What I see in Portugal

Praia da Ursa

2009-09-06T08:43:00.000-07:00

I thought that Portugal could not dazzle me again, that much, with the beauty of another beach, but well....she dit it again :-) I found out accidently about it, then I forgot its name, and after a proper research I found it-it was like a hide & seek game.

I went there alone and what a luck-nobody that I thought about inviting to go with me would have wanted to climb down huge rocks and then climb them up again just to see a beach and to get nowhere.

My walk was silent - these are moments when I am so comfortable with myself that I wish I would never ever have to be distracted again by useless thoughts, people or events, and keep smiling in my heart.

To see the beach and step on its sand I made two attempts - one was wrong (I ended up in a puddle), the other was extremely dangerous-I saw stones slipping down under my shoes, decided that I want to continue to live and managed to climb up again. This is when I stopped, got my little notebook and stated to write-me looking at the blue sea, me on top of my world. Happy and serene.

The trip was beautiful and getting there I felt like all the dangers of the world have vanished and life was so perfect. I know it is, but still sometimes I like getting away from cosy and shinny me and wander around on the bitten path of black thoughts....and I do not do this alone-I take others with me too and for that, for them, I humbly apologize and send you all my love and these beautiful pictures.

Aveiro-14th of July

2009-08-16T06:35:00.000-07:00

This time I discovered an Aveiro full of art nouveau buildings, delicate and stylish.

and even ..... funny :-)

Grutas da Moeda

2009-07-30T02:03:00.000-07:00

I don't particularly like caves, this is because I love open spaces and light but I loved to visit Grutas da Moeda. They are not very far away from Fátima and were discovered in 1971 by two hunters who wer chasing a fox. Their luck :-) The cave is quite unique, it has galleries and chamers, all with their own name, of course having as inspiration (some of them) religious themes. Normally you are not allowed to take pictures but the guide told us that we can take pictures as long as we don't get lost from the group-nice Portuguese guy.

The cave has a legend that goes like this: "According to the legend, while passing through a thicket, round a small pit, a wealthy man from the area was attacked and robbed by a gang of culprits who killed him, as was common in those days. The body was thrown into the cavernous abyss. Due to haste, the thieves let fall in with the body the bag of coins that the victim was carrying and that they so longed for. Down the pit scattered the coins, never again to be recovered, giving the cave the name by which it is still known today".

Linda Ana Maria

2009-07-24T15:25:00.000-07:00

Ana Maria is a delicate 10 years old girl who traveled Europe with her parents from the North of Romania to get to quiet and sunny Portugal just to be on my blog :-)). She is sweet and lovely and quiet and beautiful and she has this nice traditional Romanian costume that she wears every Sunday at church. She was so nervous during the football championship-where she had to be present-I held her hand, encouraged her and was grateful that I had the chance to pick her for the event without not even seeing her in advance. Linda, querida Ana Maria :-)

Peniche

2009-07-20T13:37:00.000-07:00

I woke up with this wish-I have to go visit Islas Berlengas close to Peniche. Got there (in Peniche) and no luck...it was too late, I was supposed to sleep there to be able to get to Berlengas and then....the waves were 3 meters high as they said.

So quietly started to discover Peniche-a city where Salazar had the most secure prison....a city where women spend their time making complicated lace patters and where people fish and enjoy the sun. I liked Peniche very much and was sorry I didn't have the chance to see it before.

Sintra

2009-07-07T11:47:00.000-07:00

Troia

2009-06-22T13:23:00.000-07:00

Troia is this lovely place that can be reached only by crossing a water on ferry-a green Norwegian ferry, cheap, lovely and very clean. You get to say goodbye to Setubal and hello to Troia Resort and beaches. Troia Resort is almost deserted but very well built-new, modern and fancy buildings and a beach with almost a perfect view-Serra da Arrabida just accross. Nice.

Alcácer do Sal and around

2009-06-22T13:14:00.000-07:00

Albufeira

2009-06-22T12:15:00.000-07:00

I love Albufeira every time I get to go there. I don't have a special reason for this, maybe it is because I got to eat cataplana there for the first time, maybe because I discovered some extremely beautiful kizomba songs listening to a cd while a very nice and young Romanian waitress was bringing us the delicious food or as it is the case most of the time...it is just me :-)
It was funny-we got lost in the streets but I was so sure of myself that I left the impression that I belonged to Albufeira-my heart was happy there. Very short - less than one hour - but full of nice feelings. The little town/city was very much alive...I am an Albufeira fan :-)

Marvão

2009-06-21T13:15:00.000-07:00

Marvão - almost at the border with Spain, pretty far away from Lisbon. I chose to see it during the longest day of the year :-) I heard from different persons the same thing - "oh, you have to go see Marvão", but I had no idea how it looked like. I have a guide that shows only a picture of the castle but Marvão is not only that. First there is the whole region, you feel like walking into a fairy tale, you want to walk silently not to disturb that fairies and dwarfs, then you get to see storks (many storks, families, communities...) in fir trees (amazing view), and then of course there is the little town of Marvão.

A little, quiet and completely renovated town. I heard the story of the word "almoçar" just by climbing the streets to the castle (told by a stranger to another stanger), I heard a father encouraging his kids to climb up the stairs telling them "well, there are very narrow steps up to the castle and I think you cannot climb them up" and they were going "noooo we can, nooo we can...." and they made me laugh, I bought ice-cream from an old lady who had her shop in the basement of her house and enjoyed the lovely view thinking about Granada. Marvão it is worth the effort, such a pitty I didn't have time to stay longer. Loved it!

Praia de São Rafael

2009-06-21T12:57:00.000-07:00

Praia de São Rafael - the second beach discovered by pure luck. The weather was as it was until two weeks ago-rain, shine, Sun, rain and rain again. So I couldn't say I got to enjoy the beach and get tanned-no....but I was grateful for the colors I got to see, for the magnificent "show" the sky and the ocean get to perform every single day - a crazy combination of vivid, intense colors. Nice place to visit.

