Viva o São João!

Tomorrow, June 24th it's Saint John's, São João, but in Porto (and in some other cities around the world) the real party is tonight! Sardines, Caldo Verde (popular soup made with collard green), popular music, small toy hammers, colorfull hot air paper ballons and lots of fireworks on the Douro river!

Do you think it makes no sense? So visit Porto on the night of June 23rd and you will never forget the date :-)

Well, this is a small post to wish a great São João to everyone! I'm not in Porto, but there will be sardines tonight here! :-P

June 4th 2011

Yes, I'm alive! Very much alive! Don't worry, I wasn't caught by a tsunami, an earthquake or a volcano! :-P

This blog has been sleepy lately, but not its author! ahah I like to be busy, but in the past few months I've been super busy.
It's sad to realize I haven't been updating my posts for 2 months! :-S Time really flies when you're having fun! ahah

I've been doing more or less the same, flying, driving, hiking ... travelling around.
This Year of the Rabbit has been having a charged agenda... but not overcharged! ahah

I took this special date, June 4th, to update this blog with an entry directy from my hometown, Porto.

Let's see if I'll post more often, or else one day someone will call the police to report my disappearing! ahahah

Happy Holidays from Porto

I interrupt my unusual blog posts to wish my friends and readers Merry Christmas!

I leave you with this postcard from the best city in world. As you can see, even Santa Claus loves this! ;-)

Merry Christmas!

Live from the best city of the world, I wish you all blah, blah, blah, blah and happy christmas!

The city is quiet this morning, everyone is still sleeping and resting after celebrating christmas' eve.
So I've decided to take my camera and walk around town on this cold Christmas morning.

And, in case you still don't know, the best city of the world is Porto ;-)

Ho, ho, ho!

ps: do you know why Santa Claus says "ho, ho, ho!" and pirates say "yo, ho, ho!"? Me neither!

Happy Saint John!

Last night was the longest and happiest night in Porto, my dear hometown! It's was Saint John's eve, when hundreds of people invade the streets to have fun, to dance, to laugh and to watch the midnight fireworks.

Like any portuguese event, popular festivity or celebration there's always a typical dish to go along with! For Saint John's it's the sardine the "royal" meal. And we can say really "royal" because the sardine's price go up, up and up!
Sardines are grilled, and they go great with red or green peppers and boiled potatoes. You can eat them on a plate, or, my favourite, to eat the sardines on a slice of "broa" (a typical portuguese cornbread)
There is one typical soup that's very popular this day, the "caldo verde" (or green soup).
And to drink? Red wine, of course!

Besides gastronomy, there are cultural events like the "rusgas" (a popular march), the Rabelos boat race (typical boats once used to navigate on the Douro River) and the "cascatas" (typical outdoor decoration).

Ah, there's also the traditional "manjericos" (a plant) and I couldn't finish this long list without mentioning the very popular and very typical "martelo de São João", the plastic toy hammers which people use to friendly hit each other :-)

I wasn't in Porto this night, but I had to prepare the typical meal! ;-)

ps: how many times did I write "typical" today? eheh

Next stop: Porto

Every year it arrives that special time when people join their families in their homelands. Some of them more far than others.
I'm lucky because I'm only 2 hours away by plane, so I don't have no excuses to skip Christmas with my family! eheh

So my next stop will be the world's most beautiful city: Porto (or Oporto, if you're english! eheh). This award was given after a competing voting selection, and it was up the jury to decide... that means me! :-P

I'll try to take this opportunity to show you my city. The monuments, the iconic buildings, the food, and the most important and best part of Porto: the people :-)

Now let me get ready for real cold! eheh It's true Paris is cold in winter, but it's a dry weather. In Porto the temperature also drops, but there are some nasty winds coming from the Atlantic ocean.
I'm getting a cold just thinking of it! eheheh

Congratulations FC Porto!

We are the tri-champions! :P Last night the FC Porto soccer team won the portuguese championship. The third consecutive championship! Hooray! :)
Plus, FC Porto is the first champion in Europe for this season! Hooray hooray! :)

Even if I wasn't there, at the world's most beautiful city of Porto (or Oporto if you prefer), I was able to watch the decisive match on TV. And with good soccer matches I always have good snacks to follow up with! :P
A crowded stadium, painted in blue and white, where everyone was expecting a good game, which was going to decide the winner of the portuguese championship.

The final result of 6-0 was the "cherry on the top" of a great night. I only missed the party after the match around the stadium and all over Porto city.

There are still 5 matches until the end of the season, and we're still on the Portuguese Cup... but unfortunately we were knocked out from the Champions League. Better luck next year!

Congratulations FC Porto... and we'll see each other again soon!

Coming up next: Euro Cup 2008! Go Portugal! ;)

Sport is bad for health

I disagree with those who say sport is recommended for our health. But I think I've just lost aeound 5 years of my life while watching the football match beetween FC Porto and FC Schalke 04, for the UEFA Champions League.

Of course I was supporting my hometown team, FC Porto... and it was very very long and "painful" match, which was decided on penalties shoot-out!

I shouted, I jumped, I cursed, I yelled... but my long-distance support was not enough to help! But I think my neighbours didn't enjoy "the noise"! eheheh

FC Porto played well, but tonight wasn't our lucky night... but it was insane the opportunities we've missed (yes, I say we because I always think of myself as the 12th player! eheh)

Now it's to sleep... I hope I won't have more nightmares!

Força Porto!