tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-58171299528480967192024-03-13T11:30:26.039+00:00An American In PortugalLiving, Working, Eating & Drinking my way through a deliciously interesting country.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06217380964240658865noreply@blogger.comBlogger30125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817129952848096719.post-91907780778093890212013-03-01T22:07:00.001+00:002013-04-03T15:46:05.043+01:00I've Moved! Check Me Out On My New An American In Portugal Tours!<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihVdVECEszbRKos7e_yIUx_KJSLN7dp7myyObzL_XqAWSQJjqL-iyPRd6ulztXOEEnlmhCviYTSIjFzXskKbk78RkdmDvexkeOo0mAfTxneNvA1KaZkjfF10hQUu3gML0Abz9BDFc6Jr4/s1600/tourcolor-181.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihVdVECEszbRKos7e_yIUx_KJSLN7dp7myyObzL_XqAWSQJjqL-iyPRd6ulztXOEEnlmhCviYTSIjFzXskKbk78RkdmDvexkeOo0mAfTxneNvA1KaZkjfF10hQUu3gML0Abz9BDFc6Jr4/s400/tourcolor-181.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Delicious Portuguese chouriço that you can taste on my tours! <br />
Photo by my fantastic photographer friend <a href="http://www.acquiredlife.com/">Rochelle Ramos</a></td></tr>
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<b>I am finally ready and at your service! </b> After spending over a year planning, outlining and working on a new site, I am proud to announce my new <a href="http://americaninportugaltours.com/">An American In Portugal Tours</a>, offering guided food and wine tour services in Portugal! You can still read about my life as well as all of my tasty Portuguese food and drink experiences, many included in my tours, on my blog here at <a href="http://americaninportugaltours.com/blog/">An American In Portugal Tours</a>. You can also still find me writing about Portuguese food, wine and travel on <a href="http://catavino.net/author/andrea/">Catavino</a>.<br />
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Check it out and I hope you continue to enjoy reading and perhaps I will see you on my next tour!<br />
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Cheers,<br />
AndreaAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06217380964240658865noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817129952848096719.post-40936438343505734582012-12-03T13:10:00.000+00:002013-04-03T16:17:00.795+01:00Luxury, Art and Design Weekend At Martinhal: A 5-Star Event and Resort That's Worth Your Trip<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieK4Z52bbPo3hKvIWY0HSc4rdzewCTS8fdxXWZUDGgobsi5PnByrbF2scPKE7BhXEhdFazC0f7c9RY9YzGbX5vDo5U07mcjz2qofJSqqt0dg7nJCYnv0nu6oYafN94Ds-rA0rP8hLkX-o/s1600/2012-11-10+10.21.27.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieK4Z52bbPo3hKvIWY0HSc4rdzewCTS8fdxXWZUDGgobsi5PnByrbF2scPKE7BhXEhdFazC0f7c9RY9YzGbX5vDo5U07mcjz2qofJSqqt0dg7nJCYnv0nu6oYafN94Ds-rA0rP8hLkX-o/s640/2012-11-10+10.21.27.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<b style="background-color: #fefdfa; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><span style="color: blue;">*Interested in learning more about Portuguese food and wine with me? Check out my <span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://americaninportugaltours.com/">An American In Portugal Tours</a></span>, and my blog's new home!*</span></b><br />
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<b>There is something so nice</b> when people make you feel special, the feeling that not just your presence matters, but your happiness and satisfaction as well. This was the feeling I had two weeks ago when I spent a fabulous weekend at the 5-star <a href="http://www.martinhal.com/">Martinhal Beach Resort</a> in <a href="http://www.sagres.net/sagres-algarve.htm">Sagres</a>, specifically for their first-ever "Luxury, Art and Design Weekend". This was a special event featuring presentations from several artists and designers, a champagne label and perfume launch, gourmet dinners paired with high end Portuguese wines and catered by renowned Portuguese chefs and the chance to test drive a Porsche. When I first heard the details of this event, the "ritzy-ness" was enough to make my head spin.....I had worked in 5-star hotels before but had never been a guest in one so I was hesitant to go thinking I would feel completely out of place....but the thought of enjoying some gourmet food and wine was enough to convince me. And thankfully not only did I end up doing just that but both the hotel and the entire event showed me luxury, art and design without ever making me feel like I didn't belong there.<br />
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<b>With so many fantastic things </b>that I wanted to say about my weekend here, I had to break them down into separately titled paragraphs below, check them out and discover all the little details about why I loved this place so much! <br />
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<b><u>Luxuriously Natural Location</u></b></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy9nmXOTJyVA2rZEoFk5EWuFug-Vy4l1B23fIUshVw7bv1A2bUX4N7dnTh9Jej5GsQKpmY3vvmhWcw4jSsNnzXJ6FOYAsKd4Xa_FkCi3jcB_9Us_eoh7LLxbWZhlWvARZHT7wnDBohei4/s1600/2012-11-10+12.44.22.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy9nmXOTJyVA2rZEoFk5EWuFug-Vy4l1B23fIUshVw7bv1A2bUX4N7dnTh9Jej5GsQKpmY3vvmhWcw4jSsNnzXJ6FOYAsKd4Xa_FkCi3jcB_9Us_eoh7LLxbWZhlWvARZHT7wnDBohei4/s320/2012-11-10+12.44.22.jpg" width="320" /></a><b>To start with, </b>the location of this resort is perfect, right on the beach and in a part of Algarve that is completely different from the Algarve most people know. One must understand that almost every Portuguese resident (and British tourist) vacation in the southern region of Algarve every summer, with most people having their own place, including my boyfriend's family. That said, Algarve tends to have a reputation of being crowded and touristy, especially in the major cities. However, this is not the case with Sagres. Located on the southwestern-most tip of the country, the area surrounding the small fishing town of Sagres and Martinhal resort is a protected natural park, part of the greater <a href="http://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parque_Natural_do_Sudoeste_Alentejano_e_Costa_Vicentina">Parque Sudoeste Alentejano e Costa Vincentina </a>and is a stunningly beautiful expanse of unique Mediterranean-climate tundra, filled with hundreds of rare plants and species - the perfect place to get away from it all and be one with nature! <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPu1zSlhyphenhyphenchibQSU3pblzwilIyodmGHl6ifWzjZUDjz-uGSVCdIcxCWQFdpQNBZnA2tHj50U7Lcg5lwyyviTpHXxiybzOsTw9jCWiIcx6bBIwuSZZ6P_JNwdt47HvNJCgbwdmfrtGVvEY/s1600/2012-11-10+11.20.39.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPu1zSlhyphenhyphenchibQSU3pblzwilIyodmGHl6ifWzjZUDjz-uGSVCdIcxCWQFdpQNBZnA2tHj50U7Lcg5lwyyviTpHXxiybzOsTw9jCWiIcx6bBIwuSZZ6P_JNwdt47HvNJCgbwdmfrtGVvEY/s320/2012-11-10+11.20.39.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<b>And surprisingly,</b> summer in Sagres is not necessarily the most ideal time to go there even though it's the most popular with vacationers. Summer high season also means more crowded and more expensive as well as July also happens to be the windiest month in here. Instead, try checking out the Sagres in October or April and May, when the weather is still warm and mild enough for the beach without as much wind. This also allows one to take advantage of more room availability and low season prices at Martinhal, including special price package events like the one I attended.<br />
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<b><u>Ecological and Artfully Designed Accommodation</u></b><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOevg_O_hMLArbERrPwrVeEufBCGqT4TTjASt51dlIL6hvRtgXN4FHnrOQNJxFj6Ew9zjd8sSTIyf_kCm9_jMtcDkcn9DWGdRQ-c4lLT0YbbYFfMKZbZaj0hLbQd3w_VawjqUllWM2XA0/s1600/2012-11-09+18.34.33.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOevg_O_hMLArbERrPwrVeEufBCGqT4TTjASt51dlIL6hvRtgXN4FHnrOQNJxFj6Ew9zjd8sSTIyf_kCm9_jMtcDkcn9DWGdRQ-c4lLT0YbbYFfMKZbZaj0hLbQd3w_VawjqUllWM2XA0/s320/2012-11-09+18.34.33.jpg" width="320" /></a><b>You can easily feel</b> the sense of peace and quiet with nature while staying in one of Hotel Martinhal's <a href="http://www.martinhal.com/hotel-martinhal/accommodation/beach-rooms">beach room</a>s. These beachfront rooms are situated in the resort's handful of ecologically designed "bungalows", all with a large balcony or terrace facing the ocean. And what's great is that these are staggered so that guests next door can not see one another, allowing you to enjoy your ocean view in ultimate privacy. Inside, the spacious bedroom and bathroom are styled in a casual but refined manner, incorporating natural Portuguese materials such as cork into the furniture and traditional stone tiling in the bathroom and in fact, Martinhal tries to use as much local Portuguese products and designs to style the entire resort. The room amenities are also plentiful, including an assortment of natural seaweed bath products, a complimentary liter of bottled water and 3 complimentary cafés from the personal Nespresso machine.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnSTiR6aNDB1c8pjvLvkV5nf7zhmFPXjmyrZRIswpjXj9ZnHl4Q8Ohs5k0D7rQbCfb2JspnCTlxswcgFw6Oi-k4_kAtpccGR7VCoqAjx3AL-ooayJDTMuZ9RtatfSMZ7aqegFUlK6rSH4/s1600/2012-11-10+07.12.47.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnSTiR6aNDB1c8pjvLvkV5nf7zhmFPXjmyrZRIswpjXj9ZnHl4Q8Ohs5k0D7rQbCfb2JspnCTlxswcgFw6Oi-k4_kAtpccGR7VCoqAjx3AL-ooayJDTMuZ9RtatfSMZ7aqegFUlK6rSH4/s400/2012-11-10+07.12.47.jpg" width="400" /></a><b>I slept like a baby</b> in the luxuriously soft king-size bed both of the nights I was at the resort, lulled to sleep by the gentle lapping of the ocean waves against the shore outside my room. On the first morning, I got lucky when I woke up to catch this gorgeous view of the sunrise from my balcony:<br />
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<b><u>Family-Friendly Resort Designed For Everyone</u></b><br />
<b>Boasting to be</b> <a href="http://www.martinhal.com/martinhal-beach-resort/Top%205%20reasons%20why%20our%20guests%20come%20back">"Europe's Finest Luxury Family Resort"</a> the Martinhal project was started by Chitra Stern, a mother of 4 originally from Singapore who used her own family experience to create a place where both parents and children could relax. Because of this, they offer a variety of family-friendly <a href="http://www.martinhal.com/martinhal-beach-resort/martinhal-village">accommodation</a> along with an unlimited amount of <a href="http://www.martinhal.com/kids">children's activities and services</a> to keep the kids entertained while the parents get some alone time. And basically every area of the resort has some sort of children's playground or corner where kids can entertain themselves within eyesight of the parents as well as watched over by a hotel employee. There is also a calendar of daily activities for adults, kids and families to sign up for so guests are never at a loss for things to do! Now I've said in the past that normally I try to stay away from family hotels because of the usual chaos but here at Martinhal I hardly even noticed that there were children around because they were always happily playing in one of the children's areas. This experience proved to me that a family-friendly hotel could also be everyone - friendly!<br />
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<b><u>Luxury Dining From Dawn to Dusk</u></b><br />
<b>Breakfast at Martinhal</b> on the deck of the Terraço restaurant with a blissful view of the ocean was something to remember (See first photo above). Not only did they offer a wide variety of food but the hotel also had by far the healthiest selection of breakfasts I've seen at a hotel. Normally in Portugal I'm used to seeing a ton of sweet Portuguese cakes and jams for breakfast (which I do enjoy a lot don't get me wrong) but here I loved how they provided several choices of raw nuts like almonds and walnuts as well as both dried and fresh fruit that you could add to your cereal or yogurt. And they actually have <u>cold</u> milk for your cereal! (this is hard to get in Portugal). Another lovely surprise was that the waiters already had a french press coffee pot and creamer of hot milk waiting on the table when you got back with your food, nice! And if you still wanted to be a little indulgent they also had sparkling wine just for that special touch, it almost felt more like brunch then!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvKPeBvVIgzkptEq8yhh_8LqkKaK1PFt8HpLNE_ju_Y-JmxrtRw4L0JJmVz83ubWuowrKjHVfnAc03yLrYF1P7r8DIxK_9UbXZ9uF8RXFMwNhc7PlVlmrfxlux8b3Tgit8BmKV_s0gZ-0/s1600/2012-11-10+12.49.07.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvKPeBvVIgzkptEq8yhh_8LqkKaK1PFt8HpLNE_ju_Y-JmxrtRw4L0JJmVz83ubWuowrKjHVfnAc03yLrYF1P7r8DIxK_9UbXZ9uF8RXFMwNhc7PlVlmrfxlux8b3Tgit8BmKV_s0gZ-0/s320/2012-11-10+12.49.07.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
<b>Lunch at Martinhal's As Dunas</b> seafood restaurant exemplified the freshness and flavor of Portuguese fish. On the first day we enjoyed platters of steamed <i>mexilhões (</i>mussels) and fried <i>gambas </i>(prawns) mixed with garlic, cilantro and <i>piri-piri </i>washed down with a crisp Algarvian white wine from <a href="http://winesofportugal.info/pagina.php?codNode=117479&market=2">Quinta do Barranco Longo</a> followed by a rich <i>massada do peixe </i>(seafood stew with pasta)<i>. </i>On the second day, we slurped down a bowl of <i>Cataplana de Marisco </i>(Portuguese fish and seafood stew) cooked in the biggest cataplana pot I've ever seen! And man was it tasty! All of this seafood while dining outside by the sun-drenched beach, amazing.<br />
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<b> For dinner, </b>I spent both evenings of the Luxury, Art and Design Weekend enjoying Elyx Vodka cocktails, Piper Heidsick's new label champagne and two, 4-course gourmet dinners. The first was by Martinhal's Terraço Restaurant chef Micael Valentim and the second by guest chef Igor Martinho, a current contestant on <a href="http://media.rtp.pt/blogs/topchef/concorrentes/igor-martinho/">"Portugal's Top Chef"</a>. Both of the dinners we had were absolutely delicious with equally delicious Portuguese wines from two Dão region wineries, <b style="font-style: italic;"><a href="http://www.casadedarei.pt/">Vinhos Darei</a> </b>who provided the whites and <b style="font-style: italic;"><a href="http://www.quintadelemos.com/">Quinta do Lemos</a> </b>with the reds. <br />
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<b>For Chef Valentim's dinner</b> we started with Vinhos Darei's 2011 Lagar Darei Colheita, made from a blend of native Encruzado, Bical, Cerceal and Malvasia Fina varietals and paired with seared scallops with a cauliflower purée and olive oil lentil salsa then sea bass filet with beetroot risotto, one of my favorites. Then we had a 2007 Quinta do Lemos Rótulo Violeta Jaen, made from 100% of the native Jaen varietal paired with a seared duck breast, spinach purée and arugula salad with sun dried tomato pesto oil (pictured right). <br />
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<b>For Chef Martinho's dinner </b>we had the Lagar Darei Private Selection which paired wonderfully with the chef's <i>bacalhau</i> (saltcod) and chickpea salad and his scrumptious John Dory with bellpepper cream and tarragon potato rosti. We then followed with Quinta do Lemos' 2005 Dona Santana, a blend of Touriga Nacional, Tinta Roriz, Jaen and Alfrocheiro and paired with a loin of veal with vitelote potatoes and carrots and an Algarvian orange purée. And both wineries sent representatives to give a short presentation about the wines during our second dinner, a nice selling point. We ended the dinners with a perfectly sweet apple mille feuille, vanilla ice cream and cinnamon sauce and a traditional Portuguese <i>toucinho do céu </i>(almond and egg custard tart) with yummy local fig ice cream and cream cheese foam.<br />
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<b><u>Luxury, Art and Design By Porsche- A Fantasy Fulfilled</u></b><br />
<b>Ok so maybe </b>I never realized before that I had always wanted to drive a fast sports car but I guess Porsche awakened the dream in me. Aside from all the gourmet food and wine during the Luxury, Art and Design Weekend this activity was definitely by far my favorite and a lot of the other guests seemed to agree! At first I thought I wasn't even going to able to drive any of the cars because I had always believed that most sports cars came in manual shift which I never mastered but to my surprise and delight the two Porsches had for to test-drive were in automatic, yay! Our choices were the <a href="http://www.porsche.com/usa/models/cayenne/cayenne-turbo/">Porsche Cayenne Turbo</a> and the <a href="http://www.porsche.com/usa/models/boxster/boxster-s/">Porsche Boxster S</a> and having no clue about cars I went with the coolest, sportiest looking one, which was the Boxster convertible of course. As soon as I sat down on the driver's side, I saw and felt the seat, steering wheel and rear view mirrors adjust to my size, I was super-impressed already haha. Then what I thought was going to be some dinky test drive around the hotel parking lot turned out to be an exhilarating joy ride along the open countryside around Sagres. Porsche had specifically scouted out this perfect stretch of straight road with very little traffic to really show off the car's speed and features, according to my accompanying Porsche assistant, who was telling me about all those Top Gear-style specs about the engine and stuff that the car had while I was cruising along. <br />
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<b>To be honest though,</b> I told him to save all car geek info for the guys and just let me enjoy the thrill of not only getting to drive my first car in a couple of years (I sold my last car when I moved to Portugal and haven't driven any since) but a ridiculously expensive sports car that I'll probably never get to drive again! And man the setting couldn't have been more perfect, beautiful countryside, sunny skies, top down with the wind whipping through my hair and the intensity of going almost full throttle with the gas on a long, straight and empty road, it was like being in the perfect car commercial! I got out of that Porsche at the end with a new-found appreciation for cars.<br />
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<b><u>5-Star Staff and Service Without the Pretentiousness</u></b><br />
<b>During my stay </b>I had the delight of meeting and dining with owner and Board Director of Martinhal Chitra Stern as well as Managing Director Nicholas Montgomery and the event coordinators, Marketing Assistant Rosa Santos and Armando Ribeiro - all of whom were so openly warm and friendly to everyone. Chitra told us at dinner on our first night that they wanted to make sure that all of us were relaxing and having a good time and that if we had any issues to please let them know so they could fix it right away. I could tell how she really genuinely cared about the happiness of all her guests and it's not often that you see a hotel's higher management so visible and approachable throughout your stay, mingling with guests and talking to them like an old friend, it really makes you feel at home! Martinhal's Food and Beverage Director Wadim Alvarez also oversaw both of the event dinners with careful precision and attention to detail, always coming around to ask what we thought of the food and quickly fulfilling any requests that we had. And it great to see that he had trained his young serving staff to do just the same, our water and wine glasses were always full, plates came out hot and right on time and all with a smile!<br />
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<b>Martinhal's Luxury, Art and Design Weekend </b>gave me the opportunity to experience things I would have never thought I would enjoy, all while being in a completely relaxed and friendly ambiance. The resort plans to make this an annual event to bring in business during the low season and I think that's a fantastic idea. If you're going to spend a good amount of money and go out of your comfort zone, this place and especially this event will definitely make it worth your while!<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqi0z3O-WlQgCWyWXlmOctAGWtDPaPZqdeyW4hHQ-e24JlSB4auEGwPp8rNRFEXPZqjHoVJ9DoaxPtXf_wT_adz-IvWtqAzLrghC9Nx_oSp5Gw71VNEhd8lOPBHxyfl3nzz8hrNAyyzAk/s1600/2012-11-10+17.56.31.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqi0z3O-WlQgCWyWXlmOctAGWtDPaPZqdeyW4hHQ-e24JlSB4auEGwPp8rNRFEXPZqjHoVJ9DoaxPtXf_wT_adz-IvWtqAzLrghC9Nx_oSp5Gw71VNEhd8lOPBHxyfl3nzz8hrNAyyzAk/s400/2012-11-10+17.56.31.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
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<b>Thank you Martinhal,</b> keep up the great work and I promise I'll be back!<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06217380964240658865noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817129952848096719.post-35385968243451981852012-08-28T13:09:00.000+01:002013-04-03T16:17:55.076+01:00Summer Saints Parties in the Aldeias: The Traditions, The Food & The Fun!<b style="background-color: #fefdfa; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><span style="color: blue;">*Interested in learning more about Portuguese food and wine with me? Check out my <span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://americaninportugaltours.com/">An American In Portugal Tours</a></span>, and my blog's new home!*</span></b><br />
<b style="background-color: #fefdfa; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><span style="color: blue;"><br /></span></b>
<b><span style="font-size: large;">It's been</span></b> a busy but fun summer for me! I know I've been gone for a bit but it's because I have been working on launching a <b>new business,</b> which I hope to debut very soon on here! I've also started writing again for <a href="http://catavino.net/author/andrea/" style="font-weight: bold;">Catavino </a> and you can check out my latest posts there on the link, but I still plan to continue posting on my own blog, which will soon be on a<b> new</b> <b>interface</b> :) Until then, I wanted to share some of the things I've experienced during the summer, so enjoy!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh2Z7QmkquRxucmzLYRf6vFfFFhEPO9PJKs_djuCh-7apU7YVYjWlRWsqj8BlNqfdHxcTfHpBl7IyTJVeuSwtbdIhCvEOu2Rlzg-w_agzY8U3C6NZf_IneDul6BgrKRAp6wOwLRfjo9D8/s1600/2012-06-24+17.58.42.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh2Z7QmkquRxucmzLYRf6vFfFFhEPO9PJKs_djuCh-7apU7YVYjWlRWsqj8BlNqfdHxcTfHpBl7IyTJVeuSwtbdIhCvEOu2Rlzg-w_agzY8U3C6NZf_IneDul6BgrKRAp6wOwLRfjo9D8/s640/2012-06-24+17.58.42.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Three adorable little children from a neighboring village all dressed up and ready to do their march</td></tr>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Back in June,</span></b> I spent another <a href="http://www.americaninportugal.blogspot.pt/2012/03/my-weekend-in-country-day-2.html">weekend in the country</a> with my friend Rita and her family at their home in the little <i>aldeia </i>of Avecasta, in the Ribatejo. That weekend happened to be their village's festival for São João or Saint John, who is celebrated among numerous little villages in Northern Portugal as well as the very large party for him in June in the city of Porto. These <i>festas populares </i>or popular parties, are held in basically every locale throughout the summer months. They typically consist of 2-3 days of celebration with food and drinks and dancing to silly <i>pimba </i>music<i> </i>(the Portuguese version of polka) that include a religious procession with the hailed saint and the <i>Nossa Senhora </i>(Virgin Mary) and <i>marchas populares </i>(popular marches), where the villagers or neighborhood residents dress up in colorful costumes and parade down the main avenue to do a little sing and dance to a popular Portuguese march played by a small band for the audience. Lisbon has their popular parties in June as well but for Santo Antonio (Saint Anthony), which you can read my <a href="http://catavino.net/festival-of-santo-antonio-and-festas-de-lisboa-lisbon%E2%80%99s-biggest-party-of-the-year/">Catavino post </a> I did on it awhile back. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYx5m5tr2fhgY-I-SEcqzO72n9CZYrzFmpRuXElex-gHkzlM9O3EOPCrO3aKCeUM4j0hefHD7c5Ki5iRxbLScgzWMkPTXb_PSOaVleJYGzoQr83oKzNn95dbcCTXlgf9MlnlsanbPPXhI/s1600/2012-06-23+10.28.15.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYx5m5tr2fhgY-I-SEcqzO72n9CZYrzFmpRuXElex-gHkzlM9O3EOPCrO3aKCeUM4j0hefHD7c5Ki5iRxbLScgzWMkPTXb_PSOaVleJYGzoQr83oKzNn95dbcCTXlgf9MlnlsanbPPXhI/s320/2012-06-23+10.28.15.jpg" width="240" /></a><b><span style="font-size: large;">Since Lisbon's parties</span></b> are some of the biggest and craziest in the country, they therefore tend to be too chaotic for my enjoyment, but in the little village of Avecasta, they are much more traditional and friendly and I really had a wonderful time! It's amazing to see all the hard work this tiny village puts in to making their festas populares great, they make their own costumes and props for the marches and put in a lot of practice for the dances, they do all the decorations, some of them handmade, they make all of the food for the parties and work the drinks and food stands all weekend and the neighboring villages come from all around to enjoy the parties and participate in the marches. And for Rita and her family, they contribute quite a bit to all of these things! I even got a chance to help them on Saturday morning rolling out and baking the traditional <i>ferraduras</i> used for saints' days, which is a very firm but tasty, horseshoe-shaped bread flavored with <i>erva doce </i>(anise) and <i>canela </i>(cinnamon) and is used in both decoration and on sale for people to buy at the festival. It was a lot of work but fun to do and we baked them in the family's outdoor brick oven mmm :)</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Below</b> </span>is a medley of photos I took throughout the weekend there, showing us making the bread, preparing and conducting the religious procession through the village, the colorful <i>marchas populares </i>and of course some shots of the nighttime dances and festivities. I highly recommend anyone visiting Portugal in the summer then to visit one of these <i>aldeias</i> or towns during their <i>festas populares</i>, it's a Portuguese party you don't want to miss! </div>
