A Creative Spirit
Let's talk about food! Chestnuts roasting by an open fire ... not quite, but you get my drift. When we were in the UK, we never ate chestnuts... it wasn't a thing. However, in Portugal, we quickly discovered there is even a day dedicated to them: Dia de São Martinho, celebrated on November 11th, which... Continue Reading →
Seriously, I think I have a better chance of flying to the moon than having any meaningful conversation in Portuguese. If I manage to find the right words to ask a question, I rarely understand the reply. When people talk to me, my brain empties and my mind goes blank, leaving me staring at them... Continue Reading →
It doesn't seem possible that a week ago today we were visiting our family who live in France. Although it rained EVERY day for most of the day, it was great to spend time with the family, especially since I knew it would probably be about six months before we saw them again. At the... Continue Reading →
If we were having coffee, I'd confide this week I had three social engagements, which also involved food therefore adding a further strain on my already bulging waistline. Fortunately, I have only grown about 1kg since the 18th of December (checks mirror for growth of Pinnocio's nose). Considering all the naughties I've consumed over the... Continue Reading →
Last Halloween, our grandkids were staying over, so we dressed up and went trick-or-treating. We had great fun, and some people went all out to embrace the fun by decorating their gardens and placing a pumpkin outside their gate. This year, despite the absence of our grandkids, we embraced the spirit of Halloween. Mr Piglet... Continue Reading →
One of my favourite treats is a Portuguese custard tart, Pastel de nata. But beware—not all Pastéis de Nata are equal, as Mr. Piglet, a pastel de nata connoisseur, will tell you. We avoid ordering from the big supermarket cafes because they offer poor imitations (in our opinion). One of our local bakeries supplies them... Continue Reading →
The Chapel of Our Lady of the Rock is situated on the promontory between the beaches of Praia da Sra da Rocha and Praia Nova, Porches in the Municipality of Lagoa. We stumbled across the ancient chapel purely by chance while looking for the Vilarinho Beach restaurant. After lunch, we drove up to the chapel... Continue Reading →
One of the highlights of our trip to Porto was not the port, but the magnificent vestibule and azulejos tiled images at São Bento railway station - Estação Ferroviária de São Bento. Further research revealed that approximately twenty thousand tiles were used to decorate the station's vestibule which I think you will agree is spectacular!... Continue Reading →
The statue of Infante D. Henrique (Henry the Navigator), sits pride of place in the Praça do Infante Dom Henrique within a few metres of the "Slave Market". Born March 4th, 1394 Henry was an important figure in the Portuguese Age of Discovery and sponsored exploration voyages in search of new trade routes down the coast of Africa.... Continue Reading →
We've attended many fairs and festivals in Portugal, however this has to rank as not only the most interesting but the most humbling lesson in social integration and how welcoming a small community can be. The day of the "Feira da Sopa" (Soup Fair) dawned cold, damp and miserable. In fact, it was the sort... Continue Reading →
I don't have any pictures of Easter Bunnies or Easter Eggs, so hope a picture of Folar da Páscoa will suffice. I'd planned to drag Mr. Piglet along to a Folar da Páscoa festival today. However, as it's being held outside and the weather is SO awful I will have to wait until next year!... Continue Reading →
Moving to a country where English is not the first language definitely has its disadvantages if you are not a natural linguist. Some people are fortunate to learn a language purely by osmosis, but not me - I have the retentive memory of a gnat. In the past I’ve spent a small fortune on Portuguese... Continue Reading →
Piglet in Portugal 