Niagara Falls
is actually two waterfalls that are divided into twin channels: the Canadian
Horseshoe Falls, named for their shape, and across the border the smaller
American Falls.
Although the
imposing rumble of the falls can be heard from miles away, there is nothing
like the spectacular and breathtaking view of the water crashing over a 52m
cliff as they produce dense clouds of bubbling spray. You can also walk down
through a series of rocky tunnels that lead behind Horseshoe Falls, where the
noise from the crashing waters is simply deafening.
Niagara Falls
is a welcoming little town renowned as a honeymoon destination. It is in the
American/Canadian border. I visited Niagara
twice in autumn and winter. Although it is beautiful in both seasons, there is
nothing like the view of the astonishing falls with snow (if you are that
lucky).
If you go to
Niagara Falls don’t miss the charming little town of Niagara- on- the- lake
where the mouth of the Niagara River empties into Lake Ontario. I am fortunate
to have Canadian friends who showed me the area around.
O dia 1 de julho é o dia nacional do Canadá. Celebra-se o aniversário da união de três províncias, que formaram o país, há 151 anos.
Na minha casa, desde muito cedo, que se falava deste país. A melhor amiga da minha mãe foi viver para o Canadá, quando eu tinha 1 ano. Lembro-me das fotografias que recebíamos com belíssimas fotos da casa toda coberta de neve, em Toronto. Nunca me esqueço de um telefonema a meio da noite, em 1974, pouco depois do 25 de abril. Era para a minha mãe deixar a minha irmã e eu irmos uns tempos para o Canadá até "acalmar" a situação em Portugal. É claro que a minha mãe não deixou, até porque estávamos a viver um momento histórico importante, que muito alegraria o meu pai se fosse vivo.
Durante a minha estadia nos EUA visitei Toronto (Ontário) três vezes e Montreal (Quebec) uma vez. Lembro-me que a viagem à cidade de Quebec esteve programada duas vezes, mas devido aos testes dos meus filhos na escola, teve de ser adiada e nunca se realizou. Isto de ter filhos bons alunos e no top do ranking da escola também tem as suas desvantagens.
A última vez que visitei o Canadá foi em Fevereiro de 2015. O meu marido já não estava a viver nos EUA. Fiquei seis meses com a minha filha para ela terminar a escola, mas nesta altura estava na semana de férias de inverno. Como a minha irmã me tinha ido visitar resolvi fazer a viagem de Massachusetts a Nova Iorque para assistirmos a um espetáculo na Broadway e daí até Toronto. Foram nove horas a conduzir. Estava a nevar e encontrámos dois carros capotados. Felizmente conduzia o Jeep Cherokee do meu marido, que tinha uma grande adesão ao solo e raramente derrapou. Foi uma viagem histórica de três mulheres: a minha irmã, a minha filha e eu. Chegados à fronteira, descobrimos que a saída programada estava fechada e tivemos de fazer um desvio. Não se via vivalma na estrada e quando avistei um homem, a minha filha saiu para pedir informações. Não sei como entendeu as explicações sobre o mapa, porque o senhor era mudo. Mas lá chegámos a Niagara on the Lake, onde passámos um serão agradável e emocionante, ouvindo descrições das visitas da minha mãe contadas pela sua amiga (faleceu o ano passado). Nos dias seguintes passeámos em Toronto e visitámos as cataratas todas geladas.
A minha irmã e eu em Niagara Falls
Hoje comemorou-se o Dia do Canadá em Bucareste com uma receção num hotel da cidade.
O ano começou com um mès de janeiro muito frio e uma grande tempestade de neve em Massachussetts. O meu filho veio de Portugal passar o Natal com a família
Despedida do meu marido na Casa da Saudade, biblioteca portuguesa em Massachussetts
Em fevereiro a minha irmã foi visitar-nos e fomos de carro até Nova Iorque à Broadway e ver a instalação de Christo e Jeanne-Claude no Central Park
Seguimos até Niagara Falls e Toronto nas férias de inverno da minha filha
Em abril a minha filha fez 18 anos e teve uma festa em casa com as amigas.
Em junho foi a cerimónia da entrega de diplomas e o meu marido veio num fim de semana assistir e levar-nos para Caracas, onde terminou o ano letivo.
Na Venezuela a casa ainda estava vazia. As nossas mobílias ainda não tinham chegado.
Prontas para a celebração do dia de Portugal no Hotel Meliá.
Em julho passámos férias na Isla Margarita (Venezuela)
e em Arruba (Países Baixos)
Em setembro estava em Lisboa para as matrículas da minha filha e ainda demos uma saltada a Espanha (Córdova e Granada).
Filhos independentes. Regressei sozinha a Caracas.
Natal no Centro Português de Caracas e em casa com os filhos.
Mini-férias de Natal no Parque Nacional de Morroccoy (Venezuela)
Playa Azul
Fim de ano muito divertido em casa de amigos (Caracas)
Nik Wallenda, 34 and a father of three is a member of the famed Flying Wallendas, whose ancestors traveled as a band of acrobats, aerialists, animal trainers and trapeze artists. In June 2013, he completed a walk across the Little Colorado River gorge near the Grand Canyon in Arizona without a safety harness, one year after crossing the Niagara Falls.
One camera showed the view looking down to the river 457 meters below. Wallenda stepped slowly and steadily and stopped twice during the 22 minute walk. The winds were higher than expected, and he said it took every bit of him to stay focused.