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Interested in making <i>ferraduras</i>? Check out <a href="http://panelalume.blogspot.pt/2011/06/ferraduras.html">this recipe on "Pot On The Stove"s Blog</a>.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Getting started on rolling out the bread, that's a very big container of dough!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here I am hard at work on the bread! You grab a hunk of dough and a dab of homemade extra virgin olive oil to knead in and then roll out :)</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brushing the dough with egg wash</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ferraduras ready to be baked!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Just imagine the wonderful aroma of anis and cinnamon that was coming from that oven :) The olive branch in front is supposed to help prevent them from burning.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Taking a quick break from bread baking to show off the large bucket of fresh <i>alperces </i>(apricots) that Rita's uncle brought over from their tree, yum!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The women decorating the <i>Nossa Senhora</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The statue of São João all decorated by the men of the village</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The village's little chapel all lit up for the festival</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEVR0KdEq2Y0RkAnSpenqJZ7iKooUqCsQVpPq3Nf4QdZO5U8UGwYoZqtD_EUxk-fsh9J5jtIVfAPSxfCfZ0CZacNEmpi34fHwshT-v9J4CNV2SBmuHEnAEEV0LVZJME9Hssohp4SOhlxk/s1600/2012-06-23+23.40.18.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEVR0KdEq2Y0RkAnSpenqJZ7iKooUqCsQVpPq3Nf4QdZO5U8UGwYoZqtD_EUxk-fsh9J5jtIVfAPSxfCfZ0CZacNEmpi34fHwshT-v9J4CNV2SBmuHEnAEEV0LVZJME9Hssohp4SOhlxk/s400/2012-06-23+23.40.18.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Everyone having fun at the party!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtNH4KmwP177LU9x4X1utk_jaa1tnGJjUECraARF81CvYql1Yns5RD9pBBobdZQ7p06ASx_a5aWAoTFZ3JgoW7zvO6OsK1GqoXQyxbtOup7G5_sxNuBuMml62AjYfN2AK4KNMLSLiZzLc/s1600/2012-06-24+00.20.18.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtNH4KmwP177LU9x4X1utk_jaa1tnGJjUECraARF81CvYql1Yns5RD9pBBobdZQ7p06ASx_a5aWAoTFZ3JgoW7zvO6OsK1GqoXQyxbtOup7G5_sxNuBuMml62AjYfN2AK4KNMLSLiZzLc/s400/2012-06-24+00.20.18.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lots of singing and dancing, I was spun around so much I almost fell! :p</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5ltF6v6G0gnpnOn_ZIRX7ZwsVtasRX_d4Y-l6K6bTJkN5gtf27Xe-tzuNh1rfrvKNB8CItceN_6SycB80NQQJBqWnXKm5IKMISB9IlCxStX2oUTtOrmfnoq4-E4aZPjy92nFqvcC8jy4/s1600/2012-06-24+12.01.18.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5ltF6v6G0gnpnOn_ZIRX7ZwsVtasRX_d4Y-l6K6bTJkN5gtf27Xe-tzuNh1rfrvKNB8CItceN_6SycB80NQQJBqWnXKm5IKMISB9IlCxStX2oUTtOrmfnoq4-E4aZPjy92nFqvcC8jy4/s640/2012-06-24+12.01.18.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The <i>ferraduras </i>all decorated with handmade flowers to be carried during the religious procession</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFWu3Oiuj6hmJZC0IT3N-_RcobDNdqLugc0qIGIuzt1DpvvdvjfSwi95mtVJh9kQrr2rgJwNECNzPsQZKK44ROgljNlHTfQq77YtTrlHlJCOUkp3WAMUBz84Nog1ZhtXe-9f3i02cpGTY/s1600/2012-06-24+12.02.29.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFWu3Oiuj6hmJZC0IT3N-_RcobDNdqLugc0qIGIuzt1DpvvdvjfSwi95mtVJh9kQrr2rgJwNECNzPsQZKK44ROgljNlHTfQq77YtTrlHlJCOUkp3WAMUBz84Nog1ZhtXe-9f3i02cpGTY/s640/2012-06-24+12.02.29.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">More of the decorated <i>ferraduras </i>and flowers :)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1jIJAgndqaUY46M_dnJAt4NpGfuMOfOhKSXe6JQiPgHZwCNgc_nucXrJOZ8r_0nx2x5LMzH7cXrlU0ETZoT-IJcFMwB-Sac8i0BFVnxvc0DuPddquXRsE-BWGEICuDcOzWbLgyM42FZM/s1600/2012-06-24+13.17.53.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1jIJAgndqaUY46M_dnJAt4NpGfuMOfOhKSXe6JQiPgHZwCNgc_nucXrJOZ8r_0nx2x5LMzH7cXrlU0ETZoT-IJcFMwB-Sac8i0BFVnxvc0DuPddquXRsE-BWGEICuDcOzWbLgyM42FZM/s400/2012-06-24+13.17.53.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Getting ready for the procession</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7uUkHYKaAg0fGE5fTIh7Aljx5pTb07ESjdFZvBJd3KtOnt4kdo1AndAEz9u35J3Vs3lP6QQpb2nqv9luO2nXZysqaQWEBkddX11KhBbF0-W36_MXGVbiCATvSZLOqBBPL9oGvSEz7rW0/s1600/2012-06-24+13.19.43.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7uUkHYKaAg0fGE5fTIh7Aljx5pTb07ESjdFZvBJd3KtOnt4kdo1AndAEz9u35J3Vs3lP6QQpb2nqv9luO2nXZysqaQWEBkddX11KhBbF0-W36_MXGVbiCATvSZLOqBBPL9oGvSEz7rW0/s640/2012-06-24+13.19.43.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here they come!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhReGgGg8f5ZGJe3-SG3JdCZJnK8jSkPpoG4rzm-8sLxaRNhMzUg5sBVeJmmXIbPERzF9MXApxspxcyga2C8i87P4JyuUQBqHmLUmNDI1A3iwzRVYGG8HLJLBVkns8Bo9QR35c4WhYl_wU/s1600/2012-06-24+13.28.30.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhReGgGg8f5ZGJe3-SG3JdCZJnK8jSkPpoG4rzm-8sLxaRNhMzUg5sBVeJmmXIbPERzF9MXApxspxcyga2C8i87P4JyuUQBqHmLUmNDI1A3iwzRVYGG8HLJLBVkns8Bo9QR35c4WhYl_wU/s400/2012-06-24+13.28.30.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rita's mother and sister holding up the back end of one of the bread and flower structures</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgveaKwBCVIJIs4ZM5alcAWG7cvs64aQT-GOUvUyLerFY4IKBitx1PL9kqkkWgsS0aySnmJ94u5oXMp7VUmgAwcHTzWpfGzCRjeXRDR1ST00MHnNOoNawvDZNbU6AB55bYZvZxx_ck-CIM/s1600/2012-06-24+13.33.04.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgveaKwBCVIJIs4ZM5alcAWG7cvs64aQT-GOUvUyLerFY4IKBitx1PL9kqkkWgsS0aySnmJ94u5oXMp7VUmgAwcHTzWpfGzCRjeXRDR1ST00MHnNOoNawvDZNbU6AB55bYZvZxx_ck-CIM/s400/2012-06-24+13.33.04.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Even the old abandoned stone houses were decorated for the occasion! :)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKI4Ra4rsVKG3x3u_qygtKMAe0ZKNHldmrUw9IQNYqDdxBVKkEPhObBfoki9kr_1jdDsm2VGR3_Lg0fFB-fPSPl9RvIwHYAVw8fXPRyIBeHpGD6M84bJQZwqXEAVe82Dd4GyMSpAGi9Z0/s1600/2012-06-24+18.03.09.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKI4Ra4rsVKG3x3u_qygtKMAe0ZKNHldmrUw9IQNYqDdxBVKkEPhObBfoki9kr_1jdDsm2VGR3_Lg0fFB-fPSPl9RvIwHYAVw8fXPRyIBeHpGD6M84bJQZwqXEAVe82Dd4GyMSpAGi9Z0/s400/2012-06-24+18.03.09.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The march from a neighboring village ready to go!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTksSTwD7IWWrWINAaa-WVJvIPxpPCHEwZImLIDLqaCMiNJSPmHJ_mYMnefdivu90QeMxI8nwRDNPDhTqE0wv9Sx-PBL8xd8eQKFm6n1DfqOYJD8BEOzy_MKsxFco9rL3Bb_nXmSCZ5Bs/s1600/2012-06-24+18.30.13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTksSTwD7IWWrWINAaa-WVJvIPxpPCHEwZImLIDLqaCMiNJSPmHJ_mYMnefdivu90QeMxI8nwRDNPDhTqE0wv9Sx-PBL8xd8eQKFm6n1DfqOYJD8BEOzy_MKsxFco9rL3Bb_nXmSCZ5Bs/s400/2012-06-24+18.30.13.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And another village march :)</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMviCChJ8llx-XKWWcGvMiGIIsdqMoH_hIaWtop-kPsy2O5sprc5eXV4awrt3dFm-A5epm5Zgs_P5cT3kIzl_1-cbymQGf6Cp7Cf1XWto8v30ZjDY8ny71MvB-fGvWNmEketpZY3j0VVU/s1600/2012-06-24+18.09.47.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMviCChJ8llx-XKWWcGvMiGIIsdqMoH_hIaWtop-kPsy2O5sprc5eXV4awrt3dFm-A5epm5Zgs_P5cT3kIzl_1-cbymQGf6Cp7Cf1XWto8v30ZjDY8ny71MvB-fGvWNmEketpZY3j0VVU/s400/2012-06-24+18.09.47.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of the props for Avecasta's march, a replica of one of the traditional houses :)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWyQVgrGlXH3s6BGbBcPz_KVfHd5lgstVbuzwqwPs8Wl-VOf-jm-jAUH9V1U7Serr0WWCA9-VZkgDeu3nuV2DcnlSp4DZtcf5KaXURkC8AgIM9SysZbOSNO8V-JUI8gCXRoWHPgCpyw_M/s1600/2012-06-24+18.24.06.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWyQVgrGlXH3s6BGbBcPz_KVfHd5lgstVbuzwqwPs8Wl-VOf-jm-jAUH9V1U7Serr0WWCA9-VZkgDeu3nuV2DcnlSp4DZtcf5KaXURkC8AgIM9SysZbOSNO8V-JUI8gCXRoWHPgCpyw_M/s640/2012-06-24+18.24.06.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rita, her mother and the villagers of Avecasta performing their march! </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEoS6fA8HdUYFZ_CUBPxkZ5JNO1eOkVm7o3cU85sR0CcXCUk58tZEorxrX4IAo022LvIM-57_lx0vmVcmgnsiPinmAB1Ws2faVSX3WREISnsHTMGmOHKoo4heMJ2NIJ0gCyuMy4DUJ41M/s1600/2012-06-24+18.28.12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEoS6fA8HdUYFZ_CUBPxkZ5JNO1eOkVm7o3cU85sR0CcXCUk58tZEorxrX4IAo022LvIM-57_lx0vmVcmgnsiPinmAB1Ws2faVSX3WREISnsHTMGmOHKoo4heMJ2NIJ0gCyuMy4DUJ41M/s400/2012-06-24+18.28.12.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Avecasta was the best of the marches! And what a fun party they throw! :)<br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Enjoy the rest of your summer!</b></span></td></tr>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06217380964240658865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817129952848096719.post-52544064132219480602012-06-01T18:27:00.001+01:002013-04-03T16:12:03.193+01:005 "Strange" Portuguese Foods that I've Grown to Love (And Think You Should Try Too)<div style="text-align: left;">
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA-8ZiF8IJiXAnjcSG1096Kx35WfCfrW36xefUakHwz2QkP-0l10IP84yuDw72V7Zhowh7XK9uRDeHwXoIeKvMq0ugJlJlz3fOK4u0APkP816l7DZBBLegtOHV-S1XkFq3rvHjl-k518s/s1600/percebes_azenhas.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA-8ZiF8IJiXAnjcSG1096Kx35WfCfrW36xefUakHwz2QkP-0l10IP84yuDw72V7Zhowh7XK9uRDeHwXoIeKvMq0ugJlJlz3fOK4u0APkP816l7DZBBLegtOHV-S1XkFq3rvHjl-k518s/s640/percebes_azenhas.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption">Percebes (Gooseneck Barnacles)<br />
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<b style="background-color: #fefdfa; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: small;">*Interested in learning more about Portuguese food and wine with me? Check out my <a href="http://americaninportugaltours.com/">An American In Portugal Tours</a>, and my blog's new home!*</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"><b><br /></b></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">I wouldn't say</span></b> there are many "strange" things in Portuguese cuisine. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: small;">And by strange, I mean something that isn't normally found or eaten in your own native country.</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: small;"> In general, I actually find Portuguese cuisine to be one of the most "likeable" cuisines, because just as in the much-loved Italian cuisine, they use a lot of simple, fresh, locally sourced ingredients. And for the most part, every dish that has been put in front of me during my time in Portugal has looked delicious and made me instantly want to eat it. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </span></div>
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<b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">However,</span></b><b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;"> </b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: small;">there have been a small handful of Portuguese foods and dishes that I definitely found, and still think are </span><u style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">strange</u><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: small;">. And it's even more difficult for someone like me with a culinary background to get weirded out by something. But these were foods that I either never knew existed or the combination did not look appetizing. Though ironically, they are some of the most nationally known and loved foods in Portugal! But since my parents raised me with the good manners of eating everything on my plate, even if I didn't like it, I knew I had to try these things regardless of what I thought. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: small;">Though </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: small;">now I'm glad I did, because then I understood why these foods are so popular here- they are indeed, really tasty! Granted, the soft texture of these foods in particular was not very appealing to me at first, but once I stopped focusing on that and more on how delicious they tasted, I was able to let go and truly enjoy and appreciate what I was eating. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>It's true,</b></span></span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: small;"> we're all programmed to turn up our nose at things that look strange or unappetizing to us, it's natural. Would you believe that most Portuguese I've asked have never even heard of the classic American peanut-butter and jelly sandwich? And even funnier is that after I explained what it is, most of them still found it strange and and wouldn't want to try it! :) The same way they found it funny and surprising when they heard my reaction to their beloved foods. So bottom line, if we get over these cultural or personal hangups, as I eventually did, we'll be able to enjoy so many more things that one would have never imagined to be delicious! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Below</span></b><span style="font-size: small;"> are five popular Portuguese foods and dishes that I found very strange in the beginning but now love. I've ordered them on a scale of "least to most strange" :) So, </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: small;">on your next trip here, </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: small;">I encourage you all to give these foods a chance and try them like I did, as you never know just what might become your next favorite food!</span></div>
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<b style="font-size: x-large; text-align: left;"><u>Açorda (Alentejana)- "Bread Soup":</u></b><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Açorda Alentejana (Bread Soup) Photo by <a href="http://paracozinhar.blogspot.pt/2010/06/acorda-alentejana-de-alho-e-coentros.html">As Minhas Receitas</a><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Açorda de Gambas (Shrimp) Photo by: <a href="http://saboresdaalma.blogspot.pt/2009/08/acorda-de-gambas.html">Sabores da Alma</a></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>The only bread</b> </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: small;">I normally associate with soup are the croutons you sprinkle on top, so when I found out that bread was the main ingredient of this traditional Portuguese main dish, my first question was "why?" Well, with the historically poor background of rural areas, one had to make sure you never wasted anything, so this was a way to use up old, stale bread. Traditionally, the bread is soaked to some degree of softness, then either broken up and/or cooked with chopped garlic and fresh cilantro. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: small;">There are two main versions of <i>açorda.</i> In the greater Lisbon and northern regions, they make </span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>Açorda de Gambas, </i>where</span></span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: small;"> the bread is heavily soaked and mushed up, then cooked with shrimp</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: small;">. </span> D<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: small;">espite its great flavor,</span> <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: small;">I'm not a big fan of this version (pictured second) because the look and texture reminds me too much of...er...vomit . But I do love the <i>Açorda Alentejana </i>version (pictured first), which resembles more of a soup without cooking the bread. Only a hot broth of garlic, olive oil and tons of fresh cilantro is poured over it and topped with a poached egg. Many people also add </span><i style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">bacalhau</i><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: small;"> (saltcod) or other fish to it for a heartier meal. Açorda Alentejana is so popular here that it was nominated as one of the<b> 7 Maravilhas da Gastronomia (7 Wonders of Gastronomy</b><i>-hmm a future post?</i><b style="font-style: italic;">)</b> and even though it didn't win, you<b style="font-style: italic;"> </b>don't want miss out on trying this!</span></div>
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<b style="font-size: x-large;"><u>Sapateira Recheada-Stuffed Stone Crab:</u></b>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpzl4pC_UXolVTT7-hPYIi6TeXNome1APsaA1sPoMkieiwDwB-e0eX84M3oUrA-Tz-xFYyyGvQPv1tvkyzIsQTT-pVZWk9S0bA7Hs0UMM7tf0ToU5tjtsm_SABi3QHdSeBbDabd4vjCho/s1600/7533805_Gd7cE.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpzl4pC_UXolVTT7-hPYIi6TeXNome1APsaA1sPoMkieiwDwB-e0eX84M3oUrA-Tz-xFYyyGvQPv1tvkyzIsQTT-pVZWk9S0bA7Hs0UMM7tf0ToU5tjtsm_SABi3QHdSeBbDabd4vjCho/s640/7533805_Gd7cE.jpeg" style="cursor: move;" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Sapateira Recheada-(Stuffed Stone Crab) Photo by <a href="http://preparandoalgo.blogs.sapo.pt/38370.html">Papo Cheio</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Let's get this straight- I love stone crab,</b></span><b style="font-size: x-large;"> </b><span style="font-size: small;">in fact I loved it even before I moved to Portugal. But I never had anything more than the claws, which can sometimes cost you a small fortune to get in the US. Here in Portugal though, on the coast, </span><i style="font-size: medium;">sapateira </i><span style="font-size: small;">is about as common and readily available as any regular fish, and much more affordable! But get ready to eat the whole thing, which includes the shell of the body stuffed with its roe and insides. Yes I know what you're thinking, that really doesn't sound lovely, and I made a face too when I saw it the first time.....but oh my god is it delicious!!! This has become my favorite part of the stone crab now, because the flavor is so rich compared to the claws and legs, and when spread over some warm toasted bread and butter it's just heavenly :) Personally I prefer this stone crab stuffing plain, but most people mix it with a variation of the typical ingredients found in a classic potato salad, like mustard, mayo, pickles, egg, onion, parsley etc, even beer!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: small;">You can find <i>sapateira recheada</i> on the menu of any <i>marisqueira</i>-seafood restaurant, all along the coast, but note: it's a common belief here that stone crab and most shellfish are only best eaten "in the months with an 'r'" (September-April) so try to save this for a treat in the colder months. And i</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: small;">f you're a seafood lover in general and want to know more about </span><i style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">sapateira</i><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: small;"> and other shellfish as well as one of my favorite spots to eat them, check out my past <b>Catavino article-</b> </span><a href="http://catavino.net/sesimbra-a-seafood-lovers-paradise-in-portugal/" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">"Sesimbra: A Seafood Lover's Paradise in Portugal"</a></div>
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<b style="font-size: x-large;"><u>Ovas-Fish egg sacs:</u></b></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Salada de Ovas (Fish Egg Roe)- Photo by <a href="http://cincoquartosdelaranja.blogspot.pt/2009/10/salada-de-ovas-de-bacalhau.html">Cinco Quartos de Laranja</a>,-also available in <a href="http://fivequartersoftheorange.blogspot.pt/">English</a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">These not-so-luxurious fish eggs</span></b> typically come from </span><i style="text-align: center;">pescada</i><span style="text-align: center;"> (hake) or </span><i style="text-align: center;">bacalhau</i><span style="text-align: center;"> (saltcod) and honestly, if you saw these whole- raw or cooked, they look absolutely disgusting. But when sliced up and made into a cold salad mixed with onion, tomato, bell peppers, olive oil, vinegar and fresh cilantro (as pictured above), they are much more pleasing to the eye and very tasty. Many Portuguese also recommend eating plain, boiled <i>ovas</i> when you're sick, particularly if you have tummy problems, because they are mild and easy to digest. You can find <i>salada de ov</i>as served at many fish and seafood restaurants as an <i>entrada</i>-appetizer.</span></span><br />
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<b style="font-size: x-large; text-align: left;"><u>Caracois- Portuguese Snails:</u></b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy-kt1EvoEs76AIDJXGjXkNKcDFlqCrq-XlEJDD55MSKuYsEsqeR_lBAMcid_CDd8BI9S_ocakUJSCfIpfDfRgfWYRV8wV3tc0kd1PsGlNTF6oJEl14JbDZgBnHz0mDKoDV1mt3cOVo5Y/s1600/caracois-a-portuguesa.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy-kt1EvoEs76AIDJXGjXkNKcDFlqCrq-XlEJDD55MSKuYsEsqeR_lBAMcid_CDd8BI9S_ocakUJSCfIpfDfRgfWYRV8wV3tc0kd1PsGlNTF6oJEl14JbDZgBnHz0mDKoDV1mt3cOVo5Y/s640/caracois-a-portuguesa.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Caracoi</span><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">s <span style="font-size: small;">(Snails)</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Snails, either you love em' or hate em'</span></b>, but most Portuguese absolutely love this seasonal late spring/summertime bar munchie. Unlike the French escargots, <i>caracois </i><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px;"><i>à portuguesa</i></span> are much smaller- normally about the size of a dime and are slow-cooked in a delicious broth of olive oil, garlic, onion, oregano, bay leaf, salt and pepper and sometimes a pinch of <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piri_piri">piri-piri</a> </i>for a slight kick. They are best enjoyed with a cold glass of Portuguese draft beer and a basket of bread to mop up all of that finger-licking broth mmmm :) You can read all about my first experience with <i>c</i>aracois and more on the <b>Catavino Article</b> I did about them- <a href="http://catavino.net/suck-it-up-and-do-what-the-portuguese-do-eat-caracois/">"Suck it Up and do What the Portuguese do, Eat Caracois!"</a></span><br />
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<b style="font-size: x-large; text-align: left;"><u>Percebes- Gooseneck Barnacles:</u></b><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Percebes (Gooseneck Barnacles)</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Utterly strange,</span></b> not even edible looking and more expensive than most seafood....who in their right mind would want to eat these things?? Yup, exactly what I said at first, but plenty of people eat them here, including me now! Goose or goose-neck barnacles can be found growing on the rocky cliffs all along the northwest Atlantic coast but are most appreciated in Spain and Portugal. Due to the dangerous area they grow in, they are a lot of trouble to collect- hence the hefty price. Just a tiny appetizer plate of them at your local <i>marisqueira </i>here can cost around €8-10. And they're not that easy to eat either, since you have to take off the rubbery outer layer first, which can get a bit messy as you might get squirted by their red juice if you're not too careful! You can check out exactly how <i>percebes </i>are harvested and eaten in the video below from <i>Gordon Ramsay's</i> show <b><i>The F Word,</i> </b>when he went to Galicia, Spain (just above the northern border of Portugal) and you'll see that he agrees with me that although <i>percebes</i> look totally unappetizing, they really are delicious. In my opinion, I would describe them as having the cleanest, most pure, unadulterated flavor of the ocean- refreshing! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>Happy Adventurous Eating in Portugal! :)</b></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06217380964240658865noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817129952848096719.post-34424100930692321142012-04-28T02:26:00.003+01:002013-04-03T16:12:32.353+01:00Peixe em Lisboa "Lisbon Fish & Flavors"-A Portuguese Gastronomic Event That Deserves More<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Red Fish w/ lemony green rissotto from <i>100 Maneiras</i><br />
-photo by Rochelle Ramos</td></tr>
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<span style="text-align: left;"><b style="background-color: #fefdfa; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><span style="color: blue;">*Interested in learning more about Portuguese food and wine with me? Check out my <span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://americaninportugaltours.com/">An American In Portugal Tours</a></span>, and my blog's new home!*</span></b></span><br />
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<span style="text-align: left;"><b>Last Saturday,</b> I spent the afternoon at the 4th annual </span><a href="http://www.peixemlisboa.com/en/" style="text-align: left;"><i>Peixe em Lisboa</i> </a><span style="text-align: left;">or "Lisbon Fish & Flavors", which claims to be the "Most Significant Annual Gastronomic Event in Portugal", predominately showcasing the abundant fish and seafood of Portugal's coastline. The 10-day event organized by </span><a href="http://www.visitlisboa.com/" style="text-align: left;">Turismo de Lisboa</a><span style="text-align: left;"> </span><span style="text-align: left;">was held inside the elegant Pátio da Galé, within the grandiose Praça do Comércio in downtown, right on the river. </span><span style="text-align: left;">Inside, they had a dining area featuring ten of some of the most popular fine-dining restaurants and chefs in Lisbon and the greater Lisbon area, serving up their own, fish-themed mini-menus as well as doing specialty show cooking and demos throughout the week. Along with this, an adjacent room had several local gourmet vendors and wineries offering small tastings of their products available for purchase. </span></div>
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Moscatel Roxo Rosé from José Maria da Fonseca</td></tr>
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<span style="text-align: left;"><b>I have to be honest, </b>I wasn't planning on going to this event in the beginning. For the past 4 years, I have gone to several Portuguese food and wine expositions around Lisbon and Porto and have left quite </span><span style="text-align: left;">disappointed</span><span style="text-align: left;"> by their poor presentation and disorganization and I figured this one would be no different. But after my fellow <i>"Expat Reporterette" </i>and Lisbon tour guide, </span><a href="http://www.your-lisbon-guide.com/" style="text-align: left;">Mary Harrison Goudie</a><span style="text-align: left;"> convinced me and our <i>"Fabulous Food Photographer"</i> expat <a href="http://www.acquiredlife.com/">Rochelle Ramos</a> that this was worth our time, we decided to arm ourselves with our cameras, microphones and social media and hit Peixe em Lisboa</span><span style="text-align: left;"> ready for some serious wining, dining and picture snapping. </span></div>
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<b>Thankfully,</b> Mary ended up being right in many aspects. The quality of food and wine we tasted at the event was amazing, and definitely made me wish that I had come on other days to experience all the different tastings and demos they had to offer. We managed to try around 3 plates each from 3 of the participating restaurants, with either the chef or one of the cooks surprisingly agreeing to step away from their kitchen for an interview with us to talk about their restaurant and each of the plates we were trying. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bacalhau á Bras with Exploding Olives from <i>José Avillez</i><br />
-photo by Rochelle Ramos</td></tr>
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<b>Our first</b> and I think by far, our "fan favorite" was José Avillez, whose simple, straightforward dishes were truly delicious. I absolutely loved his richer, creamier version of the traditional Portuguese dish,<i> Bacalhau á Bras -</i>shredded saltcod mixed with potatoes, onions and garnished with olives, which in this case, happened to be green olives filled with tart olive juice that "exploded" in your mouth, a nice twist! José Avillez was also one of the friendliest chefs I've ever met, he came right up to us to say hello from the very beginning and after the interview he returned several times to ask us what we thought of the dishes. And not only was he friendly with us, but we watched him stand in front of his kitchen greeting and talking to guests waiting in line, always with a smile on his face. Later on, when my sweet tooth got the best of me, Chef Avillez suggested we try his favorite dessert creation, <i>Avelã</i> or Hazelnut, which was hazelnut gelatto encased in fluffy whipped hazelnut mousse topped with Portuguese <i>fleur de sal. </i>I have one word for it: <u>divine</u> :)</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Seared Azorean tuna from José Avillez<br />
-photo by Rochelle Ramos</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sapateira (stone crab) "sliders" from José Avillez<br />
-photo by Rochelle Ramos</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption">Chef José Avillez chilling out and telling us about his dishes </td></tr>
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<b>Another restaurant </b>we enjoyed was <i>100 Maneiras, </i>whose fried shrimp "lollipop" and red fish with lemony green rissotto pictured at the top were a hit among us. And their passion fruit panna cotta with almonds for was a perfectly layered harmony of flavor and texture in my mouth, definitely giving Avillez's Avelã dessert a run for the money! </div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">João Simões, Executive Chef of Grupo 100 Maneiras holding </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">his shrimp "lollipop"</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Passion Fruit Panna Cotta with Almonds from 100 Maneiras<br />
-photo by Rochelle Ramos</td></tr>
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<b>José Maria da Fonseca</b> was the winery sponsor for the event and couldn't have done a better job from what I saw. They had what looked to be almost all of their large selection of wines available to taste at their stand in the dining room, as well as offering specialty wine tastings and wine pairings with the cooking classes throughout the day. All of their employees pouring the wines at the stand were very warm and friendly and happily answered any questions we had. JMF winemaker Domingo Soares Franco was also great in leading the specialty tastings. </div>
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<b>We enjoyed </b>two of their fish-friendly rosé wine recommendations to pair with our food tastings, the dry <i>Periquita Rosé</i> and<i> </i>uniquely<i> </i>fruitier<i> Moscatel Roxo Rosé. </i>We then<i> </i>followed with their white <i>DSF (Domingos Soares Franco) Colleção Privada Verdelho </i>and finished with their fortified <i>DSF</i> <i>Colleção Privada Moscatel de Setúbal </i>for dessert. At the DSF specialty tasting, I tried another 6 of their reds, 1 white and 3 more Moscatels, which all of them I liked but I have to say my two favorites were the <i>2008</i> <i>Pasamados</i> white, a nutty-buttery blend of Viognier with native Arinto, Esgana and Visozinho varietals and the <i>2008 José de Sousa Mayor </i>red, a smooth, richly fruity blend of Trincadeira, Aragonez and Grand Noir.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Periquita Rosé from José Maria da Fonseca<br />
-photo by Rochelle Ramos</td></tr>
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<b>Overall,</b> my experience at Peixe em Lisboa led me to believe that this is an event worth keeping around. But this is also an event that's worth more than the still somewhat lackadaisical organization and marketing that I saw there. After reading Celia Pedroso's <a href="http://eatportugal.portugaldailyview.com/?p=461">review of the event</a>, I agree that for something organized by Turismo de Lisboa, having only 8% of the attendees being tourists is a shame, they definitely need to market more to them! And the dining area definitely needs to be bigger, investing in those handy mini-trays that hold your wine glass and food would also be a good idea in case you have to stand. The location was perfect for tourists, except for the fact that they made the entrance on the side street instead of facing the plaza, where the exit was instead.....how does this make any sense? And the official website's half-decent English translation (I'd be happy to help with this!), had no icon on the homepage to access the English version, so that could have deterred foreigners from coming as well.<br />
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<b>But</b> the biggest issue I had with Peixe em Lisboa was the ticket pricing and offering. It was the typical European "á la carte" pricing, one of the things that had always annoyed me at previous food and wine expositions here. You pay a moderate price to enter, but get limited access to most of the event and the rest is extra. Tell me, isn't an exposition supposed to be about <b style="font-style: italic;">exposing </b>and gaining awareness of<i> </i>your product or service to new clients rather than just trying to make money off of them? This year, Peixe em Lisboa charged €15 per person for a 1-day ticket, which entitled you to a wine glass and just <u>one</u> "€5 food tasting" and one "€1.50 drink tasting", which I don't even know what that one was for since no one seemed to be charging for wine. However, if you went during the weekday lunch hour from 12-3pm, your ticket got you two instead of one, which is still not much and most working people can't go at that time. And even if you wanted to buy more, there was of course no convenient ATM in or around the venue to get cash. I must say, all of this can sour a guest's mood quite quickly! <br />
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<b>Let me put it this way,</b> I come from the land of package deals, where you pay one price up front to access everything, which in my opinion has always been the more desirable option. How about offer a ticket then that includes <u>three</u> food tastings instead of one, so guests can try an appetizer, main and dessert, then they can get the equivalent of a full meal if they're coming at a mealtime. The ticket should also include access to the majority of the showcase events throughout the day (and provide more seating for these), only a couple of things should be reserved to purchase at an extra cost. For all of this, you could charge around €25-30 instead of €15 and I would be happy to pay more up front if that gave me access to the majority of the event. You could even offer a discounted a multi-day ticket, to come for 2 or 3 days instead of one, which I would have loved since there were so many different events held each day throughout the 10-day exposition.
