Tag: Porto Portugal
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Festival Sao Joao
The Saint and Sardine Mashup Also music, dancing, feasting, Super Bock, parades, more music, more Super Bock, more dancing, more music, more Super Bock, and fireworks. Festival Sao Joao is a week-long festival that originated as a pagan celebration in the 14th century. It was repurposed by the Catholic Church as a festival for St.…
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Questions You Have Asked, Part 2
Have you met people? Have you made some friends? It’s easy to meet fellow expats here. There are multiple Facebook groups sharing information, events, and experiences. I joined a group called International Womens Chat. We exchange information on WhatsApp (the must-have app in Europe, everyone uses it). This is an amazing group, hailing from many…
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Questions You Have Asked, Part 1
What do you do all day? I’m asked this question a lot, and I’m a little nonplussed as to how to answer. Did you ever have a busy day, but when someone asked what you did, you couldn’t really say? You just know you were busy. I could tell you about the hours spent going…
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Stop That Thief!
Porto is considering making it illegal to feed seagulls. They are noisy, messy, wily thieves. I was having lunch by the river in Ribeira when two gulls swooped in and stole cod pastries right off my plate, swift as a hawk on a dove, without so much as a “Pardon me, have you finished yet?”…
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Street Art and Color
Color Everywhere To all my readers, thanks for your encouragement and feedback! Some of you have mentioned that you are having trouble subscribing. If you add your email below, you should receive a confirmation email in your inbox. Check your spam/junk folder if you do not see it. It is not necessary to create a…
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APPROVED
Just as I was publishing the December update earlier this week, an email from the Portuguese Consulate arrived: “We inform that your visa was approved and is now ready to be issued, you can send us your passport by mail so we can stamