October 16th assignment

This fits both required and bonus assignments. It's an 'expandable electronic file'.

SETTINGS

Not in Portugal:

1. Grandmother's house (Great-grandmother ROSA): (fiction)

Dark = candlelight, drapes
Cold = swamp-cooler or partially below ground
Cozy = books everywhere, soft cloth like wool and yarn for crochet
Plastic, metal, formica (the best invention since brick and stone) = no bare wood, only painted wood... maybe.
Kitchen = Copper pots and iron skillet.
Color: nothing silver (because it could be silver)
Smell: cooking! Herbs. Pastries. Raw meat (why ruin it?)
Taste: sweet and sour (pickles)
Sound: quiet natural sounds
Touch: soft (rugs, pillows...)

A place of peace and refuge.

2. Thoom's (Rosa Velha) place or THE SHALLOT: (fiction, also appears in Blood of the Garlic)

Damp = in the mucklands
Cool = open to the breeze, airy
Cozy... as in cluttered but organized
Sight: benches and chairs and tables for preparing food
Color: a withered riot of color, most of it faded... dried herbs.
Smell: a thousand herbs, tea, garlic
Taste: spicy
Sound: of constant chatter, the clatter of busy people
Touch: ... may not be important

A place of refuge and peace but seldom quiet!

PORTUGAL and GALICIA:

In Alphabetical order (not chronological as that isn't determined yet)

A Coruña

Pilar's café: (real, fictionalized)

Taste of orange and salmon (tostada)
Sight: cheerful in a Parisian way. Light and bright.
Color: red, black-white stripes.
Sound of a coffee machine and soft chatter of regular customers.

Comfortable in contrast to the old stone and old church in front of it.

Roman lighthouse: (real)

Steps, steps and more steps.
Small tight rooms.
New stone encasing the old stone (both stunning).
A sense of age and defiance.

Alcobaça

ancient monastery (real, fictionalized as some sections are off limits)

Huge off-limits area; it once was huge, maybe a thousand monks. Where there are monks there are secrets.
The sheer history of it and the adjoining church (largest in Portugal) makes it worth a visit.
Brick and tiles. The sleeping areas of patterned brick; the tiled kitchen walls and chimney.
Winding staircases, huge rooms, a sense of space seldom felt in this part of the world.
Alcobaça also has small gems in the surrounding countryside.

What story could be told in the gardens here?

Belmonte Part 3?

synagogue (real, but I haven't visited it... yet)

Coimbra:

a hostel during a festival. (real, fictionalized)

town during the yearly university festival. (from personal experience, real but fictionalized)

beer and more beer.
all colors of the rainbow.
smell of beer and barf.
trash.
loud reveling.
black hats and the tap tap tap.

a fado house. (been to two, so fictionalized)

The fado (1958) "Coimbra ten amis encanto na hora de despedida" is essential to the story. Re-wroded as "A vida ten mais encanto..." (Life is most enchanting at the hour of goodbye". Major theme.

wine drinking or port tasting.
a show.
sound of music, not all sad.
tables with candles.

Evora: Part 1 and 3

Nelson's hostel (real, been there, fictionalized).

the stairs.
the views of the city from the roof.
nice beds.
pidgeons.
succulent plants. plants growing in cracks.

Although I'll make sure the setting is felt, the main purpose is Nelson himself and the chance to meet a vampire.

University courtyard and rooms (been there, fictionalized)

os azulajos!
a sense of learning, a sense of suspended time.
rooms, rooms, basement?

A Quintana dos Mortos. (fiction... I hope)

Megalithic site outside of town. (real, been there)

Old standing stones.
a tomb.
the astrological seasonal implications.
dirt and dust.
olive and cork.
vandalism.
bright sun.

A fado house... maybe. (been to one, may be a composite of two restaurants)

Once again, "A vida ten mais encanto..."
Food like porco alentejano. (pork and clams)
Candlelight.
Focus on the fingers of the portuguese guitar player.

A floral shop? (fiction) (Could be Part 1 or 3 or both)

Orchids? Geraniums? Vamprie? Check,check,check.

Lagos/Sagres:

Filipa's B&B (real, been there)

comfort.
view of boats and canal.
steps.
white.
dining room of couches.
food: typical portuguese breakfast of ham and cheese and bread and orange juice and coffee.
sound of travelers (not a party hostel, very family more like a B&B)

Beaches and Coves. (real, been there)

Sand.
Nudes.
Crumbling cliffs.
Caves.
Flowers.
waves.
Passing boats.

