Hello Friends. I’m Shelley Leedahl, a multi-genre writer in lovely Ladysmith on Vancouver Island, and this is Season 3 of my literary podcast, Something Like Love. I’ve always loved to explore, so I’m feeling the pain during these restrictive, pandemic times and thus have decided to dedicate Season 3 to travel and exploration through poetry, fiction, and essays. 

You’re warmly invited to join me each week on international adventures from my past, and I’ll share some Canadian locales too. I also promote other writer’s work and – because I just can’t help myself – I add a dash of music to the mix, too    

No passports required, no quarantine necessary. Let’s … just … do … this. 

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Today we’re Portugal bound. I was in Europe in 2013, and the extended trip was feasible because I’d arranged a home exchange with a French couple. My then-partner and I flew to Basel, Switzerland, where Chulita and Alain met us and drove us back to their home near Belfort, France. 

We had two nights with them, then they flew off to Edmonton while we settled into the Alsace region of France. By god it was glorious in the French countryside. We had a view of the Vosges Mountains, and both Germany and Switzerland were nearby. 

We zoomed to Paris on the TGV. We connected with writer friends of mine in Germany’s Black Forest, and we luxuriated in a Baden Baden spa. We visited my sister-in-law and niece in Switzerland, and we popped over to the Czech Republic for some exploring there, too. Highlights included quaint Colmar, France – la petite Venice – and visiting wineries, and running in the French countryside to the next village for morning croissants. I’m terribly fond of Europe, truth be told. 

In this episode you’ll hear me tell a story involving a near arrest at Estoril, Portugal, and a wild trip back to a Lisbon Air BnB in the back of a siren-blaring police paddywagon. I also read the essay “What I Learned About Life at the End of the World,” from my essay collection I Wasn’t Always Like This (Signature Editions). I wrote it when based in Salema, on the southern coast, after I was invited on an 8-hour hike – to the end of the world – with a 70-year-old stranger named Sigrun.

I’m also pleased to share the work of Regina, Saskatchewan writer-friend Gerry Hill, who also spent time writing in Portugal. Gerry recently launched his seventh collection of poetry, Crooked at the Far End (Radiant Press), and he graciously sent me a recording of his poem “Love Poem Contest, Second Prize.” Man, he had me at the title alone.

I usually create all the music for this podcast series, but this week I couldn’t resist adding some Fado – hey, the theme’s Portugal, after all. Thanks to Alexandre Bateiras for “Variações Sobre um tema Melancólico,” and Creative Commons for this license: 

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/

Next week we’re going to Bali!

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If you enjoyed this travel essay and wish to read more, please order a copy of I Wasn’t Always Like This online here http://www.signature-editions.com/index.php/books/single_title/i_wasnt_always_like_this , on Amazon, or from your favourite bookstore.