The simple things make life pleasant. Little gestures of friendship, sincere mutual attentions, spontaneous empathy, a pinch of lightness, and two spoons of fancy.
I have not been very active on PBase for a too long time and I wonder why I’m writing these lines, which probably very few of you will have the patience to read.
I don’t know. It’s the little pleasure to share something nice, symbolized by this snapshot. Our Portuguese friends are very special people. All friends are very special people.
Marcel Proust said “Let us be grateful to people who make us happy, they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.” Usually the great Proust is a bit too wordy and occasionally slightly pompous in his prose, but, in this case I can only fully agree with him.
I’m wordy too, even though I have no talent for literature. I was wandering from the subject.
So here you can see a symbol of Portuguese Christmas, “O Bolo Do Rei” which means “The King’s Cake” and a bottle of noble Porto wine, that I have received today from a senhora Rosa. Maybe one day I’ll write her story…
If I could, I’d share a slice of this cake with all of you, because I have received so much from PBase fellow photographers in all these years. You have all my gratitude and I wish you all the happiness and the joy you deserve.
I sincerely hope we’ll have many opportunities to meet virtually on PBase also next year.



O bolo do rei has a hole in the center and is baked from a soft, white dough, with raisins, various nuts, and crystallized fruit inside. Bolo Rei is a bit more complicated to make and has quite a few ingredients but the end product is totally worth the effort.