Praia da Falésia

2009-06-21T12:43:00.000-07:00

Praia da Falésia - another hidden place and surprisingly beautiful beach. This is how it greeted me - with Sun, who changed his mind :-) after just ten minutes so we had to leave again.....running from one beach to another hoping that we will escape the rain-which we didn't :-)

Cabo Espichel by chance

2009-06-20T14:33:00.000-07:00

I wanted to go again to Portinho da Arrabida, but you know how it is....life sometimes doesn't take us where we want to, but where we should be. This was not the first time that I got to go to Cabo Espichel-this time though I had to discover a warmer place and it had to surprise me again with its wild beauty.

There was a nice wedding ceremony in the church, a lot of dresses, too many people trying to show off their gowns but....this is how weddings are when they are too big. I like little, cosy ones...with almost anybody invited so that you could you feel the vibe of the moment.

There is a nice shop at Cabo Espichel-a shop full of shells of different size and shapes and colours and feelings. I felt in love with my ring, now very dear to me. Like it? :-)

Tavira & Isla Tavira

2009-06-16T13:11:00.000-07:00

Tavira

Isla Tavira is almost at the border with Spain. I have no idea why I always have these crazy ideas to search for the borders, go as further as I can, run away from the place I'm in, get far, far and away. My dream was to see Vila Real de Santo António - of course at the border with Spain. I wanted to trick the driver and take him there but this time it didn't work. I like doing this. Tricking people to take them to amazingly beautiful places that will take their breath away. But maybe only my breath is taken away by such beauty.

We stopped wanting to visit Parque Natural da Ria Formosa-it was too late and imagine this-it was Friday and they were supposed to open again only on Monday-strange world. Isla Tavira was not at all in my plan but "chance" took us there. I saw boats, I knew I had to hop in one of them. I missed one, didn't know where to take tickets from and in the end managed to bargain a ride with a "taxi boat" driver to Isla Tavira-it was cheap and nice. Pretty adventurous. I was wearing high hills but managed to get out and in of the boats. Got there. Had to use all my negotiation skills to convince the persons that were with me that we will manage to get back somehow and we will not end up sleeping there.

I made it. We "visited" the island. Lovely as all remote places, all the restaurants had the same menu and the same prices, the wind was blowing like crazy and the sand was still wet from the rain that didn't know it had to stop pouring in June. We managed to get back in time, enjoyed the ride and the water.

Vilamoura in June

2009-06-16T12:39:00.000-07:00

I love it when "my compass" never fails and manages to take me to mystic places. I was feeling a little bit low in Vilamoura after seeing some English guys screaming in the street, after looking at some English men whose only wish was to watch a football match and drink loads of beer. I was almost crying with sadness thinking about what and how Vilamoura is today and trying to imagine how it was 50 years ago. I still haven’t searched the Internet to find the answer but I found the “other side” of Vilamoura by myself. It was evening, the Sun was saying goodbye to a whimsical day, with loads of rain and only a few rays of Sun. I started to stroll all by myself in search of something nice.

I passed the “marina”, looked at all those fancy luxurious yachts, took some nice pictures and got to some kind of a barrier. I didn’t know what to do. Cross it or not. So I waited there for a few minutes, looking and wondering what was on the other side. The place was almost deserted so I didn’t really have the courage to cross it. I have this fear that some kind of huge dog will chase me, I will run and run and run and then he will bite me. So I gave up but was still longing to cross the barrier. I returned determined that... well, that’s it, what if it is a private property. Then I saw a couple approaching. A couple in their 50s, still very in love as one could tell and as I saw them kissing further. I followed their steps and crossed the barrier. There was no manace on the other side, just beauty.

A tiny harbour, a huge wall with “Marina Vilamoura” on it, a wooden bridge and ..... total bliss....a huge beach bathed in the wonderful gold light of my lovely Sun. I couldn’t believe my eyes. I was in exctasy. I was taking pictures and talking by myself wondering if all those English tourists knew the place-maybe they did but for a moment I thought it was all mine. And I guess it was. I walked and walked following a “wooden lane” and then the magic was over for a second-I realized that I was actually very alone there and was traped by the magic and beauty of the moment.....thinking....goodness gracious....I am a dreamer chasing the sunset. The magic was back again after just a few minutes. The place was too beautiful for me. I thanked the evening for offering me such light and went back to Vilamoura. On my way to the hotel I stopped to take pictures in a very tiny park. There were some Englishmen passing by-not interesting-a crazy woman taking pictures of some flowers in the most "trivial" park.

Arrabida, my love

2009-05-28T15:39:00.000-07:00

Palmela

2009-05-28T15:27:00.000-07:00

Flowers in spring-summer

2009-05-28T15:08:00.001-07:00

Farol de Santa Marta-Cascais

2009-05-17T03:30:00.000-07:00

I am completely in love with light houses-I even wanted at a point to make a tour and visit all the light houses in Portugal. For the time being I just managed to take pictures of this one-a very nicely renovated light house, a magical place that I don't know if many people get to go and visit. I love the white of the walls, the light of the place, the feeling of permanent dream it brought to my heart.

...then there is this nice, very expensive hotel that takes your breath away with the view it offers over the ocean. I wonder why all these people who chat about fashion, discos and fancy trips have the chance to go there. The swimming pool is lovely and almost anybody can afford a HUGE sangria jug-delicious :-) http://www.farol.com.pt/

Snobbish Cascais

2009-05-17T03:25:00.000-07:00

Óbidos

2009-05-17T02:44:00.000-07:00

Mediterranean sunset

2009-01-28T06:26:00.000-08:00

....some old ones that I love....I was the happiest :-)

Portinho da Arrábida

2009-01-11T13:30:00.000-08:00

Portinho da Arrábida is really a fairy tale place, especially when its sunny-it has a nice very isolated beach, there's is no much to do except for laying in the Sun, enjoying the sound of the waves running over the lovely round stones and talking to the seagulls.

