My Sunday in the country was a little different than "A Sunday in the Country" or "Un Dimanche à la Compagne" a film by Bertrand Tavernier that I haven't seen in years, but just now popped into my head.

The story is about an old artist who lives in the country at the turn of the last century. Every Sunday his son would come to visit him bringing along his wife and 2 children. The obedience and tradition of the society at the time is shown in contrasts of old world and the approaching modern world.

The son strives for his father's approval but is outshadowed by his flamboyant and modern sister who arrives from afar on that same Sunday. The contrasts are bold. The film is beautifully shot, just like an impressionist painting's muted brush strokes.


The viewer, of course, is aware of the advancement of the modern world. It is this old world I really try to envision, maybe it's the romanticism of the era, but it absolutely fascinates me. I guess I'm just a romantic at heart.

Here in Portugal this old world still exists.


Anyways I thought of this film when last Sunday André and I went to see some friends who own a house in a very tiny village up behind the hills from our home in Carreço. Our friends do not actually live in this village, rather they rent this home to German tourists each summer.

They bought the property in 1982, two years after André bought his house, and began by installing a mobile home on the property. Since then they have added and built to where it is now, a completely modern "old looking house". It has everything; swimming pool, tennis, sauna, chickens, rabbits, birds, ducks, and more in a rustic, beautifully kept setting. The village is quite charming and so small it only contains a chapel and a few homes. Not even a public phone can be found.

Well last Sunday our friends bought the adjoining property behind their back wall. We all walked over to explore this new property. It was like walking back in time. I like imagining who might have lived there before. Standing in ruins, we saw three stone cottages. There are also many stone waist high walls, also crumbling. All in all it was at one time a small village as it is now called "aldeia velha" or old village.

Of course, our friends have a project to re-build these stone cottages for their tourist business and that's fine, cause I know that they will do a fantastic job. I'm sure they will keep in mind the natural setting.

We then walked further up the hill on the same stone path that is still used by farmers who walk their cows up to the pastures to feed. We even observed grooves dug in the stone path from the repeated trips of their carts.

Further still up the path we found another ruin. It was an old chapel. The cornice from the portico was lying in front of the entrance. Like the three cottages, the chapel was lacking a roof, but the walls of stones stand still after who knows how many years.

One can ask, what does this have to do with the film, Un dimanche à la compagne"?

Just came back from the doctor. I have an A+ in regards to my health.