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<b>So</b>, Peixe em Lisboa, here's my suggestion for next year: Give your guests more. More options. And then they'll realize you're worth it! </div>
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<i>*Check out the rest of Rochelle's and Mary's photos of the event on our </i><b><i>Pinterest Boards</i> </b><a href="http://pinterest.com/yourlisbonguide/peixe-em-lisboa-lisbon-fish-flavours/">Peixe em Lisboa</a> <i>and </i><a href="http://pinterest.com/yourlisbonguide/portuguese-food/">Portuguese Food</a>* </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Avelã (Hazelnut) dessert from José Avillez<br />
-photo by Rochelle Ramos</td></tr>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06217380964240658865noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817129952848096719.post-22192421304838719102012-04-21T00:25:00.002+01:002013-04-03T16:13:09.352+01:00REAL Vacationing In Portugal: How to Pick the Perfect Hotel + My 5 Recommendations<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizfmmEgxjEx0I5ZQpTvmizoJPBbhR6_xpIs-uP3XrpTR0yIaUCm4E8ZNRAW7mzvQz9VgMuXgGb3n2H1Xekt9f9o7XsaKNUxniVRIHtJ96sL3Tn4dhomWP9XWsGVyC9jusjIWYetm2wdJc/s1600/P1020775.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizfmmEgxjEx0I5ZQpTvmizoJPBbhR6_xpIs-uP3XrpTR0yIaUCm4E8ZNRAW7mzvQz9VgMuXgGb3n2H1Xekt9f9o7XsaKNUxniVRIHtJ96sL3Tn4dhomWP9XWsGVyC9jusjIWYetm2wdJc/s640/P1020775.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<b style="background-color: #fefdfa; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><span style="color: blue;">*Interested in learning more about Portuguese food and wine with me? Check out my <span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://americaninportugaltours.com/">An American In Portugal Tours</a></span>, and my blog's new home!*</span></b></div>
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<b>Vacationing in Portugal </b>is not just about Lisbon and Porto. While I agree that these cities are definitely must-sees for first-time visitors, I have to admit that for even a small country, you are really missing out on so much more if you don't venture beyond these areas! If you take a look at this <a href="http://observador.weblog.com.pt/arquivo/portugal-regional-map-final.png">Basic Regional Map</a>, Portugal is firstly divided into 5 distinctly different geographical regions, but then these are further split into </div>
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<a href="http://freineda.no.sapo.pt/portugal.gif">Sub-Regional (Right) & District (Left)</a>, with the districts named after their capital city. These smaller divisions represent how even more different they are from each other within not just geography, but also architecture, culture and cuisine (including wine!). That then gives you a perspective of just how much of Portugal you're actually missing out on experiencing! </div>
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<b>I read recently</b> that it used to be that most tourists in general searched for a vacation spot according to the three S's- Sun, Sea and Sand, which is still apparent on Portugal's long coastline for being a tourist hot spot. But now, more and more people are shifting to looking for a vacation with the three L's- Land, Lore and Leisure, meaning they prefer to stay in a place that best represents the land around them, to learn about the place's history and folklore while being able to enjoy it through relaxing leisure activities. And for me, this one seems to fit my natural inclinations very well.</div>
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<b>For the last 3 years, </b>Miguel and I have maintained a tradition of taking two mini-vacations around Portugal, one in the summer (June/July) and one in the winter (November/December). And each time, we have made sure to go as deep into the country as we can, in search of finding a hotel that provides those three L's, along with some other preferences we have. For example, a comfy bed is a must, as I don't know how one can relax on vacation without a good night's sleep! Also, we prefer a room with a balcony, specifically one with a great view of the land around there, so I guess you could say we normally tend to go to the mountains. And lastly, if we go in the summer months, a hotel with a pool is usually nice to have. </div>
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<b>All of this </b>you can easily find in a hotel using my favorite search site, <b><a href="http://booking.com/">Booking.com</a>, </b>just put in your dates and type "Portugal" as your destination then scroll down to the map and Portugal Overview where you can search by cities or provinces/regions or even closest airports. You can also check out <b><a href="http://www.wonderfulland.com/wonder2006/index_en.html">Wonderfulland.com</a> </b>which recommends great Portuguese guesthouses and <i>pousadas </i>(luxury boutqiue hotels built within hisorical sites like castles, monasteries etc.) or <b><a href="http://www.pousadas.pt/">Pousadas.pt</a> </b>directly for the entire list of pousadas. However, I find that these sites tend to be pricier to book with for the same hotel that you can almost always find on Booking, so I suggest that if you find a hotel on one of those latter two sites, look it up on Booking next to compare prices before reserving.</div>
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<b>So now </b>you may be asking yourself, when do you recommend the best time to go? What do I look for exactly? Well below are the guidelines I like to go by when choosing a hotel:</div>
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<b><u><span style="font-size: large;">My Guidelines For Picking The Right Getaway Hotel in Portugal For You On Booking.com:</span></u></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: red;"><b>1.</b> <b>AVOID GOING IN AUGUST AT ALL COST!</b></span></span></div>
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EVERYONE in Europe goes on vacation in August, so most hotels, especially on the coast, are 2-3 times more expensive than other months. And even if you're willing to pay the money, it's almost guaranteed that your hotel will be packed to the brim with lots of families and screaming children....not exactly ideal for a relaxing getaway, you'd almost be better off staying at those people's empty homes!</div>
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If you want the beach without so much of the craziness, try booking in late September/October when it's still quite warm most of the time and the water has had the opportunity to heat up all summer :) Just saw a room at a 5-star hotel in Sagres for more than a €100 less per night in mid-October than if you had booked it in mid-August! And of course, staying during the week versus the weekend will always be cheaper.</div>
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<b><span style="color: red;">2. Always check the hotel's room photos carefully to see exactly what you're sleeping in/on.</span></b></div>
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I've encountered some gorgeous little hotels in the most absolutely beautiful locations to find out that their rooms look like <i>creepy medieval dungeons. </i>Maybe some people think it's cool sleeping on a 500yr old piece of history but I prefer my relaxing getaway bed NOT to be a rock-hard tiny mattress that'll break you're back as you stare up at a giant gnarled black crucifix. About as romantic as staying at your deeply-religious grandmother's house for vacation....Pass! </div>
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<b><span style="color: red;">3. Order your search results by <u>highest rated</u>, NOT most popular.</span></b></div>
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You don't necessarily want the most popular hotel, especially if the popular vote comes from families with screaming children. However, you do still want an overall high rating for your hotel to begin with, as this usually narrows down your search to places with high-quality service and facilities. <i> </i><b>I usually tend to not go below about a 7.7 out of 10.0, </b>however I have found exceptions to that before. If you want to really be sure, read several of the comments from past guests, making sure to read specifically the comments from your specific guest profile. As I said, it may be great according to families but not so much for young couples looking for a relaxing, romantic getaway. Also, older couples and families with small children tend to complain the most about any little thing, such as rating the place a 5 out of 10 just because there was no TV in the room. I think these are unfair complaints when they could have easily chosen a different hotel with those desired features beforehand, instead of crapping on an otherwise fantastic place to stay!</div>
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<b><span style="color: red;">Bottom line,</span></b> if you spend a little extra time searching, narrowing down and looking in detail at the placese you have in mind, you'll have a better chance of choosing the right hotel in the right area that you´ll be satisfied and happy with after :)</div>
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<b><span style="color: #660000;">So, are you looking for some recommendations to start with? Well, if you have similar preferences as the ones I stated above, then check out the 5 hotels below that I've stayed at on my mini-vacations in the last 3 years. All of them were under €100/night and we left happy, so I hope you are too if you choose them :)</span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: large;"><b><u style="background-color: white;">Hotel Folgosa Douro-Folgosa, Douro Valley (Norte)</u></b></span></div>
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<b>Current Rating: 8.4</b></div>
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<b>My Rating: 9.5</b></div>
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<b>Room Rate: €60-75/night</b></div>
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<b>Great For: Comfy, inexpensive lodging to explore the Douro valley and wine taste!</b></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.hotelfolgosadouro.com/en/">http://www.hotelfolgosadouro.com/en/</a> </b><a href="http://www.booking.com/hotel/pt/folgosa-douro.en-us.html?sid=35ac2027dce3158f491ea16ae1eecf12;dcid=1">Hotel Folgosa Douro on Booking.com</a> </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWjksAXgCYUt3rnFVgvheq4LH-BdpNRPOUCbhjBBcX0-gxZ67VgeLucB-imeCjycJ8eH65rdXoGCWtjsNCfRqpchVSFM4nE-nGVtnrCUcSFKP2ubml0LSBSdU2OLvkSw_zH9WXsa83FJ0/s1600/289.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNE1dtrm82hDVfJaxl8qy65qVfwGdTFY63Osklell9NFsRdE2Cj8ALciTAqRyQ-hcjKrqt1TR8XprqEA9gwgnSFKmQzjdUF936h9QBywuwlYfwZ99rT-MuD9deOEFkKo6hIcLFn0HJpeY/s1600/Pics+1398.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNE1dtrm82hDVfJaxl8qy65qVfwGdTFY63Osklell9NFsRdE2Cj8ALciTAqRyQ-hcjKrqt1TR8XprqEA9gwgnSFKmQzjdUF936h9QBywuwlYfwZ99rT-MuD9deOEFkKo6hIcLFn0HJpeY/s640/Pics+1398.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7Bh0g8BJqmBTEjQRq18NwulfxoTA2VdCoWlMovPF3PVatYArORhAZ14GOhhtNDx-F0qjXSRArEGG2VZGakwcc-MnNHgLtE0qanPbQ25dphI3opOEzzqQHVhGy-dYIhdv9qWH2R4KkMYY/s1600/Pics+1397.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7Bh0g8BJqmBTEjQRq18NwulfxoTA2VdCoWlMovPF3PVatYArORhAZ14GOhhtNDx-F0qjXSRArEGG2VZGakwcc-MnNHgLtE0qanPbQ25dphI3opOEzzqQHVhGy-dYIhdv9qWH2R4KkMYY/s400/Pics+1397.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
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This small but modern 3-star hotel was just a little over a year old when we stayed there for the first time in November, 2009. Situated in the tiny village of Folgosa, near Peso da Régua, it's in the heart of Douro wine country. Which is what we mainly did on our vacation there, spend the day driving up and down the mountains exploring the area and checking out the all the wineries and vineyards and the breathtaking views of the valley. We liked this place a lot for it's location right on the river with a great view of the mountains and neighboring villages. The cleanly decorated rooms have comfy beds and nice mood lighting and the bathrooms have huge bathtubs that made for a great bubble bath to soak in after a day of wine tasting in the colder months. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWAMNTpvERep4b6en8tBSEsgV1ztyUpoP1KCmfaVZCPhRgKUMfUfhl81mjoLAonSdL11q9qsMjnyI0SUOAwRxSYlbmfLliQUyPgqoXO6-Fn4eMrkSAabLlkam7p6mdibaCaC2r7z63tuY/s1600/Pics+1373.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWAMNTpvERep4b6en8tBSEsgV1ztyUpoP1KCmfaVZCPhRgKUMfUfhl81mjoLAonSdL11q9qsMjnyI0SUOAwRxSYlbmfLliQUyPgqoXO6-Fn4eMrkSAabLlkam7p6mdibaCaC2r7z63tuY/s400/Pics+1373.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLBPOeX84_AUKjppRIIRBXOgrJjQNSxrbunMttqTbC_s3PRYsJN0TYKM8fH4gmtHyrOhyCNpw8_tXJvaEdkwKuBVqeIs8g6BIkjV2QGC6l0DMJoflv-xhNvm0zwIjxQzDNK79ZU-_1ffE/s1600/Pics+1374.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLBPOeX84_AUKjppRIIRBXOgrJjQNSxrbunMttqTbC_s3PRYsJN0TYKM8fH4gmtHyrOhyCNpw8_tXJvaEdkwKuBVqeIs8g6BIkjV2QGC6l0DMJoflv-xhNvm0zwIjxQzDNK79ZU-_1ffE/s400/Pics+1374.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="text-align: left;">The staff were very nice, offering us a complimentary glass port upon arrival and were very accommodating throughout our stay. The small restaurant serves inexpensive, good food presented nicely in front of their large window with a great view of the river. And if you're willing to splurge, you got the famed </span><a href="http://ruipaula.com/web/?lang=en" style="text-align: left;">Restaurante DOC</a><span style="text-align: left;"> by Chef Rui Paula just </span><span style="text-align: left;">across</span><span style="text-align: left;"> the street from the hotel!</span>
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<img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWjksAXgCYUt3rnFVgvheq4LH-BdpNRPOUCbhjBBcX0-gxZ67VgeLucB-imeCjycJ8eH65rdXoGCWtjsNCfRqpchVSFM4nE-nGVtnrCUcSFKP2ubml0LSBSdU2OLvkSw_zH9WXsa83FJ0/s400/289.JPG" width="300" /></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><u><span style="color: #274e13;">Hotel de Caramulo-</span>Caramulo, Viseu (Centro)</u></b></span><br />
<b>Current Rating: 7.8</b><br />
<b>My Rating: 9.0</b><br />
<b>Room Rate: €50-60/night</b><br />
<b>Great For: Crisp, clean mountain air, incredible views and total relaxation!</b><br />
<b>*Tip: Book a room with a "Valley View" to make your stay totally worth it.</b><br />
<a href="http://www.booking.com/hotel/pt/do-caramulo.en-us.html?sid=35ac2027dce3158f491ea16ae1eecf12;dcid=0;srfid=e0b97c2bea4c76d3adf5b9f42c248fb7X1">Hotel do Caramulo on Booking.com</a><br />
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What is the #1 thing I loved about this place? The VIEW!!! :)
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHfhwAd0G6Mwv6d_P8GsttEn-ghZVu6DVyYdpdmvG76K_A3CqLLR_jI1Yg_wyNjP4MYYzJ7efLeE4dS_19KH646BoyF6a7_LflAHgl73sqxzl-2Z_JYcAMnTce1uFr6Bogfgd2o4Sao6s/s1600/Pics+777.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHfhwAd0G6Mwv6d_P8GsttEn-ghZVu6DVyYdpdmvG76K_A3CqLLR_jI1Yg_wyNjP4MYYzJ7efLeE4dS_19KH646BoyF6a7_LflAHgl73sqxzl-2Z_JYcAMnTce1uFr6Bogfgd2o4Sao6s/s640/Pics+777.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
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This hotel is basically the only one perched at the top of the Caramulo mountains, just outside of the town of Caramulo. Don't be turned off by its lower rating, this is mainly because the hotel is on the older side and some of the facilities need some fixing up but they have plenty of other reasons to make up for it. The rooms are modest but large and if you book a room with the "Valley View", you get two double door windows opening up to a large balcony with a table and chairs and of course that GORGEOUS VIEW. The balcony was also great sitting out there in the evening in our hotel bathrobes and slippers breathing in the delicious mountain air under a star-filled sky with the towns all lit up below. <br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwvQwZBwAF0LT_zyszRbNzjPCFtr-ZFAg1dq9yOqKm0tpmmfJcmlqvLkBC0-OFiCTQl_MDx6lbeM2FLNn6H0BEGYWOP06VqdScduAYVhVKRSz_Qi-M6tgBX6mxJuIdQ9Jb8Jch6GFzRWI/s1600/Pics+757.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwvQwZBwAF0LT_zyszRbNzjPCFtr-ZFAg1dq9yOqKm0tpmmfJcmlqvLkBC0-OFiCTQl_MDx6lbeM2FLNn6H0BEGYWOP06VqdScduAYVhVKRSz_Qi-M6tgBX6mxJuIdQ9Jb8Jch6GFzRWI/s400/Pics+757.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
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If the view still isn't enough for you, the hotel has a fully equipped gym, spa, sauna, steam room and both an indoor and outdoor pool. The restaurant is a bit pricey but has good food, however their adjacent lounge/bar has a great mini-menu of soups and sandwiches and afternoon tea goodies that are great to spend a quiet, relaxing afternoon/evening with still that great panoramic view of the valley :)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6T4IhfPIlpmyblCITyeE6V7Is_YpgeoXbLuabnxKVI4ToAA3PQXJIHXzO5r9866nLAXIYr6Ckc35IfbiDl7f7aBYxvYyh_Am0GwptCzT5TixqNa0tl691tUw9UDUNudtC5dpDdcj97u0/s1600/Pics+768.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6T4IhfPIlpmyblCITyeE6V7Is_YpgeoXbLuabnxKVI4ToAA3PQXJIHXzO5r9866nLAXIYr6Ckc35IfbiDl7f7aBYxvYyh_Am0GwptCzT5TixqNa0tl691tUw9UDUNudtC5dpDdcj97u0/s640/Pics+768.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<b><u><span style="color: #274e13; font-size: large;">Hotel El-Rei Dom Manuel-</span><span style="font-size: large;">Marvão (Alto Alentejo)</span></u></b></div>
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<b>Current Rating: 8.8</b></div>
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<b>My Rating: 8.5</b></div>
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<b>Room Rate: €60-90/night</b></div>
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<b>Great For: Historical exploration with great views</b></div>
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<b>*Tip: Book a room with a "Valley View"</b></div>
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<a href="http://www.booking.com/hotel/pt/albergaria-el-rei-dom-manuel.en-us.html?sid=35ac2027dce3158f491ea16ae1eecf12;dcid=1;checkin=2012-06-19;checkout=2012-06-20;srfid=2a60f1fde9708cba15507c98aafe5785X2">Hotel El-Rei Dom Manuel on Booking.com</a><br />
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<span style="text-align: left;">This was the last hotel we stayed at back in early December and also our first time vacationing in the region of Alentejo. I must say, we couldn't have picked a worse weekend to go, with the cold, rain and immense fog, it made it hard at first to appreciate one of the best aspects of the hotel (room) and area-the view! But thankfully the fog did clear up enough for us to enjoy it and I can say it was definitely worthwhile after that. </span></div>
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<span style="text-align: left;">This is only one of two hotels (the other is the pousada, which has a much lower rating) that are located in the historical village of Marvão, perched at the top of a large hill, complete with the ancient ruins of a castle. This makes it a perfect location to walk through the village and explore the castle and take in all the incredible vistas without ever having to worry about transportation.</span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ3_CIA3OLyr8yNBxQhON-aZ9vzu8qVogVyQfqlg-pJWgwGcmbf3YHyLfVpXRuvpKIS5nqjtqautUA3XZ7XLr_F8B2jwFhj78peP4g9SCyH23t_Bo9Sdv16mE5Db0R85xSMChqIFbqU_I/s1600/Mobile+Uploads+644.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ3_CIA3OLyr8yNBxQhON-aZ9vzu8qVogVyQfqlg-pJWgwGcmbf3YHyLfVpXRuvpKIS5nqjtqautUA3XZ7XLr_F8B2jwFhj78peP4g9SCyH23t_Bo9Sdv16mE5Db0R85xSMChqIFbqU_I/s640/Mobile+Uploads+644.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Most of the rooms are small and a bit old-fashioned in decor, but the added rooftop terrace of a superior double room evens it out. The restaurant also serves good food, especially at breakfast and the staff are very hospitable. </div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><u><span style="color: #274e13;">Quinta de Moçamedes</span>- São Miguel do Mato, Viseu (Centro)</u></b></span></div>
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<b>Current Rating: 9.1</b></div>
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<b>My Rating: 10</b><br />
<b>Room Rate: €75-90/night</b><br />
<b>Great For: A romantic retreat in the country for exploring the outdoors</b></div>
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<b>*This hotel is not currently available to reserve on Booking.com, as they don't take credit cards at the moment, so make sure you can bring cash up front when you go there. Minimum 2 nights to book*</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4EDVfYfLsMX41qZzTzCJokw66H-WmH89R5_mhOLiBtMErIaucuwGUew6XMdHd3K7NSNeaVuKAxHUkuH8wGtzdSH7VFhCwcvjxje7tBWb4Xh0ONOW5mtq1vry8l4DXpYc8KU8AnsDjaYM/s1600/P1020761.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4EDVfYfLsMX41qZzTzCJokw66H-WmH89R5_mhOLiBtMErIaucuwGUew6XMdHd3K7NSNeaVuKAxHUkuH8wGtzdSH7VFhCwcvjxje7tBWb4Xh0ONOW5mtq1vry8l4DXpYc8KU8AnsDjaYM/s640/P1020761.JPG" width="640" /></a><br />
This cozy, 10-room guesthouse located in a tiny <i>aldeia </i>(village) was rebuilt out of a 12th-century stone manor house and is run by incredibly hospitable Antonio Borges and his family, who live on premises. All the rooms are spaciously decorated with extra-comfy beds and some with a private courtyard or an outdoor terrace overlooking the countryside. Our room was located in the original stone house so we had the delight of the thick stone walls keeping our room naturally cool during the day and snuggly warm at night :) </div>
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The family puts out a simple but homemade breakfast every morning with local fresh fruit and fresh baked sweets and though there is no restaurant, you can request to have a meal prepared for you in the dining room or you may be invited to dinner instead, if they are already cooking for themselves. This is what happened to us and the rest of the guests the first night and we had a casual, yet delicious family-style dinner, complete with Antonio and his family, they made everyone feel right at home!
