On the right side of the photo, the church of Our Lady of Life. This photo was taken in front of Rossio, a beautiful garden area in Alcochete with a fantastic view of Lisbon...
I almost wasn't able to go to Portugal last September. My cat Fofinho has been very ill,demanding constant care and attention. This time, we couldn't ask our neighbors to take care of him. Too much work and responsibility...
So, my husband stayed here with him and I managed to go to Portugal to visit my mother, family and a couple of friends.
My mother's health has been worse - she has many difficulties to walk and a lot of pain in her back and legs- and I wanted to spend some time with her and take some measures to make her life easier and comfortable.
I arrived in Portugal very tired since I hadn't been sleeping very much due to my cat's situation. I wasn't feeling very relaxed either: I was fearing that something might happen to Fofinho while I was in Portugal and my husband would have to deal alone with some unpleasant and painful situation. The expectations given by the vet were very bad...
My stay in Portugal was a bit depressing since I found some of my friends and relatives facing serious economical troubles.Every year I go to Portugal, the economical situation looks worse than before. Some of my friends have lost their jobs, other needed to close their businesses, etc, etc...
Meanwhile, we almost lost Fofinho during my short stay there, but since I arrived to the NL, he looks better.Let's see how it goes. I keep going with all the treatments. I must write a post all about it.
I have so many things on my mind now- I feel like I have two lives, one here, one there- that my mood for blogging has been very low.I 'm now trying to understand all the new rules and taxes of the Portuguese State Budget 2013, so I can explain to my mother in the best possible way how she will be affected by all of this mess. This time, she will lose a very good deal of money and the situation is more serious than ever.
Nevertheless, Portugal is still for me the most beautiful country in the world, and for some moments, I was able to forget all my fears and worries...:-)
Mirandes is a romance language belonging to the Astur-Leonese linguistic group. Miranda is celebrating today the co-official recognition (along the Portuguese language) granted by the Parliament on 17th September 1999.
For so many years, I wished to go there, to Casa de Sezim, and stay for a while. This vacation, I went there and just stay one night, but at least, I saw the house and its beautiful walls. Next time, I will stay more time. :-)
Antonio Pinto de Mesquita, the owner of this charmante house, was an embassador. Here we see a photo with him and Queen Elisabeth II when she visited Portugal in February 1957.
This historical house is in the present family since 1376. Its XIX century panoramic wallpapers with scenes from both the new and the old world become a motive of international curiosity because of their rarity.
We just stayed one night and enjoyed the house for one morning, but the friendly welcome of the owners and the staff made us wish to come there again ;-)
To see more photos of the beautiful Casa de Sezim, please, click here. For more information (in portuguese), please, click here. For more information about portuguese historical houses where you can stay and enjoy unforgetable moments, please, click here.
Or you can buy this book. It is in Portuguese and in English.
The capital of the North, the second city more important of my country: The Noble and Loyal city of OPorto. Welcome to one of my portuguese favorite cities ;-)
This photo was taken in Vila Nova de Gaia, the city in front of the Invicta (as we call OPorto), where the caves or Port wine cellars are located. Here, we see Barcos Rabelo, the boats that used to cross Douro river (from Alto Douro to Vila Nova de Gaia) with the Port wine barrels.
After a stroll in this beautiful hotspot, we were ready to celebrate Carla's birthday ;-) We had our lunch here, in Vila Nova Gaia. The restaurants have great views to the Invicta. Everybody (except me) have chosen the typical Oporto's sandwich: Francesinha ("little frenchie", lit.). I like it, but I was full. I had eaten a lot in the previous days ...;-))
This "lekker" sandwich is made with bread, wet-cured ham, linguiça, fresh sausage, steak or roast meat and covered with molten cheese and a hot thick tomato and beer sauce served with french fries. If you want to know more about Francesinha, please, click here. Really huge, don't you think? But tasty, very tasty ;-)
After lunch, we went to Solar do Vinho do Porto, where we drank a glass of Port wine. We were simply enjoying the day :-)
