Blogs from Portugal, Europe - page 164

Last week in Madrid covered all the usual tourist spots. Trip round Real Madrid´s ground, the Royal Palace, the Thyssen Muesem and the Prada Muesem. Madrid would rival Barcelonca it it only was on the coast, somewhere definately to return to. Arrived in Portugal on Monday and now all my systems seem to back up and working correctly, normal food, clean clothes and proper conversation has been a godsend and a great break with great company. On to Porto tomorrow then Madrid for a day then Morrocco, hopefully the tempatures will start to drop by then. Cheers for now. ... read more

We touched down in Frankfurt airport at 9 am and with twelve hours to spare before our next flight; we hopped on the train into town. I lived here in Frankfurt for a year, sixteen years ago and it felt really good to be back; it was Paulo's first taste of Germany. As we walked along the shopping streets of the city, we spotted a busy food market and went in for a closer look. Older German men sat in groups drinking beer, smartly dressed workers stood around eating snacks on their lunch breaks and hundreds of people filled the square. We spent the afternoon eating bratwurst and schnitzel and drinking wine with the locals before making our way back to the airport for our onward flight to Portugal. We flew into Faro and travelled north ... read more

August 21, 2010 When we arrived here in Portugal two weeks ago, we did not see the best side of the country. From the window of our train we seem a country side that was dry and in some parts a dust bowl. Where the only places where it was green was where there was a water source of some kind. But now, we have seen a different side of the country. Yes, it is very dry and dusty in parts, but there are many beautiful sites. There are many unusual plants and flowers here. I am amazed at the amount of bamboo there is. There are fields of it just growing wild, and then there are great big palm trees and catechus’! It is truly amazing. We have been to the Lagos Zoo, to the ... read more

My 2010 summer holidays start in Portugal My work took me to Lisbon in July, and I added extra days to be with friends, to visit family, allowing myself many inhalations of the fresh Atlantic air. Do you know when everything goes wrong? Well, my time in Portugal felt the opposite as everything fell in its place and I could manage to meet many of my friends ... I also made NEW friends. Some of them (like Afonso, Leonor or Diana) in their early stage of life. Many of my friends have literally been quite active in making babies ... it is nice to observe them in their role of being a mummy, or to hear them about the role/joy of parenthood. And another one (1 that I know of) is on the way! Not ... read more

Maggie is a little oldish lady, an ex-diplomat who has been everywhere but still adheres to scrupulously high standards of domestic cleanliness. She holidays with Gabriel and Gabriel with her. They are birdwatchers. As a couple, they are unlikely. Gabriel's apartment is a filthy dump. Maggie arrives the next day. Gabriel gets drunk to get in the mood for cleaning and finds he isn't really in the mood. It's 6pm. He needs a cleaner. A cleaner in Funchal at dusk? Probably impossible. He certainly can't clean the place on his own. How about a whore? Whores do anything for money. Gabriel has a few more bargaçeira and makes for the docks where he has seen, but never partaken of, whores before. Gabriel finds a whore. No sex, he explains, just cleaning. She tells him to fuck ... read more