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| *Travel Tips>>>Portugal Travel Tips |
Portugal?!? |
Travel Info If you are from/have been to Portugal tell me anything you want about it! I am spending almost 6 months there for a high school foreign exchange program. I just like to hear about the country :) Travel Tips I guess you're going to study Portuguese language and culture. You'll need to work at it to get your tongue round the different s and r sounds, and the nh and lh, so try to master the pronunciation before you arrive. It's hard to take the time to do that when you're under presure to communicate. Understanding something of the language, you'll really be able to appreciate the fados - beautiful melancholy songs, traditionally sung in University cities by students. If you have a good voice, you could get the students to teach you to sing a fado too. Coimbra has one of the oldest Universities in Europe - we're talking nearly 1000 years - and the students still walk around in flowing black capes. It has narrow alleys down the steep hillside from the University to the river, where there is a park with cafe tables, where the students sit and drink coffee at all hours of the day - a great opportunity for language practice. That is my fave city in Portugal. You want stories. Alright, here's one about the sort of embarrassing situation that can arise from a languauge mistake. Hope nothing like this happens to you. A young American woman studying Portuguese, rather prim and proper, was standing on a crowded tram in Lisbon. The tram lurched and she landed sitting on an old man's lap - but instead of apologising with "Desculpe" (I'm sorry), she blushingly blurted out "Com licen莽a", which means literally "By your leave". Her mistake arose because Americans commonly use "Excuse me" with the meaning of both "By your leave" and "I'm sorry", but Portuguese has two different expressions, as in UK English. So in the heat of the moment she just forgot which Portuguese equivalent to use, and asked permission to sit on his lap, instead of apologising for it. She was never allowed to live that one down. Others You can gain a lot of information from: http://www.visitportugal.com/cultures/en... and more from: http://search.lonelyplanet.com/search.do... I am from Portugal. Madeira, to be exact. Which is an island. But I've lived in Lisbon as well. People in Portugal are friendly.. very loud, so be ready for that. We are not quiet people... we are quite outspoken, but gentle. I suggest you learn the language :P Where in Portugal are you going? If you need more info just message me, I have loads of info, anything you wanna know! If you're coming for six months, visit Sintra (a more or less iddylic place near Lisbon), Coimbra (where there's the oldest university in Portugal), 脫bidos (which is lovely and different from anything else) and go dine fish nearby at Peniche, go to Tomar with its old Templar (well, the templars under a different name) convent, the Algarve (for an approximative taste of the Mediterranean), Oporto (Porto, really, but the british couldn't understand that the "o" meant "the", poor things) where you can feel the northern spirit and visit the port wine cellars on the other side of the river Douro, do also visit Ponte de Lima and eat Roj玫es (without blood, if you ask, I always eat them without blood) and the Minho region and while you're there drink some green wine (I advise Muralhas because it's good and not expensive, while a lot of it is worthless, safe for the expensive brands), you could also visit the Serra da Estrela (2000 km high) and move down to nice Castelo Branco. Well, these are just some of the things you can do outside Lisbon, assuming you'll be staying in Lisbon. As a people, we are... erm... different from each other, your experience will vary according to the people you meet. Anyway, wishing you a pleasant stay. :) Hi! Portugal is a great Country, with lots of diversity in terms of people, nature, and things to do..plus it's not that big in a small area you can have beach, countryside, mountains, etc..! I have a blog that is http://experienceportugal.blogspot.com/... here i talk about diferent cities in portugal, and things to do...xek it out!! and you'll have a great time!!!!! http://experienceportugal.blogspot.com/... I loved my vacay in Portugal. Based out of Lisbon, I was able to get pretty much wherever I wanted to go in the country within a few hours. The Language is a delight, and if you speak Brazilian Portuguese