If you are afraid of heights, forget about this video
I visited the amazing Grand Canyon 9 years ago in a much safer way and took lots of pictures.
As quedas de água sejam elas pequenas ou grandes, chamadas cascatas, cataratas ou salto, estão sempre localizadas em locais monumentais e de rara beleza paisagistica.
Estive a rever as minhas fotografias, desde a mais recente, da semana passada, às outras mais antigas.
Tenho uma grande lacuna na minha história de quedas de água que é não conhecer as cataratas do Iguaçu, entre o Brasil e a Argentina. Fica para quando for ao Brasil, ainda sem data marcada...
No dia 1 de julho celebra-se o dia Nacional do Canadá. No entanto as minhas memórias do Canadá são sobretudo ligadas ao Outono e Inverno quando visitei Toronto e Montreal. Recordo-me principalmente das espetaculares cataratas do Niagarae de alguns museus onde fiquei a conhecer oGrupo dos Sete.
Este ano celebram-se os 148 anos do Canadá, data que coincide com os 50 anos da Bandeira Nacional do Canadá e com o Ano do Desporto no País.
“Hollywood
is a place where they'll pay you a thousand dollars for a kiss and fifty cents
for your soul.” Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn
Monroe was born as Norma Jean Mortenson in Los Angeles, California in 1926 and
died on August 5, 1962, precisely 50 years ago.
She came
from a broken home. She never knew her father and her mother, Gladys, was
mentally and financially unable to take care of her, so she spent her childhood
in different foster homes.
In 1942 she
married Jim Dougherty in an attempt to get rid of foster care. During the war
she started working in a factory and was encouraged to apply to a modeling
agency. As they were looking for light hair models she coloured her brunette
hair blond. She appeared in many magazine covers and became very successful.
She divorced Jim Dougherty in 1946.
In the same year Norma Jean caught the
attention of film executives and after changing her name to Marilyn Monroe made
her debut in some films in non-speaking roles. After several movie flops and in
desperate need of money, she agreed to pose nude.When a calendar of her nude colour photos was discovered the studio went
out of control. Marilyn calmly confirmed that she had needed the money and the problems
quickly receded.
In 1953,
during the wedding of Eunice Kennedy (one of the Kennedy sisters), someone
decided that in honour of the bride´s family everyone should sing “Maryland, my
Maryland”. That was fine until the Kennedys started singing “Marilyn, my
Marilyn” in honour of Marilyn Monroe. (Leamer 426)
In January 1954 she married Joe DiMaggio, a
baseball player. In response to a question about married life, she said: “Ballplayers
make good husbands. Joe and I want a lot of little DiMaggios.” (Cramer362)
Gentlemen
Prefer Blondes
and Diamonds
Are a Girl´s Best Friendscontributed
to her popularity.
She won one
of her most notable film roles in The Seven
Year Itch. In September 1954, she appeared in a white summer
dress standing on a subway grate with her skirt blowing up, as if cooling
herself with the wind from the train below (this scene was on Lexington Avenue at 52nd Street
in New York City, but was never seen in the film-it
was only for publicity).
Publicists knew that wherever she went, the town
stopped around her. One of them even said: “The Russians could have invaded
Manhattan, and nobody would have taken any notice”. In the crowd was her
husband who didn´t like what he saw. That night, there was a fight in their
suite on the 11th floor of the St Regis and that fight would stay
famous as the end of their marriage. (Cramer 366)
In 1956 she
married Arthur Miller, an American playwright who wrote in his memoirs: “This
golden girl was like champagne on the screen…with all her radiance she was
surrounded by a darkness that perplexed me” He once told her: “You´re the
saddest girl I´ve ever known”.
InSome
like it hot,shewon the
Golden Globe award for best comedy actress (1960) and started filming The
Misfits, (her last completed film) a short story by Arthur Miller
adapted to screenplay. Before the film's premiere in 1961, they divorced.
Monroe started filming another film, Something’s Gotta Give, in
1962. However, her deteriorating physical condition, her mood swings and
her emotional instability (she forgot her lines and missed numerous shoots)
reached a point that she was eventually dropped from the film. She saw
her psychiatrist almost daily and her doctor several times a week.
“She seemed
to have a mind of immense capacity that had been assaulted by life, bludgeoned
by a culture that asked only enticement of her. She had acted that role, and
now she was petitioning to display another dimension, but in some difficult-
to- grasp way she could not get a hearing, and this was hurtful when like any
actor she was almost totally defined by what was said and written about her” (Miller
425)
On May 19,
1962, she made her last public appearance, singing “Happy Birthday, Mr
President” to President John F. Kennedy at Madison
Square Garden.
Monroe died of a possible drug overdose. Her
ex-husband, Joe DiMaggio, came forward to manage her funeral. This happened50 years ago but
her myth continues…
Andy Warhol´s paintings that feature Monroe`s likeness are based on 1953 publicity for the
film Niagara.
Elton
John’s tribute to Princess Diana, “Candle in the Wind,” was originally written
to commemorate Monroe’s life: (Goodbye Norma Jean…)
References:
Cramer,
Richard Ben. Joe DiMaggio. Simon
& Schuster. New York, 2000
Laurence
Leamer. The Kennedy Women. Fawcett
Columbine, New York, 1994
Miller,
Arthur. Timebends. A Life. Grove
Press. New York, 1987
