Faz Favor

Back on terra firma inBelgium and straight into moving already. We signed a contract today and will be moving mostly over the weekend (although tom is at werchter on Saturday and I am there on Sunday... - you only live once!)

Have posted a few pictures from our holiday - but hope to put the rest on ringo on the weekend or sometime next week.

1. In the middle of the many steps at Bom Jésus - a bit cathedral just outside of Braga (in the north of portugal) with a fantastic view of the city.

2. Tom in a typical side streeet of Porto - NB: NO TOURISTS! I have found my paradise! (Such a bloody hypocrite tho...) So many of these teeny tiny, narrow streets have oodles of families living in them, but they all seemed to party very loudly and laugh a lot during the lunchtime hours: such a warm, feel-good sound.

3. Something a bit out of the ordinary - nothing scenic, but quite bizarre. If you can see well enough, there are 2 ladies here completely dressed in black. All over Nazaré (on the coast), the fisermans' widows all wore black and wandered the length of the beach (many with walking stick in hand) selling dried fruit/nuts/clams.

On the road again...

Last post from our vacation (probably)...

We ended up spending 2 nights in Nazaré (in favour of going to huge, far too touristy Lisbon) and went to the lovely little pub we found from the night before and downed a few ports while watching the Portugal vs Holland match. As you can imagine, the streets were ablaze after that victory and we made a few friends out of it! Oh forgot to mention, we did head down to Sintra (via Coimbra and Obidós - the latter having a specialty cherry liqueur which is served in chocolate cups - mmmmmm yummy!)

We drove to Guarda the next day (highest settlement in Portugal) - close to the Spanish border, and enjoyed some more local cuisine. This time I had Bakalhou com ..... (something) which was like a potato bake but including cod. but before the meal, we were given some of the local specialty - a very unique type of sheep cheese. The fat content is somewhere between 50-65% (so you could feel the layer thickening on the roof of your mouth!) but I thought it was pretty yummy.

We decided to head to spain today (currently we are in Salamanca) for the match between Spain and France - then tomorrow we will head the final 100km north to Valladolid before we head home :(

Have totally fallen in love with the lifestyle here - everything is about making the most of life in Portugal. They have such a strong sense of national identity and are so proud to be who they are. Every house is old, rundown and tiny (yet charming, cozy and bursting with life) yet everyone has a plasma flat screen huge TV. We have not been hungry here for one minute - food and drink are a very important aspect of life also - not how little you weigh, or how your hair is cut. Although coming from 'friendly' Australia, these people are far more genuine, and am so glad I have had the opportunity to have met them. Definitely have to come back...

Sao João Festival

Finally back on the internet to update our journey.

Day one (as mentioned earlier) was spent in Vila Real, where we ate at the local restaurant in the caravan park - and made friends with the owner (who took great pride in knowing German) so since Tom could understand him, he kept pouring us Port after port. Then to top the night off, we received a 50% schnapps. That definitely helped us sleep!

Stayed somewhere in between, but have forgotten the name already - Vila do Condo or something like that -just north of Porto on the sea. Fantastic food (always bucket loads of fish) and lovely people who spoke some English!

Next day, we headed up to Braga for a look around, then headed down to Porto and stayed on the other side of the river in a village known as Vila de Nova Gaia (actually, this is the home of Port Wine) in a seaside caravan park. I was lucky enough to talk the bar owner of the camping ground to turn the TV onto Australia Vs Croatia (despite the Portugese having an obvious preference to watching Brazil play...) Was so nervous, and was joined by a bunch of French pensioners on the caravan vacations and had a nice time with Tom aiding in every way with communication!~

Then- yesterday. I have found my favourite place in the world. Porto... the city is exubing with charm, character and kindness. Although it is built on an excrutiatingly painfully steep hill, it helped with the fitness! We booked ourselves into a lovely little hotel, then walked through the city, across the river (back to Vila de Nova Gaia) and decided to make the most of the Port! We paid for one tour, then made our way through about 8 other port houses, tanking ourselves up for free (all the tourists do it) and decided we are fans of the Tawny Port aged 10 years from Quintra de Nova. And now know all details as to how to make it! Then, we just sat on the river and waited for the festivities to begin: 23rd of June is Saint Johns festival and for some reason, everyone walks around hitting themselves on the head with toy hammers and there are festivals all over the street. It was bigger than any new years celebration I have seen in Australia! And so much more peaceful. At one stage, we were close to a big stage and surrounded by a young family, so tom picked up the 4 year old, and I picked up the 1 year old and we started dancing together! Incredibly fantastic atmosphere.

We are on our way to Nazare tonight via Coimbra (where we are now - the student city of Portugal) for a quiet night on the seq again. Have so much more to write but will update another time!

Will post pickies when we get home

Obrigado

Hi all - have arrived safe and sound in Portugal and are making the most of the warm lifestyle! Have seen some of the most beautiful scenery in my life - right in the top of the country, between the spanish border and Braga (where we are right now). We are heading off to the sea tonight and camping there for 2 nights before heading a little south to Porto for its national hammer festival on the 23rd of June.

Have already encountered crazy Portugese drivers, and put our non-existent Portugese to the test, but am simply loving everything else.

Craziness in the town sqare qt the moment - Portugal Vs Mexico, and the entire city is watching it - all in appropriate attire! Quite a site!

But, we are off to another castley thing now, so will update more later. Just one word to elaborate on from last night... Port (and actually another word - hospitality!)