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<span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">The estate has an outdoor pool and you can also get recommendations from Antonio on local sports activities to do, such as hiking, horseback riding, canoeing, rafting, rapeling, BTT and more. You can read more about our stay in my past Catavino article, </span><a href="http://catavino.net/aldeias-de-portugal-part-2-a-luxurious-weekend-getaway/" style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">Aldeias de Portugal Part 2: A Luxurious Weekend Getaway</a><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"> .</span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #274e13;">Casas da Lapa</span>- Lapa dos Dinheiros, Serra da Estrela (Centro)</b></span></u><br />
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<b>Current Rating: 9.2</b></div>
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<b>My Rating: 10</b></div>
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<b>Room Rate: €90/night</b></div>
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<b>Great For: Romantic getaway in the warmer months for exploring Serra da Estrela, excellent food and service</b></div>
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<b>*Tip: Don't take a large car here, the village road leading up to the hotel is <u>tiny</u> and very steep! Not recommended to come during the snowy season because of this.</b></div>
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<a href="http://www.booking.com/hotel/pt/casas-da-lapa.en-us.html?sid=35ac2027dce3158f491ea16ae1eecf12;dcid=0;srfid=4aa7c3f8dd308134e65dbf3747d615f5X35">Casas da Lapa on Booking</a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEM7gUvtW2tF2aPcJHqaHOXkF4QMzCYt_ksAO71jhCkvoAjsQkGdBqOzAB_4Mf96TAABK2KE3dKPbhSHjDWLXA0WJgXlSNu8CHlEiFB9TqbPRWAz_2vWmOUix4igrRaEVq0O0atVof_hs/s1600/44698_528888492007_94600520_31249868_1339258_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEM7gUvtW2tF2aPcJHqaHOXkF4QMzCYt_ksAO71jhCkvoAjsQkGdBqOzAB_4Mf96TAABK2KE3dKPbhSHjDWLXA0WJgXlSNu8CHlEiFB9TqbPRWAz_2vWmOUix4igrRaEVq0O0atVof_hs/s640/44698_528888492007_94600520_31249868_1339258_n.jpg" width="640" /></a>This tiny 8-room boutique hotel was built totally out of local stone and is perched high up in the Serra da Estrela mountains at the top of the tiny <i>aldeia</i>, Lapa dos Dinheiros. The super comfy rooms are stylishly decorated with even softer beds and furniture and all are equipped with jacuzzi bathtubs.<br />
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The outdoor pool has a great view of the valley and village below and since the hotel is so small, you almost feel like you're the only guest there! There are also two rooftop terraces for guests to sit out and relax on, sunbathing or taking in the great view. The staff and service are impeccable and still retain the warm, local friendliness.<br />
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<span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">Breakfast is great and showcases a lot of local goodies, lunch is available and dinner can be arranged for you on their front terrace at your prior request. The night that we arrived though, it was already quite late, but the staff the kind enough to offer us the dinner menu that another group of guests had requested before so we lucked out!</span>
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<span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">Outside the hotel, you can walk up and down the historical cobblestone streets of the village and there is a </span><i style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">praia fluvial </i><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">("river beach") a short drive/walk down through the woods with a crystal clear mountain lake with a local "pub" that's great to watch the moon come up over the mountain at night :) And of course, this place is perfectly located to explore all around the beautiful Serra da Estrela mountains and surround villages.</span>
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Boa Viagem & Happy Vacationing!<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06217380964240658865noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817129952848096719.post-5164351465690191102012-03-19T23:54:00.000+00:002013-04-03T16:13:40.694+01:00My Weekend in the Country (Day 2)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b style="background-color: #fefdfa; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: blue;">*Interested in learning more about Portuguese food and wine with me? Check out my <span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://americaninportugaltours.com/">An American In Portugal Tours</a></span>, and my blog's new home!*</span></b></div>
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In <a href="http://americaninportugal.blogspot.pt/2012/03/highlights-from-last-year-my-weekend-in.html">Day 1</a> of My Weekend in the Country, I explored ancient Roman ruins and caves with Rita and her family around the tiny village of Avecasta near<a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_1469695821"> Ferreira de </a><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferreira_do_Z%C3%AAzere_Municipality">Zêzere</a> along with enjoying some delicious home- cooked food and strong country wine! Well, m</span></span>y second day in the Portuguese countryside was packed with even more delicious food and wine and a visit to one of the most picturesque <i>aldeias </i>in area, <i>Dornes</i>, a hilltop village settled on a small peninsula stretched out in the middle of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Z%C3%AAzere_River">Rio <span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Zêzere</span></span></a>. </div>
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<span style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Sunday morning I woke up completely relaxed and refreshed from a wonderfully peaceful night's sleep under the moonlight and comforting sounds of nature. I stepped out onto the balcony from the room to breathe in some of that still-chilly clean morning country air! :)</span></span></div>
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When Rita and I came down for some (late) breakfast we found her parents already starting to prepare our lunch and dinner! A freshly killed and plucked chicken from the hen house greeted us in the summer kitchen, all ready to be popped into the oven to roast for dinner. Well, all except the feet, Rita's mother said she would put them into a pot for <i>canja </i> or chicken soup ;) </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">Outside, Rita's father was readying the stone oven for the chicken, as well as our lunch, which was to be a classic Portuguese dish, </span><i style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">bacalhau assado com batatas a murro -</i><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">roasted salt cod with "punched potatoes". </span> </span></td></tr>
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It first starts with putting whole potatoes and onions (these were fresh from the family's garden!) to roast with just a generous helping of coarse sea salt, followed a little bit later by adding the fillets of salt cod to roast to finish all together. This time, the chicken was also added to roast, since there was plenty of space :) And you could just imagine the heavenly aroma of all those caramelizing onions, potatoes and meat filling the whole neighborhood, we couldn't wait to dig in!</div>
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But in order to finish this dish, the <i>bacalhau </i>had to be shredded and the potatoes "punched" down and mixed together with the onions, along with chopped garlic, olive oil and vinegar, which all of them also happened to be homemade! (The family has a fairly large plot of both grape vines and olive trees in the next village over and they get their olives pressed at the village's own community press, this is actually quite common for most locals).<br />
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Then the "punched" potato mixture is combined with the shredded bacalhau to complete the dish! <br />
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<span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">Here is a short video I got of Rita with her parents putting the finishing touches to the dish and making sure the seasoning is just perfect, as in making sure there was plenty of garlic hehe :) I am asking questions about the recipe as well as remarking how good it smells ;) </span></div>
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Then we all settled down on the outdoor picnic table for an absolutely delicious lunch! The family's killer white wine accompanied our <i>bacalhau </i>and was perfectly chilled this time to take the edge off haha. As for dessert, they kept it simple: fresh strawberries in season macerated in <i>açucar amarelo </i>("yellow sugar"-like a very light brown sugar) and Port wine, I was a very happy girl :)<br />
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After seriously pigging out at lunch, we needed some time to digest so luckily we had a nice little drive ahead of us to visit the beautiful <i>aldeia </i>of Dornes. We drove right up to the top of the hill in the village and this was my first view of the <span style="font-family: inherit;">R<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">io Zêzere, surrounded by lush evergreen and aromatic eucalyptus mountains :)</span></span></div>
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It was a gorgeous afternoon to be by the river!</div>
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The river had a lovely shimmer from the sun and all you could hear was the warm breeze whipping through hair :)</div>
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All we could do for about the first part of our time was relax and enjoy the view!</div>
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The original settlement of Dornes can be traced back as early as the 12th century, even before the country of Portugal was founded. At the top of the village is the ruins of the <span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Igreja de Nossa Senhora do Pranto, </i></span></span> a 15th century church built for Queen Isabel. It has a peculiar pentagonal tower, that's unlike any other found in the country.</div>
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The view from where the church is, as you can see the village doesn't stretch too much beyond the peninsula!</div>
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A 14th century crucifix shrine decorated with traditional blue and white Portuguese <i>azulejos </i>(tiles). Love the pink wildflowers!</div>
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We headed down to the water's edge where the boats were launched to get our feet wet....</div>
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Can you tell that my feet are submerged in water? I couldn't believe how crystal clear the water was! Especially at the boat launch area! When the water was perfectly still, you would almost believe I'm just standing on a regular cobblestone path!</div>
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Ah there you go! Now you can see the water! ;) And you know what the best part was? Rita told me that this is where Lisbon's tap water is sourced from! I knew there was a reason it had always tasted so good! Oh and don't worry, my feet were clean hehe ;)</div>
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We spent the rest of the afternoon driving along the mountains around the river and exploring different but equally beautiful parts of it. When we got back to the house, there was a surprise waiting for me.....a giant basket of <i>nesperas</i> (Japanese plums) that Rita's aunt had just picked to take home with me! The nesperas were in peak season too, and even though I didn't find them to be that good before when I had bought them at the supermarket in Lisbon, there was such a difference in flavor with these all natural ones! I now have a new appreciation for this fruit because of them :)<br />
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And of course, we were just in time for an early dinner before we had to head back to Lisbon. The roast chicken was waiting for us, along with some more of those fresh picked <i>grelos</i> (cabbage greens) from the garden, sauteed with some garlic and onions, also from the garden and a simple salad of lettuce and onions with a little homemade olive oil and vinegar. Again, our meal was paired with some of the family's homemade red wine, chilled just enough to enjoy on a warm evening. So I was sitting there for the first time, with food and drink that was completely organic and locally grown and produced, and it was one of the most deliciously satisfying meals I've had to date. And truly, my stomach has never felt so good after a meal! My digestive tract was being spoiled by so much lovely "clean" and healthy food!</div>
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I will never forget the wonderfully warm hospitality Rita's family and neighbors treated me during my stay there, and of course I will never forget the simple yet amazingly delicious Portuguese food they filled my belly, and my heart with. But what's even better, I have been so lucky as to have been invited back by Rita's family to stay another weekend with them and bring a friend if I want, to do it all over again! I hope my story of my weekend in the Portuguese countryside will inspire you to go out and explore this beautiful country beyond the cities and towns and experience what is truly memorable :)</div>
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Cheers to good food, wine and friends! </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06217380964240658865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817129952848096719.post-56997569096579865002012-03-16T19:48:00.000+00:002013-04-03T16:14:09.287+01:00My Weekend in the Country (Day 1)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b style="background-color: #fefdfa; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><span style="color: blue;">*Interested in learning more about Portuguese food and wine with me? Check out my <span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://americaninportugaltours.com/">An American In Portugal Tours</a></span>, and my blog's new home!*</span></b><br />
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Back in May 2011, I got to experience what it was like to live in a small, rural Portuguese village, thanks to the kind invitation from my private English student Rita. Every weekend, Rita goes to visit her parents at their family home, situated in the tiny <i>aldeia</i> of Avecasta near<span style="color: blue;"> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferreira_do_Z%C3%AAzere_Municipality">Ferreira de Zezere</a> </span>which is right smack in the middle of the country. She had told me many stories about growing up there playing outdoors , raising animals and having meals made completely from what they grew in their garden and seeing how fascinated I was by them, she told me I had to come with her one weekend to meet the family and see the country. I happily accepted her invite to come out with her the following weekend, as being middle of May, the weather was going to be absolutely perfect for exploring the countryside, sunny and clear but not too hot :)</div>
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You can check out my Catavino post- <a href="http://catavino.net/aldeias-of-portugal-part-1-staying-with-friends/">Aldeias of Portugal Part 1: Staying with Friends</a> to learn more about aldeias and for my full experience there. For this post, I wanted to share more in detail photos and video I took on my adventure that didn't make it onto my Catavino one. And though I was only there for a day and a half, I couldn't believe how many adventures Rita and her family packed in that time for me!<br />
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We arrived in Avecasta Saturday afternoon and I was greeted by this beautiful garden scene in the back of their family home, beyond that, there was nothing as far as the eye could see! Towards the back of the garden was a small "barn" with a hen house that they still used and an old pig pen and cow stall for when they had raised more animals. <span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><br />
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The house was huge, 7 bedrooms with both a "summer" and "winter" kitchen, the summer being separate<br />
from the rest of the home and attached to their mini-winery and cellar, both made of thick cement to keep them cool year-round. Outside the house, they had a large patio equipped with what I would call my "dream" outdoor barbecue area, complete with a stone oven and grill!</div>
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<span style="text-align: left;">Rita and her sister wanted to take me just up the hill from the village where there was a beautiful clearing that overlooked the surrounding valley. This was the place where the village had had their windmills which had been used to grind their grain into flour for making bread. Unfortunately the original windmills did not stand the test of time, so the village decided to build a new one on top of the original base. They also decided to construct it in the old-fashioned style, as a means of preserving the memory. And today they use it off and on to show visitors how the grain was originally grounded between the two stone wheels :)</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span> </div>
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<span style="text-align: center;">Afterwards, we walked back down and took a detour through the woods where we came to a clearing that led down to a HUGE cave! Rita said she and her sisters used to play down in it with the other village children when they were younger, but nowadays the local government fenced it off to protect recent archaeological investigations. From what the locals know, the cave was once used by the Romans as a holdout to defend against invaders, so the finds have been linked to the Roman era. But luckily for us, someone had cut through the fence so we sneaked in for a tour, very cool but creepy! There were several tiny passageways leading further into the hill, which Rita said went right under their village!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">Posing in front of the tiny corridors with Rita's sister Eva and their dog Simba, it was actually really dark here and that was a nervous smile on my face :p </span></div>
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After the cave exploration, we walked back to the house for a break and got there just in time for a homemade afternoon snack courtesy of Rita's parents :) They had scrambled some fresh eggs from their henhouse with some local chouriço (sausage) and served it with their homemade white wine and local cheese. Might seem more like what you'd eat for breakfast but it's not common in Portugal to have eggs for breakfast, normally they come on top of a steak or other dishes for dinner. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh31ECSO8r5yH4sR7v0w1JMtBFliYMDzf99l9uvOTPbrXEtaIFNRxBGkrQTlRpj8RY5azR1OczvK08DApvKA4Kwqf3GfkR3B-ze9Aik4b6RQB3t46y7TrXfm5_r8g3aHu0SAFtqdYiYMyU/s1600/Avecasta+&+Ferreira+de+Zezere+May+2011+(83).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh31ECSO8r5yH4sR7v0w1JMtBFliYMDzf99l9uvOTPbrXEtaIFNRxBGkrQTlRpj8RY5azR1OczvK08DApvKA4Kwqf3GfkR3B-ze9Aik4b6RQB3t46y7TrXfm5_r8g3aHu0SAFtqdYiYMyU/s640/Avecasta+&+Ferreira+de+Zezere+May+2011+(83).JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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But anyhoo, the scramble and cheese were absolutely delicious and the homemade wine was quite powerful! It basically had the same alcohol content as a fortified wine (which they said is normal for homemade wine :p) so they normally drink the white very chilled or with ice. Strong but tasty, I almost had a bit of buzz on me as we headed out for our next adventure :) </div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyNtdWqzWKbCxOtC3E8e1IY9il1jrtC7HesAG-G7UtNWwrf7FQ3o68jizC4XFWSTDltR8ZyZ17c2KQ4eMaeqQvq2DN8RrXMCmsPtSgajgSiTpr6th__glwdczW8X3J2zm62sITAC463ms/s1600/Avecasta+&+Ferreira+de+Zezere+May+2011+(85).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyNtdWqzWKbCxOtC3E8e1IY9il1jrtC7HesAG-G7UtNWwrf7FQ3o68jizC4XFWSTDltR8ZyZ17c2KQ4eMaeqQvq2DN8RrXMCmsPtSgajgSiTpr6th__glwdczW8X3J2zm62sITAC463ms/s400/Avecasta+&+Ferreira+de+Zezere+May+2011+(85).JPG" width="400" /></a><br />
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This time, we went with Eva and her boyfriend, who drove us around the countryside to an even <i>tinier</i> aldeia, where we parked and hiked down an overgrown stone path through a beautifully vibrant green forest dotted with olive and cork oak trees. Rita told me this path was actually an old Roman road and we were going to see one of the many, still-used arched Roman bridges.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">The olive trees thrive in this pretty overgrown meadow surrounded by ancient Roman walls</span></td></tr>
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And I couldn't believe how good of a condition it was still in! Stretching over a small river that looked gorgeous in the late springtime covered in little white water flowers, that tranquil setting out in the middle of nowhere made you feel like you went back in time :)</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Until we caught the familiar sound of a herd of goats going up the hill! You could clearly hear them from the clanging of all the little bells around their necks. And apparently they heard us as well, since they turned back to stare :)</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">More beautiful ancient Roman walls and olive trees :)</span></td></tr>
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My blast from the past continued as we arrived back at the house to see garden-fresh <i>grelos </i>(cabbage sprouts) being prepared to cook over the family's old-fashioned open stove for dinner :)<br />
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Followed by some tasty local pork ribs cooking on their outdoor grill. All together with some more homemade <i>potent</i> red wine, it was a delicious dinner! <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbyNyXtgXdSxbJKRzyr2WP9FdLaXil1GB68jeJgMbFaPjiSHJY24YEC7EOegtxs1J4YLwGuuHbDFQBwX6n8Qli7qEOXrCUXyAdKvodgnqCVObF2UUuwNmSBWwFi8wpgzQ4wFIk5suPPos/s1600/Avecasta+&+Ferreira+de+Zezere+May+2011+(116).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbyNyXtgXdSxbJKRzyr2WP9FdLaXil1GB68jeJgMbFaPjiSHJY24YEC7EOegtxs1J4YLwGuuHbDFQBwX6n8Qli7qEOXrCUXyAdKvodgnqCVObF2UUuwNmSBWwFi8wpgzQ4wFIk5suPPos/s400/Avecasta+&+Ferreira+de+Zezere+May+2011+(116).JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
Afterwards, I walked with the whole family down the unlighted street to get some after-dinner coffee. And when I mean unlighted, it was pitch-black! I could barely see in front of me at some parts, but on the plus side, you could see the beautiful starry sky clearer than ever without all that city pollution! We arrived at the <i>only</i> shop in the village, a small café where everyone gathered for their afternoon and/or evening coffee to catch up on news or to watch a soccer match. My, was it so quintessential small town! Everyone really knew everyone there, and even though I was the odd one out, I still got friendly smiles and hellos :)<br />
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That night, I slept like a baby with the clean, crisp country night air flowing through the moonlit window.<br />
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<a href="http://americaninportugal.blogspot.pt/2012/03/my-weekend-in-country-day-2.html"><b>In Day 2 of My Weekend in the Country: More delicious organic, home-cooked Portuguese food and a trip to the clear-water Rio </b><span style="background-color: white; font-weight: bold; line-height: 16px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-style: normal;">Zêzere to visit one of the most picturesque </span><i>aldeias </i>in Portugal :)</span></span></a><br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06217380964240658865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817129952848096719.post-49657994862613500292012-02-28T22:39:00.005+00:002013-04-03T16:14:50.424+01:00So You Want to Move to Portugal? Here's My Story & My Advice, Then You Decide.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b style="background-color: #fefdfa; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><span style="color: blue;">*Interested in learning more about Portuguese food and wine with me? Check out my <span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://americaninportugaltours.com/">An American In Portugal Tours</a></span>, and my blog's new home!*</span></b><br />
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<b>I've been thinking A LONG TIME</b> about how to answer the several emails and comments I've gotten over the last couple of years about people interested in moving to Portugal. I know in my blog and for those who know me on Facebook and Twitter, that I have created a beautiful picture of my life here through my photos and experiences here. And let me say for the record, I do like living here, but I went through hell and back to get to the point where I could enjoy all the lovely things this country has to offer. But life has not been and still is not always peaches and cream people. You can't move to a foreign country expecting everything will be perfect (obviously). As I said below, this is a seriously complicated issue for me and I haven't really been in the mood to address it at all, but the questions keep coming so I have to finally give you an answer. I hope this will be the last time I'll need to address this.....which hopefully after you read this you'll know why. <b>And PLEASE don't ask me any more questions until you've read through this entire post!</b><br />
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First, a Warning: <b> DO NOT ATTEMPT TO MOVE TO PORTUGAL AND GET LEGAL THE SAME WAY I DID. </b> I am still here and legal only by sheer luck with timing and circumstances, this is not something you want to bet your life and money on people. I unknowingly made a big mistake trying to do it the way I did and luckily I was able to make it through in the end but now I know better. Read on and you'll know why.<br />
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<b>MY STORY:</b><br />
If you haven't already read the first couple of posts I did on this blog, which explain why I came here in the beginning and how I initially got started, then please go back and read: <b>"And What Do You Mean By That?"</b> <a href="http://www.americaninportugal.blogspot.com/2009/02/and-what-do-you-mean-by-that.html">http://www.americaninportugal.blogspot.com/2009/02/and-what-do-you-mean-by-that.html</a><br />
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<b>January 2008- </b>So to summarize what I said in my earlier post, I moved to Europe on the idea I could get started by teaching English. I came only with my passport-which for US citizens here automatically puts you on a "tourist visa" for 90 days, however I bought a return ticket for exactly 90 days after I came, with the intention of finding a job that offered a contract because I had found more job postings for English teachers. But when I there and went on interviews, NONE of them were offering contract positions, only work on <i>recibos verdes </i>or "green receipts", which is Portugal's way of paying hourly, non-contract workers, essentially the legal form of paying "under the table". But in order to work on green receipts, you needed a NIF (numero identificação fiscal) which is like the equivalent to a Social Security number in the US (but not as important) and in order to get that, they told me I needed a residency or "be legal", which I had no idea how to do that without a contract! <br />
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<b>February 2008-</b>I went to talk to someone at <b><a href="http://www.sef.pt/">SEF</a> (Serviço de Estrangeiros e Fronteiras- "Foreigners & Borders Service" aka "The 5th Dimension of Hell") </b>to which they just told me "No, you need a contract, go back to the US", which really disheartened me. Then one employer told me they heard that if you got a Portuguese citizen to sponsor you that you could get a NIF and <i>iniciar actividade </i>or "start working". This proved to be true when I went with my Portuguese boyfriend to the <b>Finanças (Finance Office)</b> and they gave me a NIF under his sponsorship. This was enough to allow me to start working, teaching English with a school, but I still needed to get green receipts so I could get paid at the end of the month! So we went back to the Finanças, but they said "no". <b>This was the beginning of the realization that every person we would talk to at a govt. agency was going to tell us a different answer, even if it was the same person but on a different day. </b>So we tried another Finanças branch, another "no". Finally, on the third one (a branch away from the downtown-this helps) the guy seemed to have been in a good mood and decided to give me the green receipts hooray! But he it told us this was because my sponsor was also working on green receipts, though if he changed to a contract job, I would have to go on them alone and be a resident. (He did a couple months later, but they didn't seem to care at that time when I went to change over on my own.....see a different answer each time!). Around this time I also managed to set up a bank account, using my boyfriends permanent home address (his parent's place) and presenting a signed <b>"declaração" </b>from my employer just stating I was currently working for them. (*Note: According to another American friend's recent experience, it's much harder to open a bank account here now, you need far more proofs of your residence and job). I also found an apartment to rent, again under the sponsorship/cosigning from my boyfriend, (this is basically required for all places to rent on your own, renting a room is easier).<br />
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<b>April 2008-</b> The date of my return ticket at the 90-day marked had arrived, but I already had a job, making money (legally), had my own bank account and my own apartment.....to me this seemed like I was on the right track and I could just apply for my residency in country with these things. So even though I was losing money from a non-refundable ticket, I decided to pass it up and continued on with my new life!<br />
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<b>June 2008- </b>By this point, I had settled in well and had been working steadily, so I decided start investigating how to apply for residency in Portugal. I was afraid to go back SEF at first, after what they told me before so I thought maybe the US Embassy in Portugal could give me some advice so I went there. Turns out, this is the last place (your native country's Embassy in general) you want to go for help in immigrating to another country (which kind of makes sense when you think about it) and of course they told me I had to back to the US (you think they wanted to be responsible for an illegal immigrant there?). I Started freaking out then ( like most Americans do at this point), trying to figure out how I was going to save myself from having to throw everything away that I had gotten in the last 4 months. But then it got worse: most of my classes stopped for summer vacation and I was left not being able to make enough money to pay rent....and since I had wasted my return ticket, I couldn't afford to even buy another ticket back home if I wanted to! Of course I could have always asked my parents to help lend me the money but that was the last thing I wanted to do, it felt like it would prove I was complete failure at this endeavor. So I spent a depressing summer of 2008 struggling to survive with the help of my boyfriend and "hiding" from the immigration police (just paranoia, the police here hardly ever do that stuff).<br />
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<b>September-December 2008-</b>Classes started up again and I looked for other schools that might possibly offer contracts....none of them really did, only quasi-contracts between you and the school, none of them govt. sponsored, which is what you need. By the end of the year, classes stopped again for Christmas holidays and I was left again almost broke and not being able to spend the holidays with my family and friends back home-this sucked. My parents told me to make an ultimatum, that if I didn't get a real job and a residency by the time a year past living here then to come home. So I remember crying one night before Christmas, pleading to Miguel to try to call SEF one more time and explain my situation to see if there was ANY way to get legal from here. He had really lost hope that I could stay here and reluctantly made the following Monday. To his surprise, he spoke to someone who told them there was a way. HALLELUJAH! I KNEW IT WOULD WORK! Well, or so I thought for the next year......<br />
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<b>January 2009: </b>SEF had told us that I could apply for residency as "trabalhador independente" which is essentially a "freelance worker" and to start, I needed to register with Social Security and start paying it every month. So I did, and I still pay a ridiculous amount to this day...ugh but this also gave me a chance to obtain a national healthcare number so I could use the health services (really good to have) and then I had my actual Social Security number (not used the same way as the US SS#) to use for my residency application. I turned in the application and they told me they would let me know when they were ready to interview me and complete the process. I waited 6 months......<br />
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<b>June 2009: </b>Finally got the notice, I had 2 weeks to get the rest of the necessary forms (original of birth certificate, notarized, copy of work declaration, copy of tax declaration-yes, you still have to pay taxes in Portugal whether you're legal or not! etc.) went to the SEF office and waited hours for my interview which my Miguel helped me out with, paid the expensive application fees PLUS the racked up penalty fee for living here illegally since my tourist visa ran out (so about €600-700 for a little over a year's worth of illegal living-don't let this happen to you!!!) and was told they would call me when they made a decision, which could be anywhere from 3-8 months.....<br />
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<b>December 2009: </b>I was desperate to be able to go home this year for the holidays to see my family, but still hadn't received a decision from SEF.....I had asked Miguel to call them back in October to see if I was allowed to leave the country since I was now in process but they told him no. This time though, after my parents' persuasion, a week before Christmasd I decided to make another trip out to the SEF office myself to try to talk to someone to see if they had made a decision. The receptionist there told me no they hadn't, maybe in January, and I started crying, telling him I had really wanted to visit my family for Christmas. But then he told me "well, you can travel outside the country if you want, as long as you bring your papers that say you're in process". I couldn't believe what I just heard, and I wasn't sure whether to jump for joy or to strangle someone there for telling me no before!!! But what mattered is my family got a happy surprise that year when I made it home the day after Christmas to spend the rest of the holidays with them.<br />
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<b>January 2010- </b>Not soon after I returned to Portugal from my holiday vacation, sure enough I got a letter from SEF telling me to come to their office for their decision. I waited 3 hours just to have some lady sit me down in her office and tell me that <b>my application had been rejected</b>. They told me my English teaching job didn't qualify enough for their "highly/special skilled worker" exception, to which apparently this whole "trabalhador independente" application is based on and most people get rejected in the end. She told me I had 2 options: Apply for an appeal, which she even advised me that this is usually just rejected as well in the end but it buys me more time for option 2- try to secure a contract job. I had 20 days from then to do either of these things or get out of Portugal. When I heard this news, surprisingly I wasn't sad or upset, I was actually angry and determined, I had been living, working, paying bills and taxes, essentially doing everything in Portugal that citizens do for almost 2 years yet they still wouldn't consider me legal?!?! Talk about confusing as hell. Well, finding a contract job in that short amount of time was impossible, I had been applying to both teaching jobs as well as hotel/restaurant jobs or any job I thought I could do off and on throughout the time I had been living there and the only ones who ever responded were for teaching and of course none offered a contract. The appeal just seemed as well, I didn't want to go through the whole process again knowing I was already terminal! I talked everything over with Miguel and a third option came up that we had thrown out before: being recognized in a "união de facto" or a civil union which would then make me eligible to apply for residency under<b> "Familiar de Cidadão da União Europeia, Nacional de Estado Terceiro"</b> or "Family of a European Union Citizen". The thing is, we couldn't use that before since you had to have been living with that person for at least 2 years.....but now that 2 years was approaching in less than 2 months! So within my 20 days time granted, I returned to SEF and re-applied under this type of residency!<br />
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<b>June 2010-</b> After applying for a "civil union" residency, we had to prove we had been living together for 2 years of course, this meant tons of papers showing our address being the same (which we used Miguel's parents' permanent address from my NIF as a backup), bills in our name, all of the same proofs of identity I needed the first time around, re-notarized and photocopied again....and finally filing taxes together for the first time. This last one was crucial, if the IRS accepted us as a civil union then is was almost inevitable that SEF would have to follow suit. And we were right, thankfully at the same time we were getting our tax return, <b>I got a letter saying I had been granted residency FINALLY!!!!</b> Though it took SEF another two months to make my crappy folded paper residency card (which I had to pay another fee for), I was officially legal after 2 1/2 years of living here and have a residency valid for 5 years before I have to renew.<br />
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<b>Conclusion: </b>So as you have just read, you now see that the only reason I am legal and still living here today was by <u>sheer circumstantial luck.</u> Words cannot describe the amount of stress and anxiety I lived with during that whole time, which seemed to have fueled some chronic health problems that I have spent a lot of money recovering from. I have been eligible for citizenship since I passed 3 years in a civil union, but I've been quite hesitant to start the whole painstaking process all over again just yet. So please understand when I repeat, do not attempt to go about living in Portugal this way, though I'm happy to have gotten through it and glad I'm still here, if I had known a quicker and better way to have done it then I would!!!