Praia da Adraga, Lagoa Azul, Barragem do Rio da Mula

2008-12-26T13:42:00.000-08:00

Praia da Adraga

Praia Grande

Azenhas do Mar

Lagoa Azul

Barragem do Rio da Mula - this is the only dam close to Lisbon.

Close to Sintra

2008-12-26T12:15:00.000-08:00

I was pretty lucky to assist at some kind of wine tasting combined with a vernissage of a painting exhibition. This lovely house is also used for "soap-operas" shootings. The place is huge and cosy - it has a lake, a lot of orange trees, lovely buildings.

Merry Christmas!!! - some old ones from the Algarve

2008-12-25T06:00:00.000-08:00

O Porto by night

2008-12-25T00:26:00.000-08:00

Coimbra

2008-12-25T00:16:00.000-08:00

Viana do Castelo

2008-12-21T10:51:00.000-08:00

I just couldn't resist not to take this picture of an old advertising picture! oh, it is a collage :-)

This is the land of the most beautiful earrings :-) those gipsy like gold earrings that can either turn into kitch jewelry, or can gracefully be worn like some ladies do :-)) this is all gold and very expensive!!

Monchique-fountain

2008-12-15T14:49:00.001-08:00

Monchique, Serra de Monchique and around

2008-12-12T11:17:00.001-08:00

Monchique is a a small town, pretty hidden I would say - accidently discovered the 16th century Igreja Matriz with its manueline portal.

Tiffany's riding center-12th of November

2008-12-12T11:12:00.001-08:00

You fall in love with this place only from hearing its name-Tiffany's-not to tell that they had this wonderful idea to serve breakfast there-dreamy, dreamy, dreamy. I got friends with Tee Pee for a while, loved to see the dogs running around, getting lost, enjoying the hilly landscape. The weather was quite cold but the whole adventure a real pleasure. The place is ran by two nice British ladies. Just loved it. http://www.valegrifo.com/tiffanysriding/index.htm

Nossa Senhora de Guadelupe and Lagos from above

2008-12-12T10:58:00.001-08:00

The Nossa Senhora de Guadalupe Chapel dates back from the 13th century-it has several Gothic elements in a Romanesque architectural base. During the 15th century, this Chapel was integrated in the big Raposeira Estate, property of Henry the Navigator.

Lagos - I had very nice "conversations" with the seagulls from the top of a roof. Very relaxing :-)

Aveiro

2008-12-12T10:52:00.000-08:00

Casa de Mateus

2008-12-12T10:50:00.001-08:00

Casa de Mateus is a wonderful place-pretty far away from O Porto but worth to be visited. The building is an 18th century old building. What is interesting is that the wine Mateus rosé that you normally get to buy in Portugal from any supermarket and which has on the bottle a picture of Casa Mateus has nothing to do with the wine they make there. The palace is currently owned by the Mateus Foundation.

O Santuário do Bom Jesus do Monte

2008-12-12T10:47:00.001-08:00

The Sanctuary of Bom Jesus do Monte has, as they say, the most photographed church in Portugal. The church is one of the first Neoclassical buildings in Portugal. The stairway pays homage to the five senses and the three virtues (Faith, Hope and Chastity) by snaking through a series of themed statues and fountains. I read that during Holy Week, the Baroque stairway is climbed by penitents on their hands and knees.

Pitões das Júnias

2008-12-12T10:39:00.000-08:00

Gerês

2008-12-07T04:57:00.000-08:00

He is São Bento

The magnificent views

The forest and its hidden fairies :-)

Cascata do Arado

Ponte de Lima

2008-12-07T03:50:00.000-08:00

Apart from the "interesting" ponte, I have to admit I ate the most delicious Alheira ever :-) - this is a typical Portuguease sausage-yummy-for those who don't like Alheira, try it again. Trust me :-)

Guimarães

2008-12-07T03:44:00.000-08:00

Cold O Porto

2008-12-07T01:02:00.000-08:00

O Porto was not that eager to share his beauties this time, due to the cold weather and grey sky, but even like this, it managed to charm me again :-) - this time with its lovely bridges and friendly seagulls.

Santuário do Sameiro

2008-12-06T14:07:00.000-08:00

This place is called Santuário do Sameiro and it is located in the Northern part of Portugal, in Braga. Its construction started in the 19th century but ended in the 20th. I think it is one of the most mystical places I have ever got to see. It was foggy and silent and beautiful.

Barcelos-November 2008

2008-12-01T14:21:00.000-08:00

Barcelos. I am an absolute Barcelos fan and an eternal fan of the Barcelos' rooster-there is a legend around this little creature-you can read it on the net, I guess-I have found many versions of it. I am fascinated by it and absolutely adored the huge statues-now tell me it is not the most beautiful city in the whole world :-) I am joking, of course, but still it is lovely for me. Happy Barcelos :-)

oh, and this is the Archeological Museum-pretty nice during night time. Beautiful light and very "stylish ruins".

Water lilies-Oeiras and Palácio de Marques de Pombal gardens

2008-11-02T02:51:00.000-08:00

.... the garden

Piodão

2008-10-31T08:44:00.000-07:00

Piodão was definitely the craziest thing to do (one of the pictures is taken in another close-by village, but I don't recall its name, sorry). It is 16 km away from a main road but the road to get there is .... impossible mission. Winding roads, high mountains, curves, in the middle of nowhere. The little village is though a beauty, a little jewellery :-), tiny and graceful and lovely and sweet. I entered one of the churches and found some of the ugliest (please forgive me God!) sculptures but they were ugly in a lovely way and the locals were so proud of their newly renovated church that I couldn't help not to buy a card with the statues and even admire them - no photos please in the church. Just too sweet and touching, this one as well.