you鈥檒l have no problem being understood, though you will have to ask people to slow down a little bit for you to understand them. People are overall pretty friendly, polite, and have a great sense of humor, though American Sarcasm usually just leaves them baffled. You can, could, and absolutely SHOULD see the usual tourist spots. Sintra.. a gorgeous eco-isolated mountain northish of Lisbon where the wealthy used to take their holiday. Cascais, home of O Barbas (The Beards) restaurant which has the yummiest cataplana I had in my time there. Mafra is a really fun little afternoon trip.. be sure to ask for directions to the Terra Cotta village鈥t鈥檚 a whole little store/museum with working miniatures (Most miniatures you can walk around inside of) that display historic life in Portugal. The store has some REALLY lovely terra cotta pieces (Pick up a Sangria pitcher and a chourico grill). In Lisbon proper.. You can of course hit the malls. Colombo being Western Europe鈥檚 largest mall. (Portugal has a lot of the 鈥淟argest鈥?somethings in Europe) Absolutley wander around the Baixo Chiado, excellent shopping on the broad streets. Catch the Electrico over to Belem to see Jeronimos monastery (Final resting place of Vasco de Gama and Camoes) and the Navel Museum. And Catch lunch across the street from Pasteis de Belem (The back side of the buildings has a really lovely little caf茅 with some phenomenal cheese). But absolutely save dessert for Pasteis de Belem. Port and Pasteis.. and you鈥檒l have a sleepy wonderful ride back home. Christo Rei is worth seeing and you get some of the best pictures from the top. Though Alameda is not technically Lisbon.. and kind of looked down upon by Lisbonites. Or at least it was by my host family who live in Ramada. Venturing out from Lisboa, obviously go see Fatima. Make a side trip on the way there or back at the Gruetas da Moeda (Cave of Coins) for a cool and fun walk through some subterranean Portugal. The whole area is dotted with caves. Northeast of Lisbon, about 13 km from the Spanish Border, is Monsanto. Monsanto is known best as 鈥楾he Most Portuguese Village in Portugal鈥?and is built into the side of a dormant volcano. There are castle ruins at the top, and a thousand awesome stories about the place. Be SURE to pick up some cheese from here. It鈥檚 awesome stuff and sits incredibly well with a good bottle of port and a dish of olives. Also, buy one of the cute little dolls from one of the little old ladies that carries them around in a basket for sale. They are made from crosses鈥nd have a great story behind them as well. Make it a point to go to a Fado House. I found one open on the Rua de Machado鈥kay food, okay Fado.. but I had already been spoiled by Amalia and Mariza. Oh.. and I do hope you like Cod. Bacalhau, in a myriad of forms is the national dish, and I have as of yet to meet a Portuguese woman who was not utterly convinced that hers was the best. Speaking of Portuguese women, they cry.. a lot. They cry when they see you, they cry when you leave. They cry pretty much any chance they get. (I imagine waterproof mascara is still going strong there) It鈥檚 nothing overly personal鈥t鈥檚 just what they do. You will get kissed on the cheeks a lot. For meeting someone for the first time, it鈥檚 more of a cheek to cheek press with a kissy noise. You will be told MANY MANY times that something is 鈥淭ypical Portuguese.鈥? That became my favorite joke over the whole trip. Typical Portuguese Pasteleria鈥ypical Portuguese manhole cover鈥?the list goes on. Enjoy it. Read Eca de Quieros鈥?鈥淥s Maias.鈥?For a good look at Lisbon during Victorian times鈥?and typical Portuguese behavior and manners) and take a walk through downtown comparing what you read to what you see. The similarities will astound you.. though there is no real Ramalhete, you can almost imagine exactly where it goes. Walk through those same downtown streets and night and listen to the street performers.. smile and shake your head at the waiters trying to lure you into restaurants (Unless you鈥檙e hungry and the place smells particularly good.. which is like.. all of them). The Streets seem to come alive at night with vendors and performers. Fadistas, jugglers, dancers, bongo drums鈥?all kinds of things. Most importantly.. ENJOY it. Portuguese are gregarious and relaxed people who run a little slower than you and I but still seem to get everything done on time. If only my sense of priorties and time mastery were so well done. |
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