The perfect opportunity for the day to stop. The perfect opportunity to light a few candles. The perfect opportunity to pour a glass of red wine. The perfect opportunity to relax.
She was a child star who grew up and aged before an adoring, appalled and fascinated public. She arrived in Hollywood when the studio system tightly controlled an actor's life and image, had more marriages than any publicist could explain away and carried on until she no longer required explanation. She was the industry's great survivor, and among the first to reach that special category of celebrity — famous for being famous, for whom her work was inseparable from the gossip around it.
Elizabeth Taylor lived a full life and she will be greatly missed.
Have been enjoying my half-term break this week. Yesterday we drove around Sintra (the mountain) and stopped at Azenhas do Mar. This little hilltop village perched above the Atlantic Ocean is reminiscent of those that you would find in the south of France, Italy and Greece. We stopped for lunch in another small town called São Pedro and ate at a recently opened (6 months or so) restaurant called São Pedro 18 (St. Peter's 18). It was way cute. All in all, a very good day:-)
As I reflected on the week (yeah, it's been one of those weeks - lol), Melanie Safka came to mind. I haven't thought about her in ages. Through the miracle commonly known as the internet, I was able to connect with her and the past.
I found a relatively recent quote by her, "For the first time, I'm not afraid to voice exactly what I feel. I used to feel that I didn't want to say too much, but now I can say anything. I feel like a person who's never been heard. Maybe people think they've heard me, but they never really have. I'm a new artist who is having so much fun with my voice -- a person shouldn't be allowed to have so much fun. I'm the woman I wanted to be when I was sixteen and going for Edith Piaf. It's me -- I'm back."