Covilhã

2008-10-31T08:14:00.000-07:00

Covilhã - big city, very high buildings, nice hotel and ....extremely expensive food. I couldn't believe my eyes. A dish that I would normally eat in Lisbon with 5 euros, I could have bought it in Covilhã with 17!!! so we looked and looked for a restaurant for quite a while. This time the meteorogists were right. It started to rain. Cats and dogs. Alternatively. Cats, then dogs, then cats, cats, dogs, dogs, terrible rain. Spotted a restaurant in the last minute and treated ourselvese with some wonderful cheap salad and fish. Total bliss. Bliss increased by the arrival of the "green fairies" - I don't have to explain this term for the ones who already meet them quite often. On the nearest wall there was a huge tv screen (football! Manchester with another team), men watching every move carefully. We tried to chose a bottle of wine. Oh, that was an adventure. Our waiter, a guy from Capo Verde, didn't know what was available from the list so he went to ask. He came back. Then we wanted to know if we should take a big bottle or a small one. Oh no, another question. He asked again. Came back. After a few more similar questions we ended up with a bottle of red wine. Showed it to him, telling him "this is the one that we want" but guess what, he forgot-isn't that sweet ? and he came back saying "please, forgive me, I don't know which one it is, can you tell me once again?". He was just too lovely not to tell him. We even wanted to give him a big tip but he left before we ended our diner. Imagine coming from Capo Verde to Covilhã-crazy world we live in.

Green fairies, green faires, green fairies.....

The next day - exploring Covilhã, actually socializing rapidly with the locals just enough to ask for the famous "church with azulejos" - nice church, fast pictures and here we go.

What should we do now? Headed for the mountain to find the almost deserted resort Penha da Saude.Nobody there. Saw some cars, got out of the car and tried to look at the houses. A second thought-why not look closer at the house and see how they look like inside so we approached the window-that kind of window through which you don't get to see from the outside, but you get to see from the inside. So we approached and got to see something-I saw an open book on a table. Second attempt. Got to see more. Third attempt-hey, enough. A guy was banging on the window desperately trying to make us go away and stop peeping in peoples' houses :-)

Constância and Almourol

2008-10-31T07:46:00.001-07:00

Constância was chosen for its crazy reputation. They say that the famous poet Camões misbehaved with a lady from the court and he was sent away from her to Constância.

We looked for the Camões house for minutes and minutes and finally found it - closed, but with a statue in front of it - a couple making love - Camões making love :-) pretty cool. You don't get to see Camões making love every day. I ended up in his lap (another sculpture), then noticed the sexual education people of Constância get to get there. Imagine this. On the agenda of events you get to see-one day the "great" movie "Sex and the City", then at the Alexandre O'Neill library different (many!!) workshops or movies on how to seduce your partner, how to be a good lover - I guess this dates back from Camões' time. Voila. This is what I would call "remembering the ancestors". :-)

and Castelo de Almourol.....

I have been dreaming about this little castle - Castelo de Almourol - for months - "oh, when am I going to see the castle? when am I going to see the castle?" and here we are, on our way to the castle. On the left side military tanks, on the right side of the road military training camps. I wanted to take pictures of some storks but then realised that I am taking pictures of a military base!! so I'd better stop :-) Finally at our destination. Lovely castle, awful military tanks in front of it. Had coffee on a nice terrace and listened for minutes how a girl, who wanted to become a poet (or actress?) I guess, was reciting Baudelaire poems in French to her lover. It was fascinating, a little bit too pretencious though.

Abrantes - October 2008

2008-10-31T07:32:00.001-07:00

We headed for Covilhã on Saturday morning, expecting to explore the beautiful Serra da Estrela mountains. And it was a nice choice. I learned never to trust the weather sites as they were predicting heavy rains and we had only Sun, summer Sun :-)

The first stop was in Abrantes - a small village with the most beautiful, romantic gardens I have ever seen(and I've seen some gardens!) from which you have a beautiful view of the Tagus river - the castle's gardens. I took pictures of my lovely pink tree in bloom. Isn't he lovely? :-) Before that, I got to visit the main church attracted by a lady singing Opera. I started to take pictures but was briskly interupted by a gentleman who asked me if I asked for permission in advance. God, there was no sign as to whether I have to ask for permission or to stop taking photos, but he seemed determined to ruin my day. So I stopped taking pictures without saying anything. I guess he saw my sad face and decided to come up with an excuse "you know, you can take pictures, it is just that this church has been rubbed 17 times and we have to keep track of the people that are taking pictures and ask for an i.d.". I was just a "tourist" and he forgave me.

Serra da Estrela

2008-10-31T07:29:00.000-07:00

Serra da Estrela - 2000 m!! - great mountains :-) nice, welcoming fog (for me, not for the car drivers, of course). We reached the very top, by car, and wanted to buy Serra da Estrela cheese - they say it's the best. Entered a shop and I literally couldn't escape from there without buying the cheese. It was delicious anyhow. Went further and "met" a shephard who turned into a seller. He made us try ALL his cheese, I guess. Everything. Bought some, as well, but couldn't make him stop asking us to try this and that. "try this", "no, thank you", "eat" and we had to eat and this ritual continued until we were completely full and almost drunk - of course, you cannot eat cheese without tasting some home-made wine. Lovely shephard!

Castelo Branco

2008-10-21T08:00:00.001-07:00

Castelo Branco - my guide book has a beautiful, I would say even mystical picture of some statues covered with moss - they are in Castelo Branco. Of course, they did renovated the park with the statues and now they look "brand new". There is even an entrance that you have to pay to get to see them. A little bit kitch, but ok in the end.

The funniest thing was meeting the locals. We instantly made friends with some old guys in their 80s maybe, eager to show us direction, eager to help us park the car. Wanting to buy an ice-cream, didn't find the shopman, waited, waited, watched for a few minutes a Latin American soap opera, then decide to leave the money on the counter and leave. It was a smart decision. We checked afterwards and the lady selling in the shop was very happy-she even asked if we didn't need any change. Quiet city.