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Not to long ago a friend came a across a video clip from a documentary about the legalization process in Spain, which is just as long and complicated as in Portugal. Check out this amusing clip, which is basically a summary of what I went through in my story above:
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<b>To this day</b>, I still teach English as my main "day job", still on green receipts without a contract. I teach both for schools and privately but schools are the worst because they NEVER pay you on time. I still struggle to make decent money and have no job stability. Fortunately though, there has been another hope and motivation that helped me to survive throughout this time, <b>thanks to Gabriella and Ryan Opaz of <a href="http://catavino.net/">Catavino</a></b>, in which I've had the opportunity put my food and wine education into a new outlet by starting to write about Portuguese food, wine and travel over the last 3 1/2 years on their <a href="http://catavino.net/author/andrea/">website</a>. It has opened up a world of opportunities, including a temp. contract job last year with <a href="http://www.fodors.com/">Fodor's Travel</a> to update their <a href="http://www.randomhouse.com/book/53098/fodors-portugal-9th-edition-by-fodors">Portugal 9th Edition guidebook</a>, which produced my first published writing work! Now that Catavino has ended, I will continue to write on this blog (as you see) and continue to look into new opportunities, which I hope to post about here :)<br />
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<b>Now, back to YOU.</b> You've read my story and hopefully you'll heed my warning, but if you don't, then at least take the time to ask yourself these questions below. Assuming those who have asked me about moving to Portugal are not of Portuguese decent, let's start by narrowing things down and going from there. Here is my questionnaire to you: answer these with either a "yes" or a "no" about yourself and please be as honest and as realistic as possible:<br />
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<b>MY QUESTIONS TO YOU:</b><br />
<b>1</b>. Have you ever been to Portugal? More than once? (just passing through the airport doesn't count)<br />
<b>2.</b> Have you ever heard of the IMF? Are you aware of the current state of the Portuguese economy?<br />
<b>3.</b> Do you <b>currently</b> speak or know any Portuguese? Are you willing to learn it?<br />
<b>4.</b> Do you <b>currently</b> speak or know any other Latin languages (ie. Spanish, French, Italian, Catalan, Romanian)?<br />
<b>5. </b>Do you know anyone (preferably native Portuguese) who lives here? (I don't count)<br />
<b>6.</b> Do you plan to live in Portugal more than 6 months to a year?<br />
<b>7. </b>Are you fluent in more than one language? (German, Dutch,Chinese, Russian, Arabic, Norwegian etc.)<br />
<b>8.</b> Do you have at least €5,000+ in savings to use for "survival" money? (not counting the money you would need for flight to move here)<br />
<b>9.</b> Are you willing to be away from all of your family and friends for a long period of time? (not being able to go home to the US for at least year or two)<br />
<b>10.</b> Are you willing to wait in extremely long lines, humiliate yourself trying to communicate with people, go to whatever agency they tell you to go and return as many times as they tell you to, obtain, fill out, make copies, get notarizations and possibly pay several hundreds of euros in fees to do whatever it takes to make it here and be a legal resident?<br />
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<b>So...</b> I think you know how this questionnaire evaluation works, basically, if you answered most of the questions with a "no", then I seriously think you'll be wasting a lot of time, money and energy moving here. And of course if you answered most of them or even certain ones with a "yes", then I think at least you have your head in the right place for starters. Now let me explain why I asked you each of these questions:<br />
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<b>MY REASONING:</b><br />
<b>1. </b>Well, this one should be obvious, but I've actually met someone who decided they wanted to move to Portugal without ever having visited the country! Which I thought and still think that it's just absolutely nuts to move to another city or state, let alone a foreign country that you've never been to before! But they did, and to no surprise, after about 3 weeks living here they decided that they they didn't really like it (well except the food & wine, which they loved, but that's a normal reaction ;) ). But surprisingly they didn't return home to the US, they moved to Madrid instead and have been there for almost two years now and loves it. So actually a happy ending to that crazy idea but that doesn't mean it will turn out the same way for you! I think they'll agree with me in the end that this is not a good way to go about it. <br />
Ok now let's say you're like me, you've visited Portugal before, maybe even more than once....that still doesn't mean you should move here. I had been to Portugal before, took two vacations here before and absolutely loved it. This is usually the way it starts......but have you ever heard the saying "Don't crap where you eat?" Well I got one like that from what I've learned: "Don't live where you vacation". Because living in Portugal, living in another country or even another city in the US is always going to be different than what you see and feel when you vacation there. Think about it, when you go on vacation, the stress of your job, bills to pay, rent or mortgage etc, is left back at home and everything of course seems great in a place where you don't have a care in the world. But then if you MOVE there, you'll be bringing those things with you, and they might even be worse! I had already done this once before, in 2006 I decided to move to Miami Beach (South Beach) after taking an awesome vacation there with my friends in college. And even though after moving there I still tried to get my share of the beach and nightclubs and fun that I had on vacation, I also had to deal with the stress of maintaining a job, a place to live, paying bills etc. A year and a half later I was broke, jobless and miserable after struggling with the failing Florida economy and restaurant industry at the time and I just couldn't take it anymore. You would think I would have learned from that but I decided to try my luck again, in a foreign country of all places! :p And as you just read above, it hasn't been easy here as well.....but every situation is different, take this as a cautionary reminder, love at first sight doesn't always last!<br />
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<b>2. </b>So<b> </b>if you do know about the IMF (International Monetary Fund) and how BAD the Portuguese economy currently is then you know what I mean when I said the stress factors like maintaining a job, a place to live, paying bills etc, could be worse. Worse than when I came 4 years ago. Not only does Portugal have the IMF here now, but they got the whole "troika" as they call it, which also includes the European Commission and the European Central Bank. Why? Because Portugal IS IN DEBT UP TO THEIR EYEBALLS. And now due to this, taxes are going up, prices in general are going up, unemployment is going up and salaries are going down etc......yea you get the point. Ask yourself now, if this really a good time to move to Portugal?<br />
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<b>3. </b>This should be another no-brainer, it's a good idea to know the language of the country you're living in or at least make a good effort in learning it! If you're searching for a job in Portugal, you're going to have to search on Portuguese job sites, which yes, they're going to be in Portuguese! And yes it's true, a lot of Portuguese speak, or at least understand English well, especially in Lisbon (I should know, I teach them), but that's also bad for you if you're competing with them for a job. Many companies here want their employees to know English, but speaking fluent Portuguese is a given. So if you can't do that but they can, and on top of that, you're a foreigner trying to get a job in a country where currently natives are struggling to get one, who do you think they're going to choose for the position? Also, you'll definitely have a hard time getting around outside of big cities if you don't know Portuguese, even some local neighborhoods like mine in Lisbon have very few people who can speak English well. And if you've never been very good at languages then (Portugal, not Brazilian) Portuguese is definitely not a good language for you to start with, I've said it already in early blog posts that it is HARD. This is coming from someone who's already studied French, Spanish, Italian and Catalan and believes to be good at learning languages AND I'm still telling that that Portuguese has been the hardest language to learn so far. Granted I've never had any formal Portuguese lessons but after 4 years of living here I'm nowhere near fluent. I thought I knew some Portuguese from reading books before I moved here but in reality, I couldn't understand almost a damn thing for at least a year of living here. And that in itself, is a very stressful thing to live with daily.<br />
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<b>4. </b>If you know any of these languages, especially if you're fluent, this should help you in the long run for learning Portuguese well, and maybe more quickly. If not, I think it's going to be really tough for you.<br />
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<b>5. </b>Having some friends here always helps, they can definitely help get you more accepted into society and knowledgeable in the culture, and of course introduce you to more people, hopefully people who speak English well for your sake to begin with haha. If you don't know anyone, it can be a lonely life....Portuguese people are friendly in general but are very hesitant in letting outsiders into their "circle", especially Lisboners. There are always exceptions but don't be surprised if you feel like people aren't really making an effort to be good friends with you.<br />
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<b>6. </b>If you answered no to this then I hope all you plan to do is study or vacation here, otherwise it's not worth the hassle of starting the residency process if you don't intend on living or working here for that long. The best thing to do is apply for a student visa or an internship with a company, these are normally a lot easier and quicker to get than a regular residency.<br />
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<b>7.</b> Ok so you may not know any Portuguese or another Latin-based language but you do happen to be fluent or at least conversational in let's say German or Dutch- this can be helpful in getting a job if you want to work in the hotel/restaurant/tourism industry. Portugal gets plenty of European tourists so to be knowledgeable in a European language that most Portuguese would not know may help you push out your competition for getting a position.<br />
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<b>8. </b>I think this is also a given, you always need to have some money saved up when moving to another place as you never know how long it will take you to get settled and making steady money, regardless if you have a position lined up already. Also, all the little fees for getting legal and such can really add up, and if you're still not officially legal after a year, YOU STILL HAVE TO PAY TAXES IN PORTUGAL. I ended up paying almost €800 Euros in taxes my first year here as an "illegal resident" so beware.<br />
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<b>9./10. </b>Portugal, and southern European countries in general are notoriously SLOW when it comes to processing.....well, anything. (Think of your experience when you have to go to the DMV, but times ten.) This is because most of their government systems, especially Portugal, are overrun with ridiculous bureaucracy that turns even the simplest of things into a complicated , drawn-out issue. I have spent hours and hours waiting in lines only to be told I was missing one little "fine-print" thing or a photocopy of something (which most won't make for you there) and had to come back another time and wait in line all over again. And don't assume that most of these govt. workers speak English (most of them don't or won't) so you either have to bring an interpreter or play the "monkey miming game" with them, which can obviously get very embarrassing as well as frustrating. <br />
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What it all comes down to is having enough patience and perseverance to get through all this crap so you can get that residency card. And according to what I was told at the time, if you stay in the country (or any EU country) over the 90-day time allowed on just a tourist visa (just coming on a passport), you are not allowed to leave the country until you are granted residency, otherwise you may be rejected or penalized with a large fee. (There is a similar rule for immigrants applying for residency in the US, with much harsher consequences I must add so nothing new) Now it's also true that to this day, I have never once been asked to see my residency papers in Lisbon airport when traveling to and from the US directly, and I know other people who have made trips back and forth while still "illegal" and they didn't have a problem. (*Note: if you have a stopover in another EU country in between, such as France or Germany, they may ask to see them or check your passport thoroughly to see if you have been stamped recently leaving the EU and if they have a problem, you might risk getting extra penalties from them as well). However, none of these people I knew ever completed the residency process here and when I finally did, they made photocopies of every page in my passport which was checked thoroughly to see if I had left the country, which I hadn't in the 2 years I had been here. I had decided it wasn't worth the risk of completely screwing my entire application process as well as pay a ton more fees (which I couldn't afford), and I guess it paid off.<br />
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But yes, I had been stuck in Portugal for 2 years without ever leaving and yes, it was very tough not being able to come back home to visit all that time, but I had made a decision to move here and I was going to stick to it. My parents were able to come visit me in the first year which helped, as well as a couple of friends, but most of my family and friends just couldn't afford the time or the money to come visit ( and maybe some just didn't want to). But as I pointed out above, immigrants in the US have it far worse in the waiting process, I have friends who literally waited almost 10 years to get legal and they were stuck there the whole time without being able to leave to go back to their country to visit their families, so don't act like you're the only victim in this mess. There are a lot of people I know back home who still can't understand why I'm still here, no one believes an American would want to live outside of the US for a longer period of time.......but I'll have to leave that for another post, maybe with the title: "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly about Living or not Living in the US".<br />
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<b>MY ADVICE:</b><br />
<b>You</b> are in charge of your own life and destiny. I can´t make huge decisions for you like whether to get married, have children, change careers etc, and I also can't be the one to make the huge decision for you about whether to move to another country or not. I can only give you my opinion, however you see it, based on my observations and the experience I've had here, which very likely wouldn't be quite the same experience you would have. At the end, you can take it or leave it, because sometimes no matter what you are told, I know some people (including myself) will still have to follow what their heart wants, regardless of the possible huge pile of shit they might end up under :)<br />
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<b> </b>And<b> </b>honestly, if you really want to do it, the simplest, correct way to move to Portugal (or any foreign country) is:<br />
<b>-<u>Find a Contract Job.</u></b> one that will offer you a govt. sponsored contract to come work there, which you have to take to their consulate in the US to get the residency permit <b>BEFORE YOU MOVE THERE. </b>I know people who have successfully done this here so it's possible!! Probably the best job sector to look into is the hotel/restaurant industry, there are plenty of international hotel chains that have locations both in the US and Portugal. I also know there are several US companies that work within Portugal because I've met people from them working here, (unfortunately I can't remember any company names though) but they're usually only for a 6-month to 1 year time period. However it's an option you might want to look into. <br />
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<b>-DON'T</b> move to another country without a job lined up, <u>especially in the current world economy.</u> Assuming that you'll find a decent job, let alone a job at all, before your time and/or money runs out is a big mistake. A compromise, like what I tried to do in the first place, is take a 90-day "holiday" there, apply for jobs and if you're lucky enough to get an interview then a job offer with a contract then return in time with that contract and submit it to their local consulate. It's all about doing it right the first time, and preventing the nightmare that I, as well as many others have been through!<br />
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<b>THE BEST THING YOU CAN DO FOR PORTUGAL RIGHT NOW IS JUST BE A TOURIST!</b> Portugal's economy is a big mess at the moment and the best thing they have to help boost their economy and start making more money is <b>TOURISM. </b>Come to Portugal and spend your money enjoying the delicious food, wine and country hospitality that I've praised so much about in my Catavino articles and Fodor's Portugal 9th Edition guidebook and that I will continue to praise and showcase here on my own blog! Stay in gorgeous boutique hotels in the mountains or along the endless coastline of beautiful beaches, wonder in awe at all the ancient castles and monuments scattered throughout the country and be amazed by the breathtaking vistas that their incredible geography has created! And you can come back to visit as often as you like! I encourage it! And I will be happy to help plan your itinerary to make the most out of your experience here! I already have <b><a href="http://catavino.net/10-delicious-reasons-why-you-should-visit-portugal/">10 Delicious Reasons Why You Should Visit Portugal here</a>, </b>and you can come experience these things with me on my <b><a href="http://americaninportugaltours.com/">An American In Portugal Tours</a> </b>and if you're still not convinced, check out Portugal's awesome 2011 tourism video below:<br />
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<b>If</b> you have any other questions that I haven't addressed in this post then please please write a comment with</div>
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it below and I'll try to answer them as best as I can in a timely fashion. Whatever you decide to do, I hope</div>
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it's the right decision for you in the end :) </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06217380964240658865noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817129952848096719.post-20512937766739230812012-02-06T17:09:00.000+00:002012-02-17T10:36:12.370+00:00COMING SOON: Blog Re-Start, New Look and Feel<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It's 2012, 4 years strong and I am still in Portugal! I finally feel that this year I can finally devote the much-needed attention to have an updated blog! But this time around I will be incorporating my food and wine writing, as my work on <a href="http://catavino.net/10-delicious-reasons-why-you-should-visit-portugal/">Catavino</a> has now ended and I really want to continue writing for the time being while I search for future professional writing opportunities.<br />
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I have also been wanting to address the many emails and comments I have received in the last year seeking advice about wanting to <b>move</b> to Portugal, how to get a job, get legal etc. This is a seriously complicated subject that I have not yet had enough time to devote to writing out everything I'd like to say about that but I promise I will finally post about it in the near future!<br />
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Right now, I am playing around with the blog format here and still haven't decided exactly how I'd like it to look and what all to include, so suggestions for the layout are welcome!<br />
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Até Já! See You Soon!<br />
AndreaAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06217380964240658865noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817129952848096719.post-8801968982400046012011-02-21T20:15:00.010+00:002012-03-05T10:27:35.936+00:00Re-Emerging for a Re-Awakening.....Yes, it has been far too long since I last posted on here and I am ashamed that I haven't kept up with it in the last year.....but I must say my excuse is that I have been through a lot since then, mainly in the realm of health, work and now current living situation (looking for a bigger place to live!). These have all seemed to have occupied most of my time in both good and bad ways and continue to, but less so now. I really do hope once I move into a bigger apt and get settled that I will have more time to devote to more enjoyable, everyday things that I can express on this blog as well as on <a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.catavino.net">Catavino</a>.<br />
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Until then, I would at least like to leave some of the positive things that have happened to me here since I last posted for those curious readers. And thank you to those who sent me positive feedback about my blog and story, it feels good that my experiences have both interested and inspired people, and because of this, I really want to continue posting here. Thanks again!<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">3 of My Favorite Things In the Past Year:</span><br />
1. Finally got my Residency Card after 2.5yrs in Aug. 2010! Valid for 5yrs under my Portuguese boyfriend and I's "civil union", which I will now be eligible for citizenship this April :)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfWerKMr9oG1qK50sPyphq5rnuRb8z2rXygTnqwJ5IAZBVxcPFalwZPf8PU7qvKOVyJae5xpObuPCrV4llmiI9YIDXaQZsI4vl8AXBBtKJV5TuUAENy8gDRKQlWUyjyqtHzGUkXhykKFs/s1600/39851_528299138077_94600520_31230692_4156965_n.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5576244510767354530" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfWerKMr9oG1qK50sPyphq5rnuRb8z2rXygTnqwJ5IAZBVxcPFalwZPf8PU7qvKOVyJae5xpObuPCrV4llmiI9YIDXaQZsI4vl8AXBBtKJV5TuUAENy8gDRKQlWUyjyqtHzGUkXhykKFs/s320/39851_528299138077_94600520_31230692_4156965_n.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 320px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 240px;" /></a><br />
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2. Visited the beautiful Serra de Estrela Mountains, the highest mountain range in continental Portugal at over 6,500ft high and the only place with enough snow for skiing. However, we decided to go in the summer for a totally different experience, though still filled with delicious Serra de Estrela cheese and presunto (cured ham)and got to see some incredibly cute Serra de Estrela puppies!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLhk-2FdikdNrOXH3u0A32oD6RWSuc-z_DC27rh9G84Gn1g-HDskshoq2-JdMrNWLXP4RugRp1af-FIBw0Hd9gQSuh3XKuODH4qMb4eXab_k71C840LhZ-q7toZCzx2qzOSnTS7o7uP1Q/s1600/45424_528888591807_94600520_31249879_3036056_n.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5576253437721827154" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLhk-2FdikdNrOXH3u0A32oD6RWSuc-z_DC27rh9G84Gn1g-HDskshoq2-JdMrNWLXP4RugRp1af-FIBw0Hd9gQSuh3XKuODH4qMb4eXab_k71C840LhZ-q7toZCzx2qzOSnTS7o7uP1Q/s320/45424_528888591807_94600520_31249879_3036056_n.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 240px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a><br />
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3. Had another successful Portuguese Thanksgiving dinner with friends here, the best of the three I've done so far and besides the amazing food I managed to produce in 2 days from my tiny little kitchen, a friend brought an incredible Portuguese red, a 1947 Borba from Alentejo that we decanted and still tasted really good and very smooth! And it went perfectly with the food :) The best surprise by far I've had with Portuguese wine!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihyphenhyphenmfOz756bSjCGx-7iH8SIsf3YFJKFCkUr8ZzMORJmDMsDxH3OMo373pX-1rXgETifomVfZpFXEmFlYaUwVUpvBQuOFflUba8QvvgvPJoOPxl1X_JFrNxM23isaidk4H3NMIhw6b8ArQ/s1600/51630_532800946417_94600520_31336934_7471613_o.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5576255589355419634" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihyphenhyphenmfOz756bSjCGx-7iH8SIsf3YFJKFCkUr8ZzMORJmDMsDxH3OMo373pX-1rXgETifomVfZpFXEmFlYaUwVUpvBQuOFflUba8QvvgvPJoOPxl1X_JFrNxM23isaidk4H3NMIhw6b8ArQ/s320/51630_532800946417_94600520_31336934_7471613_o.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 320px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 214px;" /></a><br />
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Saúde!(Cheers to your health)<br />
AndreaAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06217380964240658865noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817129952848096719.post-69087390019452354922010-05-03T21:49:00.007+01:002012-03-05T10:26:50.582+00:002010 Has Been A Busy Year So Far, Whew!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivMzaSYPJZHxnamgJjSu7nC2aI5ZdSHAbrxwtmeRmSMtu7lHhSeUPtNLSwUCoElm-Kg5NRfEo2pHfZLLnk0bNUMOgtswlMWqGv__4F73MYZM23W_fVGrKDi3n4yh4ZRvWeP2A-tRDSJu8/s1600/Pics+1853.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5467152081137979682" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivMzaSYPJZHxnamgJjSu7nC2aI5ZdSHAbrxwtmeRmSMtu7lHhSeUPtNLSwUCoElm-Kg5NRfEo2pHfZLLnk0bNUMOgtswlMWqGv__4F73MYZM23W_fVGrKDi3n4yh4ZRvWeP2A-tRDSJu8/s400/Pics+1853.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; float: right; height: 400px; margin: 0 0 10px 10px; width: 300px;" /></a><br />