A boatride. (done it, have the pictures)

Blue-green clear waters.
the light.
fishing boats.
the thrill of the ride.

Visit to Cabo Sagres (real, may be fictionalized; it's now in ruins)

flowers in cracks.
stone and more stone.
the simplicity of it all.
wind-rose.
a sense of height (cliffs 100 meters)
fishermen fishing from the cliffs.
extremely important in the history of Europe and the Age of Discovery, 1400s.

Lisboa:

a hostel in the center (real, been there).

beds stacked in threes.
incredible morning staff.
Brazilian lilt.
multi-cultural travelers, mostly young.
bar.
breakfast of coffee or cocoa, orange juice, cereal, ham, cheese, rustic bread served on a slate.

a fado house (real, went to one).

for the fun of it.
a woman owner with thighs (steps, hills)
female singer
alcohol

town center with trolley (real, done that).

people hanging on the outside
sway.
city sounds (be specific)
views.
goes through neighborhoods, it not just for tourists.

museum (Gulbenkian, been there).

the very best.
a great Rembrandt, furniture, rugs.
a sense of history (Egyptian/Greek to present lalique)
lots of pretty things. (another theme)
lack of smell
a hush

Miranda de l Douro Part 1? Part 3.

Very important but not determined. Will need 'secret' places.

Riverside.

Nazaré/Sitio

the beach (been there but only for a short while)
sand. boats. women.
the church (real, visited)
percebes (barnacles... rubbery)
street vendors

Porto:

Wine cellars (real, but I have NOT been there).

São Bento train station (real, been there).

the azulejos, especially the one of Filipa and João.
a place to pickup a whore
a place of people going to and fro... lots of movement.

Market... maybe (real, been there).

food, bacalhão

Santiago de Compostela

Cathedral (real, been there)

pilgrims
disrespectful tourists.
the sign of the shell.
food - peppers
a quintana dos mortos (a key theme)
artists
vendors
a 'show'
incense
chanting

Tavira possible... could be cut

beach (real, been there)

museum (real, been there)

restaurant (real, been there, took photos)

Tomar Part 3?

hostel (real, been there)

modern day culture and symbols

castle/fort/church (real, been there)

synagogue (real, been there)

small
a sense of what was lost what was preserved

Tui/Valença

Old pilgrim house (real, been there)

gardens, statuary, snails
the river border... now unimportant

Old sections of both towns (real, been there)

food - lamprey
the ruins
the modern commerce contrasts

AROUND THE WORLD (part 2)

This is a POSSIBLE LIST. Won't include all. Preferably in autumn/winter/spring. Mostly hostels, maybe friend's, maybe couchsurfing.

Amsterdam... maybe (street scene and magnet for youth)

a hostel (have NOT been there; there are many to choose from)

Australia (but Perth or Sydney)

a hostel (been in Sydney, not in Perth, but João has...)

Bremen/Lubeck... maybe (on way to Copenhagen)

a hostel (been there) but town center is more important, Die Schnoor...

Brugge (medieval and faux medieval)

a hostel (been there) but there are more important sites.

Copenhagen/Christiania (canals and hash market)

a hostel (been there)

Delft (old churches and more, way to get to Australia)

a hostel (been there) both churches are important and I've been to both.

England... maybe (plague village)

a friend's? Been there... which to choose...

Gdansk (amber and way to get to Tokyo)

a friend's Been there and at hostel.

Ireland... maybe (old megalithic structures, old stone ruins, old knowledge)

a hostel or friend's (been there but which place or site?)

Luxembourg... maybe (has many Portuguese)

a hostel (been there, old walls have hidey holes)

Oslo/Drammen... maybe (a way to get to Gdansk, plus seedy parts of town)

a hostel (been to both, area around Askerselva is seedy and interesting a là Jo Nesbø)

Paris (old quarries of Montmartre)

Been to Paris but not to quarries. Canals? Metro?

a hostel (been there but boring...)

Stockholm (old town, new suburbs, library, museums)

a hostel (been there... on a ship!)

Tokyo (just because... way to get to Australia, a hostile vamp!)

a hostel/inn (both if possible)

PART 3

Mostly back in Portugal. Some places from Part 1 are revisited. See above.



Friday, Oct. 16
*Bullet* Required: Setting List ▼

Draft a list of your settings and write a brief description of each. NOTE: You will have opportunities to revise the list throughout October, so this revision is not expected to be fully accurate or complete.

*Bullet* Bonus: Setting Database ▼

Compile your setting list into a format that is easy to update, such as an electronic file (or collection of files) or a binder with room to grow. Keep your list handy for future updates throughout the Prep.