Vila Franca de Xira

2008-09-27T14:50:00.000-07:00

Vila Franca de Xira-on a cloudy day-apart from the center, the town hall, the panoramic view from the top of a hill and the "central" market, I didn't get to discover anything else. But it was nice, for a change :-)

Festival de Folclore-Óbidos

2008-09-07T04:29:00.001-07:00

The weddings day....

2008-09-07T04:25:00.001-07:00

...saw three weddings, three brides and so on. This one was between a Portuguese girl and an English guy-I knew it was a "mixed" wedding but I thought it would be the other way around as I had in mind the "Felipa de Lancaster-João I" wedding.

Aljustrel-perto de Fátima

2008-09-07T04:04:00.000-07:00

Óbidos flower

2008-09-06T13:39:00.000-07:00

Horses

2008-07-23T11:52:00.001-07:00

I know this a blurred picture, I know it has not even a single clear spot but I like it. It was taken during a weekend in Óbidos, I was taking "normal, touristic-like" pictures, and the horses got scared and started to run at me. I took the picture then ran away myself and I was lucky that nothing bad happened. Hope you enjoy it.

Close to Guincho

2008-07-17T11:44:00.000-07:00

Óbidos, Alcobaça, Caldas da Rainha, Nazaré

2008-06-21T00:04:00.000-07:00

These are the pictures I took in my little trip with a rented Seat Ibiza :-) - Óbidos, Alcobaça, Caldas da Rainha, Nazaré

Cascais, Cabo da Roca

2008-06-12T11:20:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday, Portugal!

2008-06-10T14:25:00.000-07:00

Hot and sunny summer National Day in Cacilhas

2008-05-17T01:07:00.000-07:00

Sintra

Guincho

A última residência do rei romeno Carlos II, em Cascais

Armona e Olhão (Algarve)

2008-05-08T04:23:00.000-07:00

Dois dias no Algarve significaram um dia de praia tranquila e snobe numa estância onde quase toda a gente falava inglês, com supermercados caros e prateleiras suplementares de bebidas e um dia boémio (evidentemente, o meu favorito) numa ilha desconhecida. Dei-me conta de que por vezes o acaso é mais bonito e traz mais surpresas agradáveis do que qualquer outro plano estrito e previsível. Chegámos a Olhão porque era a cidade mais próxima e eu queria ver uma parte do Parque Natural da Ria Formosa. Também por engano cheguei lá num sábado, dia de feira e de mercado, dia de peixe barato e de legumes saborosos – comi tomates como os que são cultivados nas hortas da Roménia, achava que isto tinha deixado de existir. E depois apanhei um táxi de água, gritei de alegria à velocidade de uma excursão rápida, de barco, e cheguei a um local semi-selvagem, calmo e acolhedor. Imaginei que estávamos em Bahamas e sonhámos com um mundo ideal e pequeno no qual a única preocupação é a felicidade própria e a das pessoas queridas, no qual já não conheço nenhum dirigente, nem conflitos, a Internet é-me estranha, e eu fico a descansar, a ler, a cozinhar, a bronzear, e a preguiçar numa ilha que contém o meu nome – Armona.

Doua zile in Algarve au insemnat o zi de plaja tihnita si snoaba intr-o statiune aproape vorbitoare de engleza, cu supermarketuri scumpe si cu rafturi suplimentare de bauturi si o zi boema (evident, favorita mea) pe o insula nestiuta. Mi-am dat seama ca uneori intamplarea e mai frumoasa si mai aducatoare de surprize placute decat orice plan strict si previzibil. Am ajuns in Olhão pentru ca era oraselul
cel mai apropiat, iar eu imi doream sa vad o parte din Parcul Natural da Ria Formosa. Tot dintr-o greseala, am nimerit intr-o sambata, zi de targ si de piata, zi
de peste ieftin si legume gustoase-am mancat rosii ca cele din gradinile din Romania, credeam ca nu mai exista asa ceva. Si apoi am luat un taxi de apa, am tipat de bucuria vitezei unei excursii rapide cu barca si am ajuns intr-un loc semi-salbatic, linistit si primitor. Ne-am imaginat ca suntem in Bahamas si am visat la o lume ideala si mica in care singura preocupare este fericirea proprie si a celor dragi, in care nu mai cunosc conducatorii sau conflictele, Internetul imi e strain, iar eu stau, citesc, gatesc, ma bronzez si lenevesc pe o insula cu numele meu cuprins in ea - Armona.

Batalha - 28th of April 2008

2008-04-30T23:20:00.000-07:00

My guide said that the dominican abbey of Santa Maria da Vitória is a UNESCO Heritage site and a masterpiece of Portuguese
gothic architecture, famous though for Manueline elements. We found there the tomb of João I and of his English wife Philippa of Lancaster, as well as of Henry the Navigator, one of their sons.

I found a place that I've seen before, that amazed me with its stained glasses and the colors reflected on the ground of the church.

Alcobaça - 28 de Abril de 2008

2008-04-30T15:28:00.000-07:00

For those who don't know, Alcobaça has Portugal's largest church, Mosteiro de Santa Maria de Alcobaça, founded in 1153. This church is linked to a tragic event, I would say even to some kind of obsession maybe triggered by grief. Among those buried in the church are the "tragic lovers" Kind Pedro and his murdered mistress Inês. Pedro, son and heir of Afonso IV had to marry Constantza, Infanta of Castile, even though he was in love with a lady at court, Inês de Castro. When Constantza died, Pedro went to live with Inês in Coimbra but convinced that she was a danger for Portugal, Afonso IV had her murdered. After his death though, Pedro took revenge, killed her killers and had Inês's corpse exhumated and crowned. He also compelled his court to kneel before Inês and kiss her decomposed hand. The kind insisted that their tombs face each other so that his first sight on Judgement Day would be of his beloved. Impressive, romantic but freaky story.
This is one of my favorite places and the church is absolutely amazing, gracious, I would say baroque and beautiful.