I have been very fortunate to have things continue to progress here positively in 2010, and this has mainly been becoming a very busy worker! And that means finally making decent money again and we all like that!! I have wanted to post several videos that I've taken on my new camera over the last several months but it was only recently that I realized I had recorded them in a non-compliant format for use on computers and the net...ARGH. Sadly then, I will not be able to post them at all....but now every new video I record will be in the right format! (Sometimes we have to learn the hard way :p)<br />
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Come summer, things will probably be slowing down again for me and I hope by the end of this month to get up some new posts. Until then, check out my posts on Catavino <a href="http://catavino.net/author/andrea/"></a> and enjoy some photos of my recent adventures in food and travel here in Portugal :)<br />
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Cheers,<br />
Andrea<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh91H3PKRnuHbnSV78UYko6XJqGhpaaem8Jr04YHcbKxIHfoKJvSIHLDMhr5P6E8-m6SnU91t12b7CLRAavqeAw2ZVWUa7P02hd8KLvbMyJWcyhVydLgLy3xOp9qBoPkRCweHXyIBnSZbw/s1600/P1000654.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5467157422696897170" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh91H3PKRnuHbnSV78UYko6XJqGhpaaem8Jr04YHcbKxIHfoKJvSIHLDMhr5P6E8-m6SnU91t12b7CLRAavqeAw2ZVWUa7P02hd8KLvbMyJWcyhVydLgLy3xOp9qBoPkRCweHXyIBnSZbw/s320/P1000654.JPG" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 240px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggPt5xaBpv0mcHEcRBpidjWus_mXoyK8UdyRUE_cgNX860QK_YxX_-3bVbSHezTihEZcl2THlKSihuIE4nyPuXVUwXEoWmg2HK-7CS6UYgPY1WR5iodNfQVKGrm-1VSmqoTP37vroBWAc/s1600/P1000650.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5467159551135756962" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggPt5xaBpv0mcHEcRBpidjWus_mXoyK8UdyRUE_cgNX860QK_YxX_-3bVbSHezTihEZcl2THlKSihuIE4nyPuXVUwXEoWmg2HK-7CS6UYgPY1WR5iodNfQVKGrm-1VSmqoTP37vroBWAc/s320/P1000650.JPG" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 240px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06217380964240658865noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817129952848096719.post-83322491442573101702010-01-14T14:01:00.015+00:002010-01-14T16:40:03.692+00:00New Year, New Decade and Still Loving Lisbon! A Look Back On How My Life Changed Here in the Last 2 Years<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9CGU6w_8VUKHFO0SJmGQvXfxSwKzFyv0kd2SSvorJIKsoAFF-kO5-7-olpWDhmVZKYevZqCrVuPfjh3xqlbHiluCC4MCMF9fATa6vevj03n7BmynZjCe8GHfaMXdlLog0QxYs_J7tT40/s1600-h/Pics+157.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9CGU6w_8VUKHFO0SJmGQvXfxSwKzFyv0kd2SSvorJIKsoAFF-kO5-7-olpWDhmVZKYevZqCrVuPfjh3xqlbHiluCC4MCMF9fATa6vevj03n7BmynZjCe8GHfaMXdlLog0QxYs_J7tT40/s400/Pics+157.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5426627876643890658" border="0" /></a><br /><br />So didn't manage to get any new posts in before the end of 2009 as I had hoped to.... but now I am entering 2010 feeling very refreshed and energized after my first visit back home to the US after 2 years of not leaving Portugal!<br /><br />Now I exaggerate a bit when I have told people I have compared myself to Tom Hanks in Castaway after being stuck in a foreign country for 2 years was like being on a desert island but there is a bit of truth in it in the process of how you feel about a place as time passes by. Originally very excited to move to Portugal when I first came in Feb. 2008, that almost immediately started to vanish when I had immense difficulty getting a job, an apt, electricity and hot water for my apt, and getting around Lisbon without ending up lost in the ghetto. Then as things started to smooth out and I was settling in, the whole issue about legality reared its ugly head and I was in fear of getting kicked out of the country! All of a sudden I wasn't as unhappy about the difficulties of settling here and after all the work I did to get where I was, I was desperate not to have that all taken away. So I lived in fear and almost in "hiding" while searching for the right information to fix my situation. This lasted until the end of 2008 when I found out how to fix it and got started with the process in early 2009.<br /><br />But my new-found relief and happiness was short-lived when the economic crisis started to really sink in here and I had very little to no work for the first 4 months of the year........I was again living in fear, but the fear of not having enough money to survive now that I could stay here! Every time I got down, I kept asking myself, what the heck are you still doing here?? Is this really worth it? Am I just doing this now because I don't want to admit defeat? Maybe at that time, that was the only reason....but then work started picking up by mid-April and by May and throughout the summer, both my work and my residency process were moving along quite well. I think this was the first time I was starting to really feel that I was finally fitting in here, especially since by then my understanding of Portuguese had gradually developed over time from a thick fog of bewilderment to seeing it starting to clear and being aware and comfortable about what was going on and being said around me. I didn't feel lost anymore, both in speech and finding my way around Lisbon, in fact I know the city better now than many natives!<br /><br />Towards the end of 2009, it looked as though yet again, I would not be able to leave the country to finally go home and visit my family and friends. This was the hardest for me the year before, as I still felt like a complete foreigner, an outsider who had no business being there and didn't have the support of her own people to get her through the lonely days. This past year I thought it would be just as hard on me but it was actually quite different.....I now felt like I was a part of the Portuguese community, I worked, I had my own friends (not just my boyfriend's friends) I could carry on a conversation in Portuguese and my neighbors actually knew me and knew I was American, not the Ukranian (hooker) they may have once before regarded me as :p I felt that, despite not being able to come home for the holidays, this time I felt comfortable, content and in the end I was so used to living here this long that it was enough for me to enjoy the holidays still.<br /><br />But then 2 weeks before Christmas I went on a whim to SEF (immigration) to check on my status and found out that I actually could leave the country! Of course I didn't believe it at first because they had been telling me the exact opposite the whole time but after confirming it with 2 other sources, I quickly got online and bought my plane ticket back to the US for a two week trip! In a way now, I was glad I found out at the last minute because I ended up spending Christmas both with my "family" in Portugal and left the day after to go spend it with my real family in the US, so I got the best of both my worlds actually :) It was still scary though to fly on a plane for the first time in 2 years (and the day after the attempted terrorist attack along with my 8hr flight being quite turbulent!) and when I got into Newark, my first stop before another short flight to Washington DC, I came to realize just how long I had been away! I almost felt like a foreigner in my own country; my clothing style had become distinctly Euro when I saw how differently I was dressed to Americans and I was also turning my nose up at some of the ways Americans were behaving that I used to do before! But I think my biggest change was having to stop myself from saying "excuse me" in Portuguese if I bumped into someone going into the restroom :p<br /><br />Though I liked the way I had developed "culturally" in my time away, I still loved being back at home, enjoying my mom's cooking and lots of fresh-baked Christmas cookies :) But there were other outside American things which I used to love that ended up not being so exciting, especially when I knew I could get almost the same thing in Portugal at an even better and at a cheaper price(even with the exchange rate!). Don't get me wrong, there are many things I love about America, but when it comes down to certain things that are very important to me, Portugal has it better in my opinion. For example, it is so much safer here than in most of the US, with TV news shows actually reporting about things other then murders, suicides, accidents and everything else horrible that American news shows report in gruesome detail non-stop. And Portugal may not have perfect health care but it has certainly been better to me financially than in the US!<br /><br />Overall it was still a much needed vacation home but by the end of my two weeks there, I was already ready to come back to Portugal. And when I got off the plane here in Lisbon, even in the pouring rain, wind and fog, everything seemed sunny to me and I felt like I truly belonged here. All the little things that I loved about this place which got overshadowed by stress and hardship, came shining through and I I appreciated them once again and much more. I was so happy to be back at my home away from home. Yes home will always be where my family is but now I can finally say that when I come back to my apt everyday after work here, I am coming home as well :) I know now that I made the right decision in coming here 2 years ago, and I am looking forward to things getting even better this new year and on :)<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB9PqRl6ppT2RgmBl6mFaBNouZYmXQRQeZF5SZMKB6JJgAj_SBpbtmrWgeDF31-gjoc6q4xEvXWn_f6KJ44XoyL58JDlUanFvcAjFG_XWZYTBDzKIHAsVFR9AUSwkj7pFy4WPN9-wzPiw/s1600-h/Pics+1379.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB9PqRl6ppT2RgmBl6mFaBNouZYmXQRQeZF5SZMKB6JJgAj_SBpbtmrWgeDF31-gjoc6q4xEvXWn_f6KJ44XoyL58JDlUanFvcAjFG_XWZYTBDzKIHAsVFR9AUSwkj7pFy4WPN9-wzPiw/s400/Pics+1379.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5426627210591528946" border="0" /></a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06217380964240658865noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817129952848096719.post-37894218466693290142009-10-22T13:59:00.021+01:002009-11-02T17:59:48.801+00:00Hey There Stranger! Highlights From The Last 4 Months!The American in Portugal has been busy and tied up with things in the past 4 months, but now that things are starting to smooth out again, she has ventured back to try again!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNDQIZ-jmC_ceMnuMyjGS1pb7ySsCLJGmScmQOVvTMt7NMaNy-o6r1CyBrX7iT7c1uMOk3khhOpk6QloBXwf632NFuHdvtB6QpMOamN6JNkoVxKdSY5EFnNyy3fPMJCo4Fe7HmijfaKpU/s1600-h/Pics+699.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNDQIZ-jmC_ceMnuMyjGS1pb7ySsCLJGmScmQOVvTMt7NMaNy-o6r1CyBrX7iT7c1uMOk3khhOpk6QloBXwf632NFuHdvtB6QpMOamN6JNkoVxKdSY5EFnNyy3fPMJCo4Fe7HmijfaKpU/s400/Pics+699.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5395430221381946034" border="0" /></a><br /><br />It's not that I haven't had anything to talk about, life goes on here as usual and thankfully every day gets better as my surroundings become more familiar and more at home for me. And that's what it's got to be for me since I am still "stuck" here for almost 2 years now and continue to wait for the residency approval that will allow me to leave the country without penalty to go back HOME to visit family and friends and FINALLY allow me to go tour some of these other lovely European countries around me!<br /><br />Since it's been so long then, I thought I would give some little snippets of the most interesting things that have been going on for me here:<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Evora and Some Interesting College Traditions:</span> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7HHQW0mLZkkKR2H4__PtUY7VC4j7sIo_b-sn1SbiregcC41R3xwWBpNVnBm5S4VQcjsNmntCk2AMWP1nyG1qh7gKQ4MptL4jrU5LJYKVI3PLHR2LWEn9p2E6UExnFVUBYb2SpwqxLsGc/s1600-h/Pics+506.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7HHQW0mLZkkKR2H4__PtUY7VC4j7sIo_b-sn1SbiregcC41R3xwWBpNVnBm5S4VQcjsNmntCk2AMWP1nyG1qh7gKQ4MptL4jrU5LJYKVI3PLHR2LWEn9p2E6UExnFVUBYb2SpwqxLsGc/s400/Pics+506.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5395423494410729154" border="0" /></a><br />I took my first visit to the town of Evora back in June for a graduation dinner of a friend of my boyfriend's. Evora is right smack in the middle of the country-like Alentejo and in June of course it's already SWELTERING HOTTTTT. I didn't stop sweating from the time I got out of the car there until nightfall. Fortunately though this beautiful old town's sights and monuments made it more bearable to walk around and explore and then dinner was thankfully in a well-air conditioned restaurant. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUWq7SHYeeL2JjKKIV2iXfLdD454veTqkAD038mxAYIjHOih8sfbbnZ3d2OLLku2_5TUcmo-D_8VJ_4DfDNkArOFvv5Icz421dYTLlirGcJXkio6rCLCk1ZOmv0pH4M4p85bV_ZfPeSmI/s1600-h/Pics+526.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUWq7SHYeeL2JjKKIV2iXfLdD454veTqkAD038mxAYIjHOih8sfbbnZ3d2OLLku2_5TUcmo-D_8VJ_4DfDNkArOFvv5Icz421dYTLlirGcJXkio6rCLCk1ZOmv0pH4M4p85bV_ZfPeSmI/s400/Pics+526.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5395424304801778818" border="0" /></a> The dinner was definitely the highlight of my visit, it was a full, 4 course traditional Alentejo meal complete with tons of appetizer plates to start off with which included pickled pigs ears mmmmm hahaha :p And of course there was plenty of good, STRONG Alentejo wine to go around, which can put you to bed quite quickly if you know what I mean ;) We were entertained during the meal by the college graduates themselves, who also happened to be in the school's tuna so there was lots of music and singing and chanting, with the most amazing musician and singer being a blind graduate!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAkDUO_M9fqVUgDO2kkqffj1PCX9GETQRxeOU8qO7pjk8ARmVBsYkxnZcG1eP1BO2RzgobHD5SwXARLNlQDYGTsmCNBnbRBTaoi4PUOysQlTUGgc2lF3n_6PslAvPPk9NfElf3tjA0tfo/s1600-h/Pics+495.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAkDUO_M9fqVUgDO2kkqffj1PCX9GETQRxeOU8qO7pjk8ARmVBsYkxnZcG1eP1BO2RzgobHD5SwXARLNlQDYGTsmCNBnbRBTaoi4PUOysQlTUGgc2lF3n_6PslAvPPk9NfElf3tjA0tfo/s400/Pics+495.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5395425711154581074" border="0" /></a> All college students have a traditional student's uniform (same as the Tuna uniform, see past article) that they dress in for important ceremonies like graduation and this particular Evora college went even further with some interesting looking "staffs" that students carry around that are hung with tons of little "congrats" ribbons given by friends and family. But the oddest tradition that this college has is the late-night ceremony after everyone has dined where they gather in the school's plaza where there is a wading pool set up in the middle and each graduate is ceremonially carried by his family and friends up to the pool and thrown in! Once all the graduates from each major had been dunked, they huddle together in a circle and do this primitive-like chanting and dance. It was like nothing I'd ever seen before! Glad that wasn't my school's tradition haha :D<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Caramulo Vacation:</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMG9yDHl66qGYLoN2HJL-EAyMXCM9fEGp5wCtEDT8c9n1UC2MofOw0RCtTQqYKh-NFdhqLGfYv5_38PjXwXlRMjReOIimtDfpOttsi3aMS6HuLolYugWeNBzabk1mGMLVadL6svs04Yv0/s1600-h/Pics+747.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMG9yDHl66qGYLoN2HJL-EAyMXCM9fEGp5wCtEDT8c9n1UC2MofOw0RCtTQqYKh-NFdhqLGfYv5_38PjXwXlRMjReOIimtDfpOttsi3aMS6HuLolYugWeNBzabk1mGMLVadL6svs04Yv0/s400/Pics+747.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5395428612549515890" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />In July, my boyfriend and I took a 3 day trip up to the Caramulo mountains, about a 3hr drive north of Lisbon and an hour off the coast. We stayed at the only real hotel up on the mountain in the actual town of Caramulo, called Hotel do Caramulo <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglxlyvMExWRT8VqQ24bzVpg7aNSxUJHIaAziAB97OPEYwNclbYwV8KO6HpioK2CPbtz_NQczbdUZiINAEY0dLC0FzSAF2qj0k4ZuKH0yuLHhyhxd4lK3Xg3xDKk3teqOESteUGxybEqp8/s1600-h/Pics+749.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglxlyvMExWRT8VqQ24bzVpg7aNSxUJHIaAziAB97OPEYwNclbYwV8KO6HpioK2CPbtz_NQczbdUZiINAEY0dLC0FzSAF2qj0k4ZuKH0yuLHhyhxd4lK3Xg3xDKk3teqOESteUGxybEqp8/s400/Pics+749.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5395429290156660434" border="0" /></a>which is a 4 star hotel and spa with the most SPECTACULAR VIEWS of from the mountain overlooking the valley. Knowing this, we reserved a suite which had a balcony overlooking the valley and I must say, I could have spent my whole time out there just enjoying the view :) There's not much in the town or surrounding towns but it's a great area just to drive around and admire the beautiful views and tiny picturesque villages. But if you drive a little further, you can check out the city if Viseu, which was nice. The crisp mountain air is also the best, the place actually used to be the center for pulmonary lung disease treatment so you know that's some good air. By far, it was the most relaxing vacation I've had :)<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Clams in Alcochete:</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimkUgb6t8FaaKd27MmAYhCAXuKNGz3UvVP6sMbVIZ4qYXdj7L-3AH82Janei4FFNbxxjJ6iuOpYb4V4QF12nBPwXDvYuT2D7jtQcpqVjGeEJz86h9U4pQesQ_sjSzkxLd3uedYpxF6DEk/s1600-h/Pics+822.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimkUgb6t8FaaKd27MmAYhCAXuKNGz3UvVP6sMbVIZ4qYXdj7L-3AH82Janei4FFNbxxjJ6iuOpYb4V4QF12nBPwXDvYuT2D7jtQcpqVjGeEJz86h9U4pQesQ_sjSzkxLd3uedYpxF6DEk/s400/Pics+822.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5395430993172865282" /></a><br /><br />We frequented the little town of Alcochete this past summer as it is right across the river from Lisbon (on the side where the Vasco Da Gama bridge is) and is known to most people as where the huge outlet mall is located. We decided to explore the actual town one day and liked the cuteness of its old part and nice views of the river which has made us return a couple more times. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1CudlCep2O2NW-AeLsZ1wCuXw5ujGlwP47fFUN11C9DEkH19EDfsEwSvDdJtNHYCwrmyMouavCo2IcqIvykxeIpsCOBW77w_N8R_3IOO3VwK5r-TefCwzCCryjUmbpSUft22Bdptcjjs/s1600-h/Pics+816.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1CudlCep2O2NW-AeLsZ1wCuXw5ujGlwP47fFUN11C9DEkH19EDfsEwSvDdJtNHYCwrmyMouavCo2IcqIvykxeIpsCOBW77w_N8R_3IOO3VwK5r-TefCwzCCryjUmbpSUft22Bdptcjjs/s400/Pics+816.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5395432755166235490" /></a><br />But the best discovery in this town was a cafe we went to in one of their squares that had THE BEST clams you could get for your money. Yes, 12 euros is a bit expensive for a plate of clams but these were completely worth it at they were drenched in fresh garlic, butter, lemon and parsely, with fresh bread to mop it all up after! They were so good, we had to order another plate of them :p And now, we'll definitely have a reason to come back to Alcochete!<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Day Trips to Nazaré and Tomar:</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjtGlhGiq4dmjIatKYvSCCpWqyf5JVI-ol0kARu0eMmyomTgpP0D8_1bgbjEX4CSmx0izhMxCmD_Puz_PwTpuVKc-nO77U0K0oparhy42EgxWajSZb_gNIMcQt4W8vNsKxsDlFTPaH3Ck/s1600-h/Pics+1054.jpg"><img style="float:center; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjtGlhGiq4dmjIatKYvSCCpWqyf5JVI-ol0kARu0eMmyomTgpP0D8_1bgbjEX4CSmx0izhMxCmD_Puz_PwTpuVKc-nO77U0K0oparhy42EgxWajSZb_gNIMcQt4W8vNsKxsDlFTPaH3Ck/s400/Pics+1054.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5395433802629970546" /></a><br />Sundays are usually our only complete FREE days here right now, so to quench our adventurous spirits, we've been picking a new place on the map to drive to for the day where we have lunch, walk around exploring the area and see what interesting things we can find! So far, we've been to the beautiful coastal town of Nazaré, about a 1.5hr drive north up the coast where they have the COOLEST funicular I have found that goes straight up the mountain there! <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja2UNKW5imn0DpOGbBk_gnF9d3LgZ-JjjbvF67XBaC9zuYcyZzCr5tFxyhxy7EgG1ywnWAsLX27A5crLlAbVpR2PlN-cvRXUDAN1gvTeoa5nyo31gVXMeFAjwhPpA0yTib_liB3fgWDc4/s1600-h/Pics+1076.jpg"><img style="float:center; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja2UNKW5imn0DpOGbBk_gnF9d3LgZ-JjjbvF67XBaC9zuYcyZzCr5tFxyhxy7EgG1ywnWAsLX27A5crLlAbVpR2PlN-cvRXUDAN1gvTeoa5nyo31gVXMeFAjwhPpA0yTib_liB3fgWDc4/s400/Pics+1076.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5395434055873158898" /></a> And of course the view at the top is incredible :) We also went to Tomar, a 1.5hr drive northeast; it's a World Heritage site as it was the home of the Templar Knights. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdvm-axdmLbPYPnw_8HbpPRIZtd4m5m_OYf2bBoTPPmURouAYtIt9-PIsCqkDp2O5HlL5-AXJKE8THBFmG5FsrW0QJkokaR2wAnKLBvSDZxkdC5Uh1fqEJby3b5kigRVEKGlJ8Uww2Hi4/s1600-h/Pics+949.jpg"><img style="float:center; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdvm-axdmLbPYPnw_8HbpPRIZtd4m5m_OYf2bBoTPPmURouAYtIt9-PIsCqkDp2O5HlL5-AXJKE8THBFmG5FsrW0QJkokaR2wAnKLBvSDZxkdC5Uh1fqEJby3b5kigRVEKGlJ8Uww2Hi4/s400/Pics+949.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5395434643668272978" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI_qWS-ZMCOxt8CMT51yg5nGguK1stDoJZtMnaiufQ2BarZPCH7HvM1DwXH_BF5OLgQ9AGf-O8YXm6U5mu6EDpkr5U19Np0ybHuE_-3HDI6UUDDA0rii88jtnsPPuX8u1Ruam63cFLMvg/s1600-h/Pics+899.jpg"><img style="float:center; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI_qWS-ZMCOxt8CMT51yg5nGguK1stDoJZtMnaiufQ2BarZPCH7HvM1DwXH_BF5OLgQ9AGf-O8YXm6U5mu6EDpkr5U19Np0ybHuE_-3HDI6UUDDA0rii88jtnsPPuX8u1Ruam63cFLMvg/s400/Pics+899.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5395434955964953010" /></a><br />The old part of the town is a bit small but just got up the hill to visit the Convento do Cristo and we easily spent 2 hours in there exploring this huge Templar monastery with some fascinating tilework and art.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">BBQ!!!!</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9u7Zoce3fThzaBbVH6DAEFs76mNkan2WFALfpKd2mtm0aPDZiyKBdu79KVqFFx1nplMc8tJ2QgLvSCUqO4-GHBml1aTg_14RhuLnrc9dA8X0HTs1umkttT57zyYc1kiF-ecZMBj3OjMA/s1600-h/Pics+1127.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9u7Zoce3fThzaBbVH6DAEFs76mNkan2WFALfpKd2mtm0aPDZiyKBdu79KVqFFx1nplMc8tJ2QgLvSCUqO4-GHBml1aTg_14RhuLnrc9dA8X0HTs1umkttT57zyYc1kiF-ecZMBj3OjMA/s400/Pics+1127.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5395435958730048482" /></a><br />We finally decided now was the time to organize a BBQ that we had all been saying we wanted to do. So last weekend, 10 of us gathered at Parque de Campismo Fort do Cavalo, just up the hill from the town of Sesimbra where we found a grill with built-in picnic tables to party on :) We grilled homemade burgers by me, some chicken, small, Portuguese sausage called <span style="font-style: italic;"></span>linguiça, the fatty pork parts called entremeadas and febras as well as some fresh sardinhas brought from the docks down below mmmmmmmmm :) <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDwcGwTqy7BsECUUEyKVt7W9zG_IwS3q8kkYuplS9CZHpbKng_v_EdS3LnKxZYRg3nlKi0Nxwp62Os_Q3I2YSoi_vFkpQLGD-gcU4-HlbpvaZGPyh7Ed5p9Yv-gO9bqXOr23ODC-pH9hs/s1600-h/Pics+1140.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDwcGwTqy7BsECUUEyKVt7W9zG_IwS3q8kkYuplS9CZHpbKng_v_EdS3LnKxZYRg3nlKi0Nxwp62Os_Q3I2YSoi_vFkpQLGD-gcU4-HlbpvaZGPyh7Ed5p9Yv-gO9bqXOr23ODC-pH9hs/s400/Pics+1140.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5395437378220474450" /></a> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYikL7hbeeCOSNBpDn-uIl9kpTlep8znxL1DuIS8QhgzUwQ60FFERx0b3WgEJLy9_xfqK8cywwjderwOr2fMRlvnBNJM3n9wS6mDcRc8MX5fWC5sh6qGCWnXxFzvwa7n10PQTHIYDVJmM/s1600-h/Pics+1146.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYikL7hbeeCOSNBpDn-uIl9kpTlep8znxL1DuIS8QhgzUwQ60FFERx0b3WgEJLy9_xfqK8cywwjderwOr2fMRlvnBNJM3n9wS6mDcRc8MX5fWC5sh6qGCWnXxFzvwa7n10PQTHIYDVJmM/s400/Pics+1146.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5395438112268942962" /></a><br />At the end, I introduced all our Portuguese friends to the American campfire treat of s'mores! Yea, can you believe that most Portuguese have never tried or even heard of marshmallows, let alone s'mores?? So I demonstrated how to roast the marshmallows perfectly then put the s'more together and they loved it! I think everyone had at least 4-5 s'mores on their own :D It was a "once in a lifetime" opportunity for them, as you can't find marshmallows or graham crackers in any supermarket here! Thanks to my mother, I had had them shipped to me ahead of time :)Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06217380964240658865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817129952848096719.post-36229965469599619652009-06-25T11:26:00.002+01:002009-06-25T11:31:45.150+01:00Long Time, No See......New Posts?Hello to all of my readers, my apologies for not having any new posts in the last month, I have been very busy taking care of some important issues that I have been waiting a long time for and keeping my fingers crossed that they will all turn out ok and be accomplished very soon!<br /><br />I have also embarked on many a new social endeavors so I plan to post some of these interesting experiences within the last couple months on here as soon as I find more time to write more than this tiny snippet! <br /><br />Please stop by and check around in the next month and I hope to grace you with some more entertainment then :) Thanks for reading!<br /><br />Cheers,<br />AndreaAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06217380964240658865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817129952848096719.post-28618198734060003402009-05-22T16:16:00.013+01:002009-05-22T17:40:34.179+01:00Cegonhas!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRVLfo8wBbqYaO7QW5jkzLTppzs6TXCh6wWgRWu_Ddz6BK65Pwgxd-13Z6iWgZGoxuCR_YWTXZqwPEkjDIroBN3APi-CAGmWq8wiG3lTJc4quUKyKGacDRvhjm6-HseiTyVHThBVEiRbA/s1600-h/433zoom.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 348px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRVLfo8wBbqYaO7QW5jkzLTppzs6TXCh6wWgRWu_Ddz6BK65Pwgxd-13Z6iWgZGoxuCR_YWTXZqwPEkjDIroBN3APi-CAGmWq8wiG3lTJc4quUKyKGacDRvhjm6-HseiTyVHThBVEiRbA/s400/433zoom.