:14 PM

Hi Gabriel
Yes, holidays were good, with a "special guest star" - my first grand son. I will write about Marbella in the next days. Sorry I missed your meeting in July. but I promised António to try harder next time.
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  SOLODANCER Sep 12, 2012 at 9:04 AM
  
  Congratulations Avelino on the first grandson.
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HeshamMA May 17, 2013 at 7:39 AM

thank you for the Add Gabreil
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  SOLODANCER May 17, 2013 at 8:12 AM
  
  my pleasure Hesham. Best to you.
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Trekki May 9, 2013 at 7:54 AM

sweetheart, I forgot your birthday!! But I have the excuse of having no internet when I am "elsewhere". Big big belated birthday hugs and smiles!!!!
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  SOLODANCER May 9, 2013 at 8:08 AM
  
  Dear Ingrid, it's okay to forget these things as far as I'm concerned. A few times actually I had forgotten my own birthday but would remember clearly instead the night's dream about the sea, a garden or a medieval square I'd be standing at frozen in pure delight or another bottle of red wine! Go figure why that is. So long as we don't forget the very important thing we have - a friendship and hopefully the love that goes with it! That's the best memory of everything else. Am in transit these days and soon on my way to Lisbon and then to my little castle and kingdom for the much-needed tranquility and benediction. As ever, great thanks to you and a big hug.
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OH_DK May 7, 2013 at 5:10 AM

Happy belated Birthday Gabriel my NYC friend - I was too busy last weekend with confirmation and rehearsals. I hope you had agreat day. How is your summer plans?
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  OH_DK May 15, 2013 at 4:20 AM
  
  Wow would be great fun with a crazy party in Portugal Gabriel - - but I dont think I can get vacation days that time. I wish for you a very good time there - I think you will have nice warm weather in June. Take care and have fun
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  SOLODANCER May 15, 2013 at 7:16 AM
  
  Thanks Ove. Too bad you can't join us thus we will go ahead and just drink up as much for you as well! You have a fantastic summer.
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kevinism May 6, 2013 at 10:06 AM

HBD!!!
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  kevinism May 6, 2013 at 11:33 AM
  
  Haha, I'm not going til the end of Summer!
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  SOLODANCER May 6, 2013 at 11:43 AM
  
  The end of summer you must know in Fire Island is simply the beginning of another nameless summer of all summers! You'd never know there are other seasons once you get here!
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Waalewiener May 6, 2013 at 6:59 AM

Happy belated Birthday Gabriel from Lori & Hansi
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  Waalewiener May 6, 2013 at 9:57 AM
  
  Hi Gabriel our New York trip was great ,we did and seen so much in just a few days Dinner at Virgills BBQ was very good ,we will meet again for sure
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  SOLODANCER May 6, 2013 at 11:18 AM
  
  Very good to hear this Hansi. We will meet up down the line either back here in NYC or at another meet definitely. Meantime, you two have a most fabulous summer.
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cyndymc May 6, 2013 at 1:58 AM

Gabriel dear, sorry for the belated happy birthday greeting. I just took a peek of the VT page now. I have been busy with my organic herbal garden and have not visited VT regularly. I hope you had a blast on your special day ;)
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  SOLODANCER May 6, 2013 at 8:12 AM
  
  Herbal garden right in your surrounding, how very cool is that Cyndy. Love herbs as a way to great health and living. Plan to do same on my Portuguese land later at retirement. Maramit salamat amiga for the birthday wishes. Best to you as ever.
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betska May 5, 2013 at 3:49 PM

Happy birthday, Gabriel!!!. Still recall the wonderful afternoon at the ballet, such a lovely lunch as well. Hope you are doing OK & enjoying life, much love B xxx
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  SOLODANCER May 6, 2013 at 8:16 AM
  
  Thank you B for thinking of me...ah yes that wonderful time when you were here to take on the city and got to spend memorable time with you. Travelling now up til early summer, a time we all think of as eternal. Hope to see you back in NYC soon. Hugs.
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a2lopes May 4, 2013 at 4:36 PM

happy birthday Gabriel
looking forward to see you here soon
we have a "morcela" and "chouriço" party on the way :)
abraço de Lisboa
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  SOLODANCER May 6, 2013 at 8:21 AM
  
  Obrigadinho Antonio. Been looking forward to this trip that some nights the morcela and other chouricos have been greasing up my mind! Can't wait to get there to be among dear friends again if but to feel life is eternal! Hope you and Vera are forever celebrating. Abracos querido amigo.
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angiebabe May 4, 2013 at 3:29 PM

all the very best for your birthday Gabriel! hope you've been having a great day and wishing you a great year ahead!.
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  SOLODANCER May 6, 2013 at 8:26 AM
  
  Ah, dear Angela, how I love the image of Essaouria right now...and then Diabat and Sidi Kauki two of my most endeared places on earth - all of it like the perfect sea breezes for the heart's ocean! Thank you so much for thinking of me on my birthday. A great great time for you in Morocco, time which can never be duplicated anywhere for you!
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  angiebabe May 6, 2013 at 5:10 PM
  
  hi thanks dear Gabriel....nice - we were at Sidi Kouki today! and you came up in conversation again - ie the email from the other day and your photo on your home page! a gorgeous day and sea, colours just glorious and even blue flowers lining the road sides! we are down in Taghazout for the night now above the waves....