Fátima-orthodox Easter, April 2008

2008-04-30T13:45:00.000-07:00

The Catcher in the Rye

2008-04-12T12:19:00.000-07:00

Yellow Algarve

2008-03-30T15:53:00.000-07:00

A terceira vez

2008-03-30T03:06:00.000-07:00

I start being a master in landscapes and forget about people, and this is not my aim. Tranquility brings landscapes into my life, when I am fascinated by a ray of Sun on a tiny blade of grass, or by its audacity after a storm, or by the colors and feast it offers to my eyes.

Serra da Arrábida e Tróia - 24 de Fevereiro de 2008

2008-03-20T00:40:00.001-07:00

Mountains in Continental Portugal can be easily climbed and this is when I miss climbing for hours and hours our mountains-a nostalgic feeling that I didn't use to have before starting to love the mountains-because yes, I am addicted to the sea, I love the sea, its life, its waves, its power, colours and beauty. Even though I am not saying anything new here, the measure of greatness was more visible for me when being on top of a cliff, when climbing the highest mountain I got to see or just when looking at the flight of a seagull, at its grace and freedom.

When the Sun goes to sleep....

2008-03-15T12:06:00.000-07:00

....near Óbidos....total bliss :-)....scenes rushing into my head, in front of my eyes...Monet and the rocks of Jordan that I never got to see yet, goodbyes and beauty, fear and love.

Pink - March 2008

2008-03-14T13:40:00.000-07:00

"Pink it´s my new obsession
Pink it´s not even a question
Pink on the lips of your lover, cause
Pink is the love you discover
Pink as the bing on your cherry
Pink 'cause you are so very
Pink it´s the color of passion
`Cause today it just goes with the fashion .....

Pink like a deco umbrella
It´s kink - but you don´t ever tell her
Pink it was love at first sight
Pink when I turn out the light
Pink gets me high as a kite
And I think everything is going to be all right
No matter what we do tonight
I want to be your lover
I wanna wrap you in rubber
As pink as the sheets that we lay on
Pink is my favorite crayon, yeah
Pink it was love at first sight
Pink when I turn out the light
Pink it´s like red but not quite
And I think everything is going to be all right ..." - Aerosmith

Mystery fog-Sintra-17th of February 2008

2008-02-19T08:29:00.000-08:00

A nation celebrated its independence, other nations were questioning whether it should recognize it or not – without ignoring all this....I was just walking into the mystery realm of the Moorish Castle in Sintra (Castelo dos Mouros) – 8th and 9th century A.D. They say there is a magnifiscent view over the region from up there-all I could see instead was a thick fog that enchanted me, a terrible rain that didn´t stop me to go further and my imaginary world of fairies, dwarfs and unicorns. Didn´t really get to visit it. This end of month is a mystic, beautiful one for me. Can’t wait to have the courage to wake up one day at 5am and go shooting this wonderful fog in a country that I love mostly because of its Sun.

Cascais-Saturday market

2008-02-10T10:13:00.000-08:00

Evora, Arraiolos & Montemor-o-Novo

2008-01-30T06:09:00.002-08:00

Evora

We drove up to 130 km from Lisbon to get to Evora, capital of the Alentejo region. I expected a lot from this city (listed as one of UNESCO’s World Heritage) but didn’t get to see much, apart from the “exterior” monuments - the Loios Church, the Cathedral, Giraldo Square - center of the city....and most important, the Roman temple of Evora (improperly called Diana Temple), built in Corinthian style– a 1st century temple dedicated probably to the Cult of Emperor Augustus. The court of the first and second dynasties resided here for long periods, constructing palaces, monuments and religious buildings and Evora became the scene for many royal weddings and, as they say, a place where many important decisions were made. The city is a little bit expensive, the food seems to be nice (though I didn't get to taste much of it) and the region is extremely quiet and beautiful – we saw different breeds of cows, sheep, horses and even rabbits :-)

Arraiolos

Any Portuguese knows Arraiolos, famous for its hand-made carpets, with a special technique (and no, I don´t have any picture with the carpets but you can find them on Google, of course). What we found in Arraiolos was a town square where all the old men (and not women!!) of Arraiolos gathered together, I guess talking about everything and nothing, watching the passer-by and enjoying the Sun. I didn't buy and carpet :-) even though I like them a lot, but took a lot of interesting pictures with the above mentioned old men. What I also found out was that Óbidos is not the only place in Portugal where houses have a blue trim at the base of the construction, but Arraiolos have them too, they are supposed to ward off the devil-hmmm....should we all paint our houses like this? The problem was that some of them had this line painted in gray and also yellow...what does that mean???

What I found out was that.... the technique used to make Arraiolos carpets is a "form of embroidery with counted dots". The stitches of the Arraiolos carpets are embroidered trough the network of a jute mesh in order to cover the whole surface of a piece cut to the wanted dimensions. Historically the carpets from Arraiolos have gone through at least three periods of evolution-the earliest still in existence date from the XVII century (they have simple motif reproductions from oriental rugs and the shades of red are the dominant colours). The second period occurs later in the XVII century where the oriental designs are mixed with a variety of stylised animal designs such as pigeons, peacocks and mammals. The dominant colours are red, yellow, blue and green. Some of the designs show clearly influences of the Spanish Levant, France (“Lis Fleur”) and Germany (The Eagle). The third period occurs in the beginning of the second decade of the XVIII century, here the oriental designs disappear and are substituted by complex floral motifs and traditional dolls. The dominant colours become blue, yellow and green. In the end of the XVIII century begins a period of decline. Instead of remaining faithful to the complexity and diversity of the motifs of the previous periods, there was a simplification of the floral style, mostly placed in a light or dark blue field, or geometric figures copies of tile designs.