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5338679153647666018" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />That's Portuguese for Storks! And as much as we Americans hear about them in the very misleading tale of "How Babies Are Made" when we are children, I don't think any of us have actually ever seen one in person! That is, until I came to Portugal and was out driving through the southern regions of Ribatejo and Alentejo and spotted these giant nests on the huge power lines! I asked Miguel, "What dumb bird decided to build a nest on these??" And he replied "Those would be the Cegonhas Andrea, or you may know them as Storks." Wow....glad they really don't deliver babies if they like to live on power lines!! But he explained that the nests that I see around there now are actually made on non-electrical perches that the government decided to add on after they kept having the Storks dying while trying to make their nests on there. So apparently before that, they would find tons of barbecued Storks on the side of the road.....geezus those birds sound pretty retarded!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghUgH3h64nghdcX1L-g74T58GGdnOnbjtUvlSj1RptQYVw_fSZGIHmyHzGXcVSv_xc8Gmj6lGNyMxODv4xSaeKRy_sVrM-yJjW1mVHVcRH-eQ6qG4NUiIqqtTjoVA2OFDO1qD7YHuz-js/s1600-h/432zoom.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 339px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghUgH3h64nghdcX1L-g74T58GGdnOnbjtUvlSj1RptQYVw_fSZGIHmyHzGXcVSv_xc8Gmj6lGNyMxODv4xSaeKRy_sVrM-yJjW1mVHVcRH-eQ6qG4NUiIqqtTjoVA2OFDO1qD7YHuz-js/s400/432zoom.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5338682066239115634" border="0" /></a><br /><br />But of course they don't know any better, you see because storks like to make their nests on really high perches to protect their young from predators. They do find sometimes find other less dangerous places to nest but unfortunately the power lines are usually the highest they can find here. So the government also built some of their own high perch towers for them, along with adding them to the power lines so if they did still end up coming there, they would hopefully reduce the risk of them electrocuting themselves! Poor guys hahahaha, thankfully though you can enjoy seeing these magnificent looking birds safe in their nests now all throughout the area :)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNbto45ggWBxXYubNqNB-vPXdNS2ShjZp7g6a2cvDxYJ4Bc8wwgEsfsvzRsblTwDCGwmhR4LV0vohwMp4UtjfIpXlCS0bQ2_MpLEdB1TX0FfpabXw3AlTqKnjxGZDwg6edck5-el_nBpY/s1600-h/418small.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 324px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNbto45ggWBxXYubNqNB-vPXdNS2ShjZp7g6a2cvDxYJ4Bc8wwgEsfsvzRsblTwDCGwmhR4LV0vohwMp4UtjfIpXlCS0bQ2_MpLEdB1TX0FfpabXw3AlTqKnjxGZDwg6edck5-el_nBpY/s400/418small.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5338685662373741346" /></a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06217380964240658865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817129952848096719.post-19246450054891784642009-05-09T21:08:00.001+01:002009-11-02T18:18:17.556+00:00"Writings On The Wall"- Lisbon Graffiti In StyleWhen I first came to this country, I was surprised at how much graffiti there is around Lisbon and most cities. To most people who aren't affiliated with graffiti in some way, it usually is a symbol of a poor or rough neighborhood and shameful that they are vandalizing and defacing public or private property. But as I've passed by a lot of graffiti here many times and began to look at it more closely, there is a significant amount that is not bad at all and actually quite artistic. When you think about it, there are so many extremely old buildings and walls here that are brown and gray and disgusting with age that they really could benefit from some color!<br /><br />Take this one long wall near my neighborhood in Lisbon, that starts right after Amoreiras Mall and winds up into Campolide; this wall is where it seems the "Style Wars" take place. Or at least that's what I've come to conclude from what I've observed over time. Every year the wall is painted over and various graffiti artists or groups come and take a large section of the wall which they do up an impressive work to "represent" their people. Each one is like a puzzle, trying to figure out the hidden message or symbol of their words and illustrations with what is going on in their world. Some seem to have references to world issues while others represent loved ones that were lost or something completely abstract in itself. As I strolled down the sidewalk along the wall checking out each section and taking photos of some of my faves, it was like walking through an art gallery....with the best part of it being free! Below are some of the most memorable from this year's wall, some are a bit silly while others are quite moving:<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb_U0JGNsZvN9CDvLH9Dktf83BZ4O4dPYQYH2hWDHVGYz89MzK6jZWnmgLdDGCanGEktBrFzowkO-zVud40BAA9gREvQfgKFN6mSA-B-toyLKQwsrE_S19O4qb6AM8VqgPrZEViZGeWMg/s1600-h/Pics+407.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb_U0JGNsZvN9CDvLH9Dktf83BZ4O4dPYQYH2hWDHVGYz89MzK6jZWnmgLdDGCanGEktBrFzowkO-zVud40BAA9gREvQfgKFN6mSA-B-toyLKQwsrE_S19O4qb6AM8VqgPrZEViZGeWMg/s400/Pics+407.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5333926056745751810" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Cool Dragon<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLGbzalIdGvXTi9Ul9HVCxWzoQ5VfaplE_NWU9Spj54XoMftonAMy9jiY7lIGTYKZapxfAOCeOwuFtzfQGTPOYp3KwyH7W6HjRsE1bPlYGw-0-N6qmUsOKKH67K4guwWH2OF9yTI0YSX8/s1600-h/Pics+395.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLGbzalIdGvXTi9Ul9HVCxWzoQ5VfaplE_NWU9Spj54XoMftonAMy9jiY7lIGTYKZapxfAOCeOwuFtzfQGTPOYp3KwyH7W6HjRsE1bPlYGw-0-N6qmUsOKKH67K4guwWH2OF9yTI0YSX8/s400/Pics+395.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5333927135760190466" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Not sure what these little guys represent but I found it funny that the railing hit just the right spot from where I was standing to take the photo to censor a certain part on one :p<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRVmLs4kWDgDXeauT26rpQR2rFneLZsc6EwXac8R4BedKs2R6u3BwFrhvMOGWff4AFNmCmqKQWzqbBuv0YMKgeSUCcftedIYsjUP0bLaAxvVozr1oLjLtP4vfwP2DwJRlP11b53i1MJqw/s1600-h/Pics+396.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRVmLs4kWDgDXeauT26rpQR2rFneLZsc6EwXac8R4BedKs2R6u3BwFrhvMOGWff4AFNmCmqKQWzqbBuv0YMKgeSUCcftedIYsjUP0bLaAxvVozr1oLjLtP4vfwP2DwJRlP11b53i1MJqw/s400/Pics+396.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5333928429724728530" border="0" /></a>Somehow I believe they meant "humor", which is common to find misspellings here when people try to write in English..... though I could be wrong since the face does resemble a bit of a known Simpsons character (but with 3 eyes?)<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgke5mwCVt-N4784cZCuQdxRE5A7RSP_xQ617dPG1EGc59LAoAC5Hpk-nwFZDvvImcGob9p6EyKpnc39UHJ6D1xyy6rFq_XOeExaJyW3SYQcKtXfVNHfwOOPpnvZ01khgg67f-O_gbSBvA/s1600-h/Pics+402.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgke5mwCVt-N4784cZCuQdxRE5A7RSP_xQ617dPG1EGc59LAoAC5Hpk-nwFZDvvImcGob9p6EyKpnc39UHJ6D1xyy6rFq_XOeExaJyW3SYQcKtXfVNHfwOOPpnvZ01khgg67f-O_gbSBvA/s400/Pics+402.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5334147126593538386" border="0" /></a><br />The Shell gasoline sign caught my eye in this one<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMyJcvRX8Yw7591HUn3_O7moTuULpXW8WzSi8wnUrLNKk-WAKlSDiT4tBj0MiH0qDTKHRMxlpRrzEnSvZQA1dH92MT61XcEcHLPfiNZfypraL9WXVJLpPq0mIoQlW4pGeeyDiKv96mIgs/s1600-h/Pics+410.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMyJcvRX8Yw7591HUn3_O7moTuULpXW8WzSi8wnUrLNKk-WAKlSDiT4tBj0MiH0qDTKHRMxlpRrzEnSvZQA1dH92MT61XcEcHLPfiNZfypraL9WXVJLpPq0mIoQlW4pGeeyDiKv96mIgs/s400/Pics+410.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5335818624307079234" border="0" /></a>I like the bright colors and the shininess of this one.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2fgdt5yTzBcGsJZutoGXVEs3vqA4quOfYWI6NhN_ZSJcfe286LxgCU1VA_mvQRs52iAwm90cctnIfTCHBFEr3dew2eLdZa4JbblQehOQSXk-TVV566wuv5KaTNLWrOiOWq2b7kyZ4c3E/s1600-h/Pics+411.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2fgdt5yTzBcGsJZutoGXVEs3vqA4quOfYWI6NhN_ZSJcfe286LxgCU1VA_mvQRs52iAwm90cctnIfTCHBFEr3dew2eLdZa4JbblQehOQSXk-TVV566wuv5KaTNLWrOiOWq2b7kyZ4c3E/s400/Pics+411.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5335819726372028258" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8eEdvXXwiACCClltdzATjoo0Y3CY8GGTLF8WbsSKXNN1rBYJXmbcrpb_aYN_jrKL2Dt0hcAxBVhrwFRmVzkL-RdyWQj5fjoTnlKjk8I9w8KCmCyX8_UlTOldt_Z7sG92cMFny7pN0izA/s1600-h/Pics+400.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8eEdvXXwiACCClltdzATjoo0Y3CY8GGTLF8WbsSKXNN1rBYJXmbcrpb_aYN_jrKL2Dt0hcAxBVhrwFRmVzkL-RdyWQj5fjoTnlKjk8I9w8KCmCyX8_UlTOldt_Z7sG92cMFny7pN0izA/s400/Pics+400.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5335822190040866610" border="0" /></a>"Poison" This was the largest mural on the wall, an obvious memorial to a member of this team who died....<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicpXnEN9PJP0CN7A_QeoCBVWjGBwwlJ64cnHpOhQD5xvoO9yxONfTUms_17ZFzI58Z39_ZlLuC7-QidMia5XtPz8J7OMa-EGLT_pkK4XBo98NjHtu-i0fLuGmpS0BbYEdKjMLUHEebZwA/s1600-h/Pics+399.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicpXnEN9PJP0CN7A_QeoCBVWjGBwwlJ64cnHpOhQD5xvoO9yxONfTUms_17ZFzI58Z39_ZlLuC7-QidMia5XtPz8J7OMa-EGLT_pkK4XBo98NjHtu-i0fLuGmpS0BbYEdKjMLUHEebZwA/s400/Pics+399.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5335823650268796194" border="0" /></a><br />“Even far away, you continue to be present, you woke up who was sleeping, to see the future that was in front. You drank from your own name and raised it so high that you have become impossible to reach….”<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUuw-kRxPwiRjfB-7F7VuBk0QBvS0RXqgbZCNV48aqaIArdw8hAOSc2CYXmOVCdknkN5o4YycAwDYDViTmgu8kQnQkClrR_VXKYQj8F-OQeKIFrGB0aam7Ni2Y75_3i2OCwXuH-mU6Cjw/s1600-h/Pics+397.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUuw-kRxPwiRjfB-7F7VuBk0QBvS0RXqgbZCNV48aqaIArdw8hAOSc2CYXmOVCdknkN5o4YycAwDYDViTmgu8kQnQkClrR_VXKYQj8F-OQeKIFrGB0aam7Ni2Y75_3i2OCwXuH-mU6Cjw/s400/Pics+397.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5335824940756018594" /></a><br />“Down here we continue to wait, we scream really loud that I wish you could be here! But what is time after all? Small fragments of life, at any moment everything could end. You lived it well, to everyone you touched, your magic lasts, your voice won’t shut up!! Thank you Miguel”<br /><br /><br />Well done and well written guys.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06217380964240658865noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817129952848096719.post-26661947592443753642009-04-17T12:42:00.000+01:002009-04-17T13:28:59.182+01:00The "Knife Piper"<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio0KzVAim-oq4DjdFDRdSHpokYYGQheSA-mw_i1iz_CQbVxUYDfWk1s5Bvd2lXABZxglUWDXz_ZPHptlVdp3riRhMdTzzLukxT60A2rwHK3CO6LeVhjGVHgqMvJNBL5gitc9TF3OJmiTU/s1600-h/Pics+110.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio0KzVAim-oq4DjdFDRdSHpokYYGQheSA-mw_i1iz_CQbVxUYDfWk1s5Bvd2lXABZxglUWDXz_ZPHptlVdp3riRhMdTzzLukxT60A2rwHK3CO6LeVhjGVHgqMvJNBL5gitc9TF3OJmiTU/s400/Pics+110.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5325632743022161442" border="0" /></a><br />Almost everyday here in my neighborhood, I am awakened to the sounds of a high pitch pipe flute outside my window. When I first heard this awhile back, I obviously had no idea what it was coming from and was quite perplexed laying in bed listening to this pipe flute. It was calling out a tune every 5 seconds of about three notes, one very long to begin with followed by two descending short ones. It would go on usually for about a half hour, stop for awhile, then continue on again for about another 10-20mins. all throughout late morning and early afternoon.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP6_gPehQCZ2GO0I1OrT0-X4eVtbQ8VHqUI6EOwb1C4x77KTU67H5j63Sg4T_I4-k-D_nmzos0kdmMZbNl-yQ4rvBG4HePXe8QNVcID9CyPFFVclGeXHGdj20FpTEp3k9m36bz0Yk9jBI/s1600-h/Pics+111.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP6_gPehQCZ2GO0I1OrT0-X4eVtbQ8VHqUI6EOwb1C4x77KTU67H5j63Sg4T_I4-k-D_nmzos0kdmMZbNl-yQ4rvBG4HePXe8QNVcID9CyPFFVclGeXHGdj20FpTEp3k9m36bz0Yk9jBI/s400/Pics+111.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5325633556173609906" border="0" /></a><br />Well, I finally remembered to ask my boyfriend about it one day and he told me "oh, that's just the amola tesouras", Uhhhh, the what? "It's a guy who rides around on his bike to sharpen knives and scissors for people." Really?? That's sooo cool!!! So instead of the Pied Piper, he's like the Knife Piper eh? "Knife...what?" Oh nevermind, you Portuguese obviously don't know that story then :p<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTW9DjdFQjTwB1_9-gRtH8REaUGEJASbNrXLqIHESXV31d2baHgCqlmAlmsKzv4UCNMR38vShnUDpo7wO9EpKRiR3bZcJvfmqOqQtv6I_QhoOfCN8ECCEzaCnJjQ2jbuv6zOAZLrYZg9c/s1600-h/Pics+116.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTW9DjdFQjTwB1_9-gRtH8REaUGEJASbNrXLqIHESXV31d2baHgCqlmAlmsKzv4UCNMR38vShnUDpo7wO9EpKRiR3bZcJvfmqOqQtv6I_QhoOfCN8ECCEzaCnJjQ2jbuv6zOAZLrYZg9c/s400/Pics+116.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5325634724737903554" /></a><br />Ok, maybe it's not as exciting for many of you people but coming from a culinary background where regular sharpening is essential for proper use of your knives, I am totally fascinated by these guys. Yes, there is more than one, as I've come to observe when I was finally able to spot them walking down the street with their bikes calling out on their flute. And the tune is quite lovely I think, it may be high pitched but I don't mind it at all, it's so out of the ordinary, almost old-fashioned to me, I've come to enjoy hearing them come around :) This kind of service would obviously never be allowed in the US (god, can you imagine?? lol) so it just shows one of the many ways people are very trusting of each other here (though I'm sure they don't offer this service here in the projects thankfully :p)<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrVuz3eIW4W0eEyPAYRimBPgr2aUzmJXBeDqH9xc0NLXMLU1VDtnjdgjmTX1zy5ML46infWBsAXn-Gnop3bewYwcM2Co1-WzfAeAPtlnhfu0AYF79i2SY6iLpeqSIkeTUnkCXTagM-Cq8/s1600-h/Pics+340.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrVuz3eIW4W0eEyPAYRimBPgr2aUzmJXBeDqH9xc0NLXMLU1VDtnjdgjmTX1zy5ML46infWBsAXn-Gnop3bewYwcM2Co1-WzfAeAPtlnhfu0AYF79i2SY6iLpeqSIkeTUnkCXTagM-Cq8/s400/Pics+340.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5325635978281805170" /></a><br />It's a shame all of my good chef knives are still at home for obvious airplane security reasons but if I had them here with me, you bet I'd be one of their frequent customers (my sharpening skills were never that good!). I did happen to spot them one day at work from my balcony, sharpening some knives on a steel wheel they have hooked up to their bike which turns by the power of pedaling their wheels! I've concluded now why I never actually see them riding their bike, as it's used for a different purpose in this case, and a very clever idea I must say.<br /><br />One of these days I'll get around to either attempting to bring my knives over here (with special permission of course) or purchasing an inexpensive but decent chef's knife and then finally, I'll be able to call upon the Knife Piper for his services!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06217380964240658865noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817129952848096719.post-40999401285228536192009-04-09T20:32:00.001+01:002009-11-02T18:19:17.296+00:00Fun Times Around Town and Country!So it's been a little bit of time again but I have been out and about more (yay!) for various things so I've decided to recall some of the highlights from the past couple weeks :)<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoNq5zFUJlxctOIPX6MkPHeNZRUrSTqYSKSP7EeJnGoAeurIZtUY3Ce59HZlNXMuH2I9iq9JlS-7mG2LAVgRLzoY-_f4PUGScqFNRUbF9Mqxf44YtMSU3lOJ79loe6OXKJkBTINuo3mpU/s1600-h/Pics+252.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoNq5zFUJlxctOIPX6MkPHeNZRUrSTqYSKSP7EeJnGoAeurIZtUY3Ce59HZlNXMuH2I9iq9JlS-7mG2LAVgRLzoY-_f4PUGScqFNRUbF9Mqxf44YtMSU3lOJ79loe6OXKJkBTINuo3mpU/s400/Pics+252.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5324257185024578002" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Another Crazy Tuna Night!</span><br />It had been awhile since we had gone to one of the tuna gatherings, mainly because of poor weather, but we finally got out late last month for a "Fado Night" hosted by the tuna's university-NOVA. There were actually no tuna performances, supposedly local fado groups, so the tuna went to their usual watering hole hangout- the restaurant across the street from the school, to drink and eat bifanas (pork cutlet sandwiches, typical ballpark food here). We met up with them there and joined in the beer drinking and "box" white wine shots? (first time for me, quite odd but tasty) <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdduPLJ9bPLOvpu0ikrmBY0pgAVT1mXCmNjtOge8PjaXkpyTUpuywkJgPJKJ_hBOFzI4NkivC7tjJsQBehZ_IfsXDJv_3DeifBoZBErZAN6lRRGXp92Saop_2rvwEiYZt5Nic6LqDHA-E/s1600-h/Pics+248.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdduPLJ9bPLOvpu0ikrmBY0pgAVT1mXCmNjtOge8PjaXkpyTUpuywkJgPJKJ_hBOFzI4NkivC7tjJsQBehZ_IfsXDJv_3DeifBoZBErZAN6lRRGXp92Saop_2rvwEiYZt5Nic6LqDHA-E/s400/Pics+248.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5324256238629493986" border="0" /></a> and by the time we arrived at the NOVA's courtyard, they had already finished the fado and brought in a DJ which turned the whole place into a hoppin' open air club haha. And man, did that place get packed! We continued our beer drinking there while enjoying the music and the cool night breeze and then all I can remember is falling asleep on the way home and collapsing into bed....always the same ending after a night with the tunas :p<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKggJn3iCkJML1V1JrTSpCblIAN0312NJDUgKJofvN-OlozLdmPq5HiHv3Tfx9PciQND1o4dTdCDPW1AYZcVg-Gtkua0ZI83y4OUAGw7g-Bn81HVI2iWtXDjm4CrntrPRhBukQCifRxtM/s1600-h/Pics+277.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKggJn3iCkJML1V1JrTSpCblIAN0312NJDUgKJofvN-OlozLdmPq5HiHv3Tfx9PciQND1o4dTdCDPW1AYZcVg-Gtkua0ZI83y4OUAGw7g-Bn81HVI2iWtXDjm4CrntrPRhBukQCifRxtM/s400/Pics+277.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5324269114381328226" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Reaching New Heights, with Great Views!</span><br />We've been exploring a lot of the cliff areas on the coast here, mainly around Guincho again, up on Serra da Sintra. During the past couple weeks, we found another little restaurant in Azoia with by far, some of the best food and service around! We decided to take Gabriella and Ryan Opaz, my <a href="http://www.catavino.net/">Catavino</a> bosses there while they were visiting Lisbon last week and we had an incredibly delicious lunch :D Afterwards, we took them to another cool place we found, just down the street actually; a Mexican-themed cafe/bar with a funky decorated interior and a beautiful outdoor garden seating area overlooking the ocean. Great place for afternoon coffee, cocktails and scones (yes! another scone place!) which we enjoyed outside in the crisp, mountain air. We also enjoyed an impromptu visit from a local stray dog, looking for love....or maybe food? hahaha :p<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6THz54Nssb1IGM8PJZOXFrCJDZIzY9I1zcGWofHzhjh89HiOjGV10nNDPeno2ChaGHRCFM5B9CB8W252vjiw1nl1xavurWgmOa_FmtxWFl6hb5rkGS0_g5_57shjoNKLynoqjnUFBqXc/s1600-h/Pics+281.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6THz54Nssb1IGM8PJZOXFrCJDZIzY9I1zcGWofHzhjh89HiOjGV10nNDPeno2ChaGHRCFM5B9CB8W252vjiw1nl1xavurWgmOa_FmtxWFl6hb5rkGS0_g5_57shjoNKLynoqjnUFBqXc/s400/Pics+281.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5324272002778838514" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZNgQaPC0kZ9zk_4VI2HsoaxgOdqohw7LqnCcDmQ824Tr0LRXn7JAzRQxcCPOFzmrYI4mQR4BgWYNM1tBgTsEfQ7GftOXqFdQY4noylhZAAFAGiJ6k0T1Gp1udFLjKYe4GsY2PModwbMU/s1600-h/Pics+295.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZNgQaPC0kZ9zk_4VI2HsoaxgOdqohw7LqnCcDmQ824Tr0LRXn7JAzRQxcCPOFzmrYI4mQR4BgWYNM1tBgTsEfQ7GftOXqFdQY4noylhZAAFAGiJ6k0T1Gp1udFLjKYe4GsY2PModwbMU/s400/Pics+295.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5324276090405828434" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />Then last weekend, we packed a picnic lunch and drove over to the southern shore to check out the cliffs near Sesimbra, which are a lot more remote than the other, with some pretty rough dirt roads to go up, but once we got to the top it was worth it! We parked near the edge and feasted on homemade pasta, salad and garlic bread with a bottle of wine that we spread out in the back seats of the car (was waaay to cold and windy to dine outside hehehe) while overlooking some spectacular ocean views :D<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRhRYSd7pyTEVKywuVquoSa9Lli-ZfA35CH8-IiE119hGzLfh2nPrZA98YmbJ6qbOUogxPiDQgtuoWaoKUeudGct6WKye00_vnjy2Vq1xYMPSKUY9SW-TLa5dkZ2RgkVwa_sOtB-SoTzc/s1600-h/Pics+323.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRhRYSd7pyTEVKywuVquoSa9Lli-ZfA35CH8-IiE119hGzLfh2nPrZA98YmbJ6qbOUogxPiDQgtuoWaoKUeudGct6WKye00_vnjy2Vq1xYMPSKUY9SW-TLa5dkZ2RgkVwa_sOtB-SoTzc/s400/Pics+323.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5324277685793579778" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Cheap Beer Alert!</span><br />Last Friday night, I went out with the boys down to Santos, a great Bairro Alto alternative with tons of little bars/clubs to explore. We all had been around there plenty times before but this night, we just so happened to come across a little back alleyway with a couple bars and a jazz/rock club and right at the very end was a sign hanging out of a bar for 50 CENT BEERS! Ok, I'm by no means a beer-chugging hoodlum (but the boys are haha) but during the midst of an economic crisis, this is totally my kind of thing!!! And by beer, we mean draft beer, Portugal's Sagres, Superbock or Tagus straight from the tap into half-pint plastic cups, called "uma(1)Imperial" (plural: duas(2) Imperiais) here in Lisbon (in Porto it's "Fino"). So chilled out there in the alleyway, drinking our 50 cent beers while listening to the quite decent rock band inside the club playing covers from Pearl Jam and other 90's hits. By the way, the 50 cent beer "mini-bar" had an awesome DJ as well :)<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1j-f_3cq_uUNnxK2iKOwfZkaZt0QG3F59vnNT6kAnsjt81ajGksGw7mnbukyBGY9wk9HMbvFADNiGF75q1577S3U2yRSFMiSHMmayGylsYlAJeLu5tw699bn4JTtTSbwfpln1RhcQ-PI/s1600-h/Pics+331.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1j-f_3cq_uUNnxK2iKOwfZkaZt0QG3F59vnNT6kAnsjt81ajGksGw7mnbukyBGY9wk9HMbvFADNiGF75q1577S3U2yRSFMiSHMmayGylsYlAJeLu5tw699bn4JTtTSbwfpln1RhcQ-PI/s400/Pics+331.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5324279276652736034" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Ok, so that's some of the cool stuff that's been happening here in my life lately and glad things are continuing to improve, promise to update this thing more often again, cheers!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06217380964240658865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817129952848096719.post-36256660778206970562009-03-20T10:19:00.000+00:002009-03-25T12:11:57.593+00:00A Little Piece of the Old Country<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh906gkaHsLxV4vvYFcvFgpAiq2-2UP7pcrTufOvb04gKhIHUlmrqMTlPJcPjQt-JxRTAgkTVTDFytL1J7J3y7whqzGZdvCLIwmCR6O3YKt07zsefwQdW-7VbOkTTcHePlZgoPbMv_xUc0/s1600-h/Pics+236.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh906gkaHsLxV4vvYFcvFgpAiq2-2UP7pcrTufOvb04gKhIHUlmrqMTlPJcPjQt-JxRTAgkTVTDFytL1J7J3y7whqzGZdvCLIwmCR6O3YKt07zsefwQdW-7VbOkTTcHePlZgoPbMv_xUc0/s400/Pics+236.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5317096813494992114" /></a><br /><br /><br />Ok, I'm a bit late in my weekly posting that I've come to get into the routine to (so much for daily postings hahaha :p) but my computer last week decided to go retarded on me in many ways so I spent a lot of time off line running anti-virus and anti-spyware and looking up tech support but I managed to fix it all (I think) by myself! Don't worry though, nothing too exciting has happened during this time since I've been so busy with that crap......but I did have one highlight :)<br /><br />In the center park of my neighborhood here, there is always some sort of open market or antique sale going on over the weekends. But last week there had been stuff going on during the weekdays, a poetry book sale holding many works of the great Portuguese poet, Fernando Pessoa and also a little bake stand next to it which attracted my interest first of course ;P Not that you can't find plenty of fresh baked goods in the many pastelerias around here but this lady happened to be selling some regional selections from up north that you can find around here. She had two types of Queijadas de Sintra, several sweet breads that looked divine, homemade suspiros (merengues) some good sized bags of Broas and a couple other neat little things. But what made it surreal for me was the lady's mother whom she had brought with here, completely dressed like a little granny from the Old country, sooo cute! It reminded me of some old photos my family has of my great-grandmother out in the little Italian village where my family is from.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN5Hp-sBchc0y9wdfKCGXRAz5zv1sK6nISWG6q7OQ_UZJr_M3ozXF0Yo1OKwlrScZbszXfSjksth0pOPoPJgCkCaTW3elyIreqyeevCrid1bHHR1TmCkf-nMEtaIWQOtC4UKC0yUya388/s1600-h/Pics+233.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN5Hp-sBchc0y9wdfKCGXRAz5zv1sK6nISWG6q7OQ_UZJr_M3ozXF0Yo1OKwlrScZbszXfSjksth0pOPoPJgCkCaTW3elyIreqyeevCrid1bHHR1TmCkf-nMEtaIWQOtC4UKC0yUya388/s400/Pics+233.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5317095107305149970" border="0" /></a><br />Now maybe this is nothing out of the ordinary for the nativos but I just loved this neat little blast from the past and I talked up the lady about her products and how her mother still helps in the fabrication of most of them (even though I watched her aimlessly wander around the park like she was in her own little world :p) and I told her I was American and wrote about Portuguese food and wine and we just had the loveliest little conversation that afternoon. And at the end she gave me a deal on a loaf of bacon chouriço bread (meat breads are hard to find!) and a discounted package of Queijadas, she even threw in a little peanut brittle-like bar for free! In return, I had them pose for a photo to remember the occasion, thanked them kindly and went home to enjoy all the goodies I got over the weekend :D<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAGATGcoRNQLLF9b-MOIrY4tnQ42RiRqi5vTpTb6XsOmQVK8itXZpU2fuFhpQViIf0AwvW74KwZJVeLqUiKzPIW6OX9dLGO28Ki8DFNMlWBTcVscTiNzUHJQwesCv93BiovjEZuv1TWmQ/s1600-h/Pics+235.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAGATGcoRNQLLF9b-MOIrY4tnQ42RiRqi5vTpTb6XsOmQVK8itXZpU2fuFhpQViIf0AwvW74KwZJVeLqUiKzPIW6OX9dLGO28Ki8DFNMlWBTcVscTiNzUHJQwesCv93BiovjEZuv1TWmQ/s400/Pics+235.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5317095913135499474" border="0" /></a><br /><br />So, nothing too exciting like I said, but something indeed special to me :)Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06217380964240658865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817129952848096719.post-33318743947824036212009-03-12T11:49:00.001+00:002009-11-02T18:15:52.376+00:00The Daily Nightmare on the Street.....Lately, I spend a lot of my weekdays stuck in my apt sitting in front of my computer here with the work I do, so unfortunately I haven't been able to catch a lot of the interesting things that can happen out in the neighborhood. But of course, not day passes here without a chorus of horns honking below to bring me out to see what the racket's all about.<br /><br />Something that is guaranteed to happen daily around here is a traffic jam, and man is it always noisy!!! I'm sorry to say this but after much observation, I have concluded that Lisbon has some of the worst selfish and careless drivers I've ever seen.....and I'm from the Washington DC area so that's pretty bad! But there are two major factors that seem to have turned so many drivers bad here: 1) There is NEVER enough parking anywhere or at any time, and 2) There is hardly ever any ENFORCEMENT of parking regulations. Put these two together then you have people parking their cars in any little space they can squeeze into, and that includes "ping-ponging" with the cars on either side if necessary! And it never ceases to amaze me where people leave their cars here, sidewalks and crosswalks are a norm (what? people actually use them to walk on?? :p), fields, medians, squares, stairwells.......everywhere!<br /><br />The worst by far is when people get fed up trying to find a spot or are just too lazy so they double-park, which includes when people stack their cars out on a corner, which always blocks part of the passage through the street and these streets aren't big to begin with. The huge blindspot is also creates for other drivers trying to pass through the intersection has already caused two accidents within a 1 month period at the intersection below my apt, it's crazy. The rule here is that if you double-park, you're supposed to leave a paper with your cell or apt# to contact if you need them to move but of course people only do this maybe 50% of the time and many that do, aren't even around when you call! This leads then to many of my mornings being awakened by someone laying on their horn for 10-20mins at a time because they got double parked and are now late for work, ughhhh, you're not sure whether you want to kill them or the person that blocked their car in the first place! Then there are the delivery trucks that come around from late morning to late afternoon, who obviously have no space to stop and unload or pick-up stuff so they inevitably block traffic flow in the street, which causes another series of honkings and Portuguese drivers love to honk A LOT so you can imagine how annoying it can get VERY quickly. And if you're pedestrian, GOOD LUCK , because many times you're risking your own life trying to cross a street while manueuvering around parked cars and cannot even see if other cars are coming, I've had some close calls myself!<br /><br />As I write this, I can already hear my noisy neighbors below, and I'm sure it won't be the last I'll hear today! I know back at home, we all despise the "parking nazis" who ticket for any and everything but after living here, I've come to appreciate what they do, because they actually end up preventing a lot of unecessary accidents and traffic jams which I'm sure has saved lives that are being lost in Lisbon. And of course, my ears wouldn't be ringing by the end of the day from all that %#*(#$)*#$ noise!!! So next time, you get some measly little ticket for parking enforcement, just remember, it could be a hell of a lot worse! The honking here has stopped finally, so time to get back to work before something else happens and the chorus begins again.....yay.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcRjpMgT9wocMgpEpWLQqoL7a6pKE5bvF75rQxKPktxwso8QQ6kiTZ0eXmtvGwF6-51NkXyvvVaO-8Q21B_KqdDWOBVeTPS9YK9tXkasw9ywWSOfARpO79Go0UtwYzW63ee90GvsCc2r0/s1600-h/Pics+077.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcRjpMgT9wocMgpEpWLQqoL7a6pKE5bvF75rQxKPktxwso8QQ6kiTZ0eXmtvGwF6-51NkXyvvVaO-8Q21B_KqdDWOBVeTPS9YK9tXkasw9ywWSOfARpO79Go0UtwYzW63ee90GvsCc2r0/s400/Pics+077.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5312284462449010194" border="0" /></a><blockquote>This is the second accident I witnessed from my balcony in late afternoon where two cars hit each other coming in opposite directions. Notice right up the street from them, some idiot decides to stop right in the middle and took 10mins to drop off his kids and meanwhile traffic is building up behind him and people had already started honking of course. I also see another car double parked ahead of that guy. And this isn't even that bad for parking on my street, it's normally a lot worse!<br /></blockquote>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06217380964240658865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817129952848096719.post-25461950639431490242009-03-04T11:29:00.001+00:002012-12-04T17:33:17.045+00:00Interesting Little Cultural DifferencesIt is probably assumed that the Portuguese culture is quite different from American culture; being a European culture in general, things go at a much more relaxing pace than the fast-food pace of the American world of course. Like most Americans, I grew up with the impatient tendency of wanting things done now, right away or even yesterday haha, so naturally, I had to adjust a bit when coming here, knowing that I would have to wait a bit for things. However, I don't think any American could ever be prepared enough to realize just how much WAITING you have to do here! And I mean for everything and everyone, but since I have slowly become adjusted to these slower things, waiting is not always bad.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small; font-weight: bold; text-align: start;">"I have to PAY to piss here?!"</span></td></tr>
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A perfect example is going out for a meal, which what would normally be 30mins-1hr for lunch and 1.5-2hrs for dinner in the US converts to 2hrs for lunch and 3-3.5hrs for dinner here. I normally enjoy these much more leisurely meal periods to begin with, being able to savor my food and wine as well as digest it properly by sitting longer. Though there are also times when meals exceed my patience limit, for example when the server is always nowhere to be seen when you are ready to ask for the check (keep in mind they will never drop the check at a table here, you must always ask for it) or when the company I am with have been sitting and chatting so long after even the drinks are gone and the check paid that I'm thirsty again and my butt is so sore I could scream, but maybe that's just me haha.<br />
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But enough about the waiting, there are other cultural differences that are actually quite nice to have and make us Americans seem quite rude! For instance, whenever you enter a building, shop, bus, even an elevator, you greet the people there with either <span style="font-style: italic;">Bom Dia</span> (Good Morning), <span style="font-style: italic;">Boa Tarde</span> (Good Afternoon) or <span style="font-style: italic;">Boa Noite</span> (Good Evening/Night) and you do the same when you leave. This can also apply when just passing people in the street or going through a door at the same time. In many situations, an added Hello and Goodbye are used with the greeting. Now I must say, it has been a rare occasion for me in the US to get on an elevator and have everyone greet me and say farewell when they got off, and if you do something like that there, many times Americans will kind of look at you weird and think you want something from them, how sad is that?! Though I admit, I did feel a bit the same way when I first encountered that here and hadn't realized it was custom, and I also thought at first to be quite annoying to say hello and goodbye to strangers all the time. But now I've come to appreciate such politeness and many times it comes off more friendly than just polite and makes me feel a lot more welcome :)<br />
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But to add to this, one thing I still find odd and unnatural here is the custom of saying <span style="font-style: italic;">Com Licença</span> ("Excuse me") when hanging up the phone after talking to a business or after when someone comes to my apartment door, be it my neighbor, servicemen or solicitors. It still makes me want to say "Excuse you for what?" like if they had just bumped into me or something, but what they mean out of politeness is that they are excusing themselves to leave/hang up. Americans only seem to do this when getting up from a table with a group of people to excuse themselves to go to the bathroom or take a call, etc, but it is meant because we are interrupting something. I guess I never thought I was interrupting someone hanging up the phone at the end of a conversation or going back inside my apt, and I will probably always find it strange but hey, it's never bad to be polite! hahaha.<br />
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So even though another country's cultural customs can be new and "foreign" and hard to adjust to at times, there are always good things that should be embraced. They have made me realize how much of a "typical American" I could really be, and glad to have my opened my mind just a bit more ;)Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06217380964240658865noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817129952848096719.post-29448510949246449262009-02-23T20:57:00.001+00:002009-11-02T18:11:10.159+00:00An Amazing Find With Truly A Bela Vista!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi33wDBDAM5HzOBAPooI4mXDSFsgnYvtC64nA4jRyD19cedZ6qiKHCrm8g7ul8CRthkBd875NGnJ8nr1WSu5UMYcMYl3cl0iTHZ9vRWtnXRZb-nwBF63xDpbcWKEhu-XowNgrQLmTAbeNU/s1600-h/Pics+133.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi33wDBDAM5HzOBAPooI4mXDSFsgnYvtC64nA4jRyD19cedZ6qiKHCrm8g7ul8CRthkBd875NGnJ8nr1WSu5UMYcMYl3cl0iTHZ9vRWtnXRZb-nwBF63xDpbcWKEhu-XowNgrQLmTAbeNU/s400/Pics+133.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5306109781765145346" border="0" /></a><br />This past weekend, I found a restaurant/cafe with THE BEST VIEW around. Ok I admit, I didn't find it by chance, I was actually recommended to this place by one of my BES students who lives near the area (my students seriously rock with useful tips :D) and the area with no surprise to me is Guincho, my favorite beach area that I just recently raved about on here. And one of the reasons I gave for liking this place so much is that it's the best to watch the sunset here. What I didn't know though, was that the absolutely most perfect spot to watch it I had not yet discovered, until now!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO-acMfcAXmRekl3pTyLxw7j13pC4ZW-57LgTcikfvswCoCfst-aUtJX3hbzuj2G04vzwF726QuZEeI28JGoKBLe8ro-jYJjiBtPA-QGg0DH1yXtzbkppCFUCQFG74N_HT5la6MHhALpk/s1600-h/Pics+136.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO-acMfcAXmRekl3pTyLxw7j13pC4ZW-57LgTcikfvswCoCfst-aUtJX3hbzuj2G04vzwF726QuZEeI28JGoKBLe8ro-jYJjiBtPA-QGg0DH1yXtzbkppCFUCQFG74N_HT5la6MHhALpk/s400/Pics+136.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5306111033352596450" border="0" /></a><br />I was instructed to turn onto a small road right across from the last old fort on the coast just after passing Cascais and right before you round the tip towards Guincho. I can't believe I never noticed this road before, but it's quite inconspicuous due to all of the surrounding roads being private for the rich mansion communities there. Driving a bit up a hill with nothing around, you finally reach a dead end where the prettiest little restaurant/cafe sits at the top of the hill. This is Restaurant Casa de Chá de Oitavos, a fine dining restaurant on the inside and acting as a tea house on their outside deck in between meal periods. After climbing the steps onto their deck, we immediately saw why this place was such a gem, we had a panoramic view of the ocean with the sun beginning to slowly set, niiiiiice :) As soon as we sat down, a waiter came came over to take our order for our espressos and recommended their scones for something to eat with them. Impressed with such prompt service, we were surprised when our order seemed to take longer than usual. But we then we found out why, we were presented with a basket of 3 fresh, WARM scones, along with a plate of assorted marmalades and butter. And the scones were DELISH, smothered in melted butter and peach marmalade, we were in heaven! I never knew Portugal could make such nice scones, it was like being at a hotel for afternoon tea! Except we had gotten coffee (still good) so next time we'll get their tea as it is a tea house hehe. And with such an incredible view with an incredible sunset in front of us, I couldn't have asked for more :) I am now completely in love with this place and I promise anyone who visits me will get this treat as well. I repeat, so in love, wouldn't you be too? :p<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJyyhdyn2023ud-1boaFuMDKJyeyhzTEh7pEWAH5AkP_8A1gOsCpwCKzHLWwZuF-0gQ7uxSDHkC86gF-TLVoE-j3nuXfL6Io9xF2TkpGhmB1CTbkOoycgd_U1roEiBncz_dcQb-RGNECw/s1600-h/Pics+144.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJyyhdyn2023ud-1boaFuMDKJyeyhzTEh7pEWAH5AkP_8A1gOsCpwCKzHLWwZuF-0gQ7uxSDHkC86gF-TLVoE-j3nuXfL6Io9xF2TkpGhmB1CTbkOoycgd_U1roEiBncz_dcQb-RGNECw/s400/Pics+144.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5306112356048600610" /></a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06217380964240658865noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817129952848096719.post-16221327579820007072009-02-23T20:12:00.001+00:002009-11-02T18:10:31.967+00:00Portuguese Suspiro-For The First Time!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ8Gi0Jhf354ciB7ul7I8e-jZtPmqb04NoSrOW2wmxsdvhKuRGwN5ML-wD9Np7-03BzWAR6IKSz0KEI6oAk5skbIwQEAabu4D6cy9DWp4qz52XgIxB1VWvPNczMJtBzyV4V-JkWNAWMkg/s1600-h/Pics+108.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ8Gi0Jhf354ciB7ul7I8e-jZtPmqb04NoSrOW2wmxsdvhKuRGwN5ML-wD9Np7-03BzWAR6IKSz0KEI6oAk5skbIwQEAabu4D6cy9DWp4qz52XgIxB1VWvPNczMJtBzyV4V-JkWNAWMkg/s400/Pics+108.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5306098299483458482" border="0" /></a><br />I have become a die-hard fanatic here of having a daily espresso, either in the morning after classes or late afternoon as a break from my database work. Since my sensitive stomach won't allow me to have coffee on an empty tank, I always get something to eat with my espresso. I always order one of two things then- a savory meat turnover (Folhado de Carne) in the mornings as brain fuel for the day and in the afternoons, an egg-custard pastry (Pastel de Nata).<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRYOa6zmYh82-k2jh0PYdK1-HzvT6aIceLbTsN4VPKvbsAE4KnbYg2ZpVW2cWhZSTLtSQu9feeFld_U3N6ZDI8e1H2nvApMbqw15BxCcCL6DWzhU2QqGKVBMH5_hhYPmovZszkJhVn2MI/s1600-h/Pics+109.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRYOa6zmYh82-k2jh0PYdK1-HzvT6aIceLbTsN4VPKvbsAE4KnbYg2ZpVW2cWhZSTLtSQu9feeFld_U3N6ZDI8e1H2nvApMbqw15BxCcCL6DWzhU2QqGKVBMH5_hhYPmovZszkJhVn2MI/s400/Pics+109.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5306099065086497330" border="0" /></a><br />But one afternoon last week, I finally decided to try something different for my sweet pastry. I went to one of my fave pastelerias situated on a busy corner by the park here where this time instead of sitting right down, I went up to the glass bar counter to browse their delectable assortment for something new. My eyes were drawn to the fluffy pink clouds of <span style="font-style: italic;">Suspiro</span> (merengues), which I have tasted various types before back home but never had the ones they make in Portugal, which are quite popular actually. I told Julio-César, the Brazilian waiter who knows me, to bring one of the pink suspiros with my cafe then. The pink colored strawberry suspiro ended up being soooo good, crunchy on the outside and gooey on the inside like a typical merengue with a maraschino cherry in the center to my delight. But this suspiro was definitely not on the lighter side for a dessert, it was quite rich with almost a cotton-candy flavor mixed into it as well and because it was so large, it was the first time I had to get something wrapped up to take home with me! It was just as enjoyable the next day too, but I think next time, I'll get it to share with Miguel :) Glad I decided to alter my addictive routine for once hahaha, and maybe I'll start doing it more often! Mmmmm, suspiro :pAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06217380964240658865noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817129952848096719.post-60204701554709131102009-02-17T14:07:00.001+00:002009-11-02T18:10:07.166+00:00TUNAS! And I don't mean fish!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4XHgmir5AU8_QNThMxzLi1Hk2m9gR5IP9HD8zHoecUmmgzqG0Hyj8xvvJ8uQhkVZNcS2jDmUn215hnC-k0BULa6i9UpvuaM7TktDYAf5Z_cYUlTalUGvti4hhUjg8LFiak2L1IVBTOoM/s1600-h/Pics+333.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4XHgmir5AU8_QNThMxzLi1Hk2m9gR5IP9HD8zHoecUmmgzqG0Hyj8xvvJ8uQhkVZNcS2jDmUn215hnC-k0BULa6i9UpvuaM7TktDYAf5Z_cYUlTalUGvti4hhUjg8LFiak2L1IVBTOoM/s400/Pics+333.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5303889387241669378" border="0" /></a><br /><br />As a former HS band geek from back home, I felt that I had to present Portugal's equivalent to our marching bands. These musical groups are called Tunas, found mainly at universities all over Portugal as well as in Spain (where they first started) and all of Latin America. Their origins seem to date back to between the 10th and 13th century, from medieval troubadours and minstrels who had to sing and perform to make money to live on or upon their return home after a long journey or vacation. The name name "tuna" then supposedly comes from the French <span style="font-style: italic;">roi de Thunes</span> or "King of Tunis" which was the title used for leaders of such vagabond groups. But there are still several other argued theories as to the origin of the name, even specific to the Portuguese tunas. The first Portuguese tunas were organized in the 19th century in the famous university city of Coimbra after a visit from a Spanish tuna of Salamanca. The tradition of traveling university tunas (to raise money for survival) eventually spread to the rest of the country. Virtually every university now has an organized tuna, usually representing a specific major. There are non-university tunas for older members or alumni but they are a lot less common (more predominant in Spain).<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyjUG_Smo_mUvnpVvqlk3pWrW0bpYkAXBDIWT53HM5kaJUw8teA00l5pY5o3VLlGYoIJubNdK4GfJxwoPHkrREQlyQJZVV4-sa2ZdB_eTRnmKXVudo_zEv9BbUd_jHNpKvpb_Mo_OJ3M8/s1600-h/Pics+805.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyjUG_Smo_mUvnpVvqlk3pWrW0bpYkAXBDIWT53HM5kaJUw8teA00l5pY5o3VLlGYoIJubNdK4GfJxwoPHkrREQlyQJZVV4-sa2ZdB_eTRnmKXVudo_zEv9BbUd_jHNpKvpb_Mo_OJ3M8/s400/Pics+805.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5303888563911597890" border="0" /></a><br />The traditional Tuna "uniform" is definitely more formal than a marching band uniform but can range from very classic medieval attire to a more modern black suit from the 16 and 17th century Iberian students attire. Portuguese tunas mainly use the modern version with a white collared shirt, skinny black tie and long, narrow coat. Instead of pants, girls wear either knee or ankle-length narrow black skirts with black stockings and conservative black pumps. The outfit is always completed with a large, ankle-length black cape wrapped around the entire body like a vampire or folded and slung over the shoulder when warmer out. Others like to proudly display their badges from previous Tuna festivals all over their capes for some added color to their black ensemble.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFEaeQNz2V4mwJgtYa_XgKuRCUay17qIRFTTJ6mRSegeCEpXK3nUr3VnlxnDXOKFJc9RYu78QXQXCCmqL2hvrLxWYtX7QNG26sxvXbxQGWRf_Glyew9f7Oaphzpm3vj6uBUGBqi2QGg4U/s1600-h/Pics+212.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFEaeQNz2V4mwJgtYa_XgKuRCUay17qIRFTTJ6mRSegeCEpXK3nUr3VnlxnDXOKFJc9RYu78QXQXCCmqL2hvrLxWYtX7QNG26sxvXbxQGWRf_Glyew9f7Oaphzpm3vj6uBUGBqi2QGg4U/s400/Pics+212.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5303890769806429314" border="0" /></a><br />In Tunas, you won't see any of the musical instruments played in a normal marching band, string instruments are actually the main ones used, consisting of classic acoustic guitars, lutes and bandurrias for most Tunas around the world. However, Portuguese Tunas normally opt to use mandolins and a special Portuguese guitar (used in Fado music) instead of the latter two as well a tall bass. Tuna performances are usually done in an auditorium of the hosting university for the Tuna festivals or competitions scheduled all throughout the year or outside on the streets when raising money for the group. There is no marching involved but the groups will mark time together swaying back and forth to the music in a semi-circle with a someone usually banging on a rope drum or tambourine to keep everyone together. All tunas sing in their performances as well as incorporating flag work and rhythmic tambourine dancing, which makes is easier for students to join with no musical instrument experience.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIjyeoT2LawF5l8c0wr5JHVSW5oOhMCjQ539bN7NAKdXwojG4WhFHstESciKe3e9UOSWYBg9MOx4mIN0Yj-5DwifTd0vGxhj3skOzB7vbeXUInvuP-VMe0tFYanuMkhV6nHoSJMrbkkAw/s1600-h/1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIjyeoT2LawF5l8c0wr5JHVSW5oOhMCjQ539bN7NAKdXwojG4WhFHstESciKe3e9UOSWYBg9MOx4mIN0Yj-5DwifTd0vGxhj3skOzB7vbeXUInvuP-VMe0tFYanuMkhV6nHoSJMrbkkAw/s400/1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5303891407353999538" border="0" /></a><br />My boyfriend Miguel happened to be one of these students and did the flag work for his Economics Tuna, called "ForTuna" which was the first Tuna I was introduced to on the first day of my first visit to Portugal 2 1/2 years ago and have been following and learning about them (Tunas)ever since. Now I know what you band geeks are thinking when you read about a "straight" male doing flag work or color guard hahahahaha and trust me, I gave him enough crap for it in the beginning :p But I came to learn that it's not really like color guard at all here, most Tunas only have one flag person (for holding their Tuna flag) and it's normally a male position and they can do some pretty challenging moves performing solo in front of the circle. Girls usually opt to practice the rhythmic tambourine dancing instead along with guys as well and these dances can be quite skillful and impressive to watch! The music Tunas play in general ranges from upbeat classic and modern songs to slow and moving Fado lullabies with vocalist and instrumental solos.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWI00oN8FedP7y7useno_3t2I6N8SDv61WvvsO5xa-FZjqjcYo_cuAXD0W6ORCr5DzNdVGqoabK7jpuB65akkbdFD-h_OOXbzOUqUyiqHOTp7cO6G_HVbc867QdzAh460v9Pbssg6xlTg/s1600-h/DSC03534.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWI00oN8FedP7y7useno_3t2I6N8SDv61WvvsO5xa-FZjqjcYo_cuAXD0W6ORCr5DzNdVGqoabK7jpuB65akkbdFD-h_OOXbzOUqUyiqHOTp7cO6G_HVbc867QdzAh460v9Pbssg6xlTg/s400/DSC03534.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5303894731657117602" border="0" /></a><br /><br />One of the most entertaining part of Tunas is the social celebrating involved before and after festivals and throughout the year and at Tuna dinners hosted at some (unfortunate haha) local restaurant. Though unlike regulated marching bands, drinking is a big part of the Portuguese Tuna culture hahahaha, combined with lots of wild singing and chanting toasts. But it's all in good fun and very rarely are there any problems caused by their celebrating. Beer is the Tuna drinking staple which flows like water at festivals and dinners. Some Tunas are found already half drunk (or worse) by the time they get on stage to perform. This may not make for a very skillful performance but it's certainly an entertaining one! Some "rules" are involved with drinking during Tuna dinners such as "Right Hand is Penalty" meaning one can only hold their drink in the left hand and if caught in the right, they have to chug the whole thing. Members will also be randomly singled out and are chanted on by the group to chug their drink with a traditional "initiation" song for being a part of the group. The drinking continues then after dinner and after the festival is over to celebrate awards and normally goes ALL NIGHT, the stamina that these kids have is incredible hahaha :p<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYX7lmNRQzsb-nJoBF2UCpLaJXgVqbZ-SNgPI_Vo7ro3xd2FOb6DywHSuhbTTc1mxDggsnGdtuaFHGPU4v9TKoK-sjvqKPN_Ao0c2PM8c9-_5u2IM_bNgcuKQN_8dXnXah4HO9ZM9g9Fo/s1600-h/Pics+470.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYX7lmNRQzsb-nJoBF2UCpLaJXgVqbZ-SNgPI_Vo7ro3xd2FOb6DywHSuhbTTc1mxDggsnGdtuaFHGPU4v9TKoK-sjvqKPN_Ao0c2PM8c9-_5u2IM_bNgcuKQN_8dXnXah4HO9ZM9g9Fo/s400/Pics+470.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5303890953181653378" border="0" /></a><br /><br />After attending many dinners and festivals of my boyfriend's Tuna over the past year, I've grown to love and appreciate the unique differences these musical groups have compared to my background in marching band. At the same time though, I can also relate in their excitement and anticipation when waiting to perform or waiting to see if they won an award, especially since their Tuna is a smaller one like how my HS band was so I've come to share in their common experiences of triumph as well as loss and/or frustration when judging was believed to be unfair. I recommend to every American, especially you band geeks, to find a Tuna performance to watch if you visit Portugal, as an experience so significant to Portugal's culture is something not to be missed!<br /><br /><br />You can find a lot more detailed info about the history and traditions of Tunas on Wikipedia or in Portuguese on Wikipedia:Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06217380964240658865noreply@blogger.com4