Montemor-o-Novo

...and the last place we got to visit was a very pleasant surprise for us-Montemor-o-Novo was a nice "accident" in our trip-we wanted to see something interesting, but not that far away. We chose Montemor-o-Novo, by chance, where we picked up a lot of oranges (hmmm this should be a top secret though, sorry :-)), we got to see the ruins of a deserted castle, walked through a serene "park" and invaded the private property of a local, attracted by the beautiful orange trees (no, we didn't cause any conflict, don't worry, as Portuguese are really nice and we are innocent :-)).

Convento dos Capuchos & Azenhas do Mar - 20 Jan 2008

2008-01-23T13:29:00.000-08:00

Azenhas do Mar - my second time in the same place, the old fishermen's sofa was not as "beautiful" as the last time (look at my posting from the 30th of July 2007), the waves were absolutely crazy, and I was trying not to recall the wind that last time almost made us fly over the rocks.

Convento dos Capuchos - or the Capucin Convent is a mystic, humble, quiet, green and fairy-tale like place, next to Sintra. I had to drive a long way on winding roads until we found this wonderful deserted place. Convento dos Capucho (originally known as Convento da Santa Cruz) was built in 1560 by Alvaro de Castro, son of the vice-roy of India, Joao de Castro. The legend says that the nobleman was lost in the mountains (Serra da Sintra) during a chase for a deer and fell asleep under a rock. During his sleep, he dreamt that there should be built a Christian temple....which he did afterwards, of course :-)

Sunday in Caldas da Rainha, Óbidos and Foz do Arelho

2008-01-13T10:48:00.000-08:00

Caldas da Rainha is famous for its locally-made ceramics and thermal cures. The town has a free hospital, founded by Queen Leonor - the hospital subsequently became a popular spa, reaching its peak in the late 19th century. Caldas da Rainha became also home to a great number of refugees who fled to neutral Portugal from all over Europe. I bought some nice ceramic pots and vases :-) - they are pretty cheap and nice, so I would recommend the place at least for this. Luckily, we went there on a sunny Sunday morning-the reflections of the famous hospital in the water of the lake are extremely beautiful.

Is was my second time in Óbidos, a very quiet and lovely medieval town, with a poetic and romantic "attitude" and narrow cobblestone streets lined with whitewashed houses. Óbidos was the wedding present of a queen, and you can see its preserved delicacy. Don´t miss the ginginha de Óbidos served in chocolate cups. Lovely :-))

Not in a "cronological order", Foz do Arelho was our middle way place to visit. We got there accidently, as I had a list of beautiful places worth to be visited, but I didn't know which one to choose. As lucky as I am, I witnessed one of the most beautiful waves "performance", with a touch of Sun, wanting to go to "sleep". Sometimes I really believe that these moments are made for me :-))

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O Palácio Nacional de Mafra

2008-01-01T05:27:00.001-08:00

Fatima-bikers' blessing

2007-12-15T11:38:00.000-08:00

The Algarve-the second time-23rd-26th of November 2007

2007-12-02T11:50:00.000-08:00

My dear ones,

I didn't get to go to the Algarve during the summer, most people would consider this a loss - me too, when I think about the warm water that I never got to swim in in Portugal although I got to see it in November twice (what luck) and this time during a long weekend. I usually try to make a selection of the pictures I put on my blog but sometimes I get too emotional and just can't make any reasonable choices - which is the case now, so please don't get angry. I could post 10 pictures only with the sky that I photographed on our way to the Algarve, wondering if it would rain or not, but I stopped when I realized my memory card was running out. So... we stayed in Portimão. We got to see the beautiful São Lourenço church in Almancil (XVII century, with walls covered completely in azulejos), drove through those snobbish resorts (I know some of you might hate me for this, but NO, I am not a fan of Villamoura, Quinta do Lago or Vale do Lobo-you can google these places easily and you'll find these perfect artificial resorts, full of four-million-euro houses, beautiful golf courses, magnificent boats etc....but so empty of life) and I prayed we would go to Cabo de São Vicente (km 0) and Sagres - and guess what, WE DID!!! :-)) - this is where I felt free, I looked at the waves, the rocks, the ocean, imagined what is on the other side, thought about all the conquerors, imagined sunrises and sunsets (I was lucky to be able to photograph one sunset in the Algarve and I kissed the sky for the magic it offered me) and wished I would go there again and have the same feeling. I also loved Albufeira, which is a delicate and humble sea village where we ate cataplana (hmmmm…this is a really yummy fish dish), we got to see the first black slave market in Europe - that was in Lagos - and of course, I had to take some pictures with Tweety and other children's toys for the "connoisseurs". Hope you enjoy the pictures and get to visit some wonderful places yourself. Hm....they should pay me for advertising Portugal so honestly. What do you think?

Beijinhos (kisses),

Monica

Portimão in the morning - Praia da Rocha

Albufeira

Tweety and the company - what a sweetheart, isn't he? :-))

Cabo de São Vicente

Lagos

Sunset in Portimão

1st time in the Algarve-18th of November 2007

2007-12-02T11:16:00.000-08:00

This is sunny November in Faro (Algarve)-just a fast stop in a nice city....

Monserrate - 11th of November 2007

2007-11-17T01:39:00.000-08:00

For all those who are keen to find out the history of this place, which is close to Sintra, a beautiful town not far away from Lisbon, here it is. What I can say is that along with all the palaces in Sintra (I have seen only three of them, but there are some more beautiful ones near by), Monserrate is extremely beautiful, discrete, cosy and serene. The second picture was taken in the garden of a 5-star hotel (Tivoli Sintra) that we came across accidently, thinking that it was another palace. Enjoy the story and some of the pictures taken in the gardens of this romantic palace, designed by James Knowles Jr. and built in 1858 on the initiative of Francis Cook, Viscount Monserrate.

"Local history records that in 1540 Monserrate, known then as the Quinta da Bela Vista, was integrated in the domains of the Hospital of All Saints in Lisbon. After a pilgrimage to the Benedictine Hermitage of Montserrat, in Catalonia, friar Gaspar Preto commissioned the building of a chapel dedicated to Our Lady of Monserrate. According to legend, this was most probably built at the place where, during the Moorish domination, a Mozarab knight who lived there in conflict with the Alcaide of the Moors’ Castle, finally perished. Buried on the hill, he later was venerated as a martyr. In 1601, the Hospital of All Saints leased Monserrate to the Mello e Castro family. Dom Caetano de Mello e Castro, Knight of the Order of Christ and Viceroy of India, finally bought the property in 1718. Since then the Mello e Castro family administered the property through procurators who, in turn, chose tenants and bailiffs who were responsible for the agricultural running of the farm and the maintenance of the outhouses. Little is known about the buildings that existed at that time except that the Earthquake of 1755 rendered them uninhabitable. In 1790, Gerard DeVisme, an English merchant who immensely rich as a result of the concession of the monopoly of the importation of Brazilian Teak granted to him by the Marques of Pombal (the Prime Minister of Dom José I), rents the property and lands of Monserrate and orders the construction of a neo-gothic mansion. The chosen location was an early chapel in ruins that was later rebuilt elsewhere. DeVisme resided at Monserrate for only short time, eventually subletting the property with all its improvements to William Beckford in about 1794. In 1799, Beckford finally leaves Portugal and Monserrate falls once more into decline. In 1809 Lord Byron, the famous poet, visits it and praised its beauty in his narrative poem Childe Harold's Pilgrimage. In 1856 Francis Cook, an English millionaire textiles trader, buys the Quinta of Monserrate from the Mello e Castro family and rebuilds the Palace, this time in a neo-Moresque style, and creates an extraordinary landscape garden inspired by English Romanticism. The whole park was transformed into a unique example of 19th century revivalism and eclecticism, predominantly marked by an oriental exoticism in which the delicately rendered vegetal motifs of the interior are harmoniously prolonged into the garden. Monserrate remained in the possession of the Cook family until 1947. In 1946 they endeavoured to sell it to the Portuguese Government who delayed the deal in such a way that eventually it was the antique dealer, Saul Saragga, who bought the property and the Palace and its contents. Only in 1949 did the Portuguese Government managed to acquire the property and the respective lands, a total of 143 hectares (about 350 acres), together with the Palace, by then virtually emptied of its contents".

Tomar in November

2007-11-11T12:55:00.000-08:00

Porto-part II

2007-09-26T05:40:00.000-07:00

This is "second time" Porto-Serralves, sunset, seagulls, libraries, cloisters, graffitis...enjoy!

Festas do Barrete Verde e das Salinas de 10 a 15 de Agosto de 2007

2007-08-15T06:18:00.000-07:00

Nas Festas se destacam as tradicionais Corrida e Largada de toiros e este evento já figura entre as festas populares mais apreciadas do distrito de Setúbal.

Da outra parte da ponte - 5 de Agosto de 2007

2007-08-07T03:17:00.000-07:00

SESIMBRA

Castelo de Sesimbra, também denominado como Castelo dos Mouros - castelo medieval.

CABO ESPICHEL

O Santuário de Nossa Senhora da Pedra Mua também conhecido por (Santuário de Nossa Senhora do Cabo)-do século XVII (a igreja), O Farol do Cabo Espichel inaugurado em 1790.

LAGOA DE ALBUFEIRA

Colares & Azenhas do Mar

2007-07-30T02:25:00.000-07:00

We were looking for Colares, as I had an obsession with this place. I have a beautiful guide of Portugal, with lovely pictures, and I desperately wanted to "see the picture" for real...so we looked for Colares and we ended up in Azenhas do Mar. Actually this is the place we should have looked for...it is really breath taking...the cliffs are great, the ocean was not in the best "mood" so it made it more dramatic-I could have stayed there for ages and ages, enjoying the Sun, the wind, the waves and the magnifiscent scenery. This was on Saturday, the 28th of July. :-)

A Midsummer Night's Dream - Vila Nova de Santo Andre - 20th of July 2007

2007-07-29T13:50:00.000-07:00

We took the bus to see a W.Shakespeare's play....and we traveled for about 2 hours to see it...and it was beautiful, and full of surprises - you can look for them on the Internet - Footsbarn Theatre - http://footsbarn.com/index_en.php

Batalha - July 2007

2007-07-15T03:07:00.000-07:00

Santa Maria da Vitória na Batalha is a Dominican monastery - one of the best and original examples of Late Gothic architecture in Portugal – built to thank the Virgin Mary for the Portuguese victory over the Castilians in the battle of Aljubarrota in 1385. What is extraordinary about this place it is that it took two centuries to build, starting in the 14th century and ending in the 16th century, spanning the reign of seven kings. The construction stoped when the king João III of Portugal decided to put all his efforts in the construction of the Jerónimos Monastery in Lisbon and so the Chapels were never ended – they are called As Capelas Imperfeitas (The Unfinished Chapels) and can be very easily missed as they are accessible only from the outside. What is amazing about this place is the contrast between the darkness of the
gothic passages and the light offered with generosity by the open air Chapels, from which
you can
have one of the most emotional views of the sky and the clouds.
I wonder how one can feel if it stayed there under the rain or when a storm begins....,
or how one could
feel coming to pray every Sunday in these Chapels, looking so straighforward in the sky.

Alcobaça - July 2007

2007-07-15T02:41:00.001-07:00

Alcobaça, whose name comes from the two rivers - Alcoa and Baça – is famous for its magnifscent gothic church, built by the first king of Portugal, Afonso Henriques, who wanted to mark his victory over the Moors, in 1147.
What I loved in Alcobaça was the grandeur of this construction, the large square in front of it and of course the beautiful and tragic story of the two royalties – King Peter I and his murdered mistress Inês de Castro. Legends says that Pedro loved Inês that much that he ordered the remains of his beloved to be transferred to her tomb in Alcobaça and made her be crowned as Queen of Portugal and ordered court members to pay her homage by kissing her decomposing hand. Well…that´s the way love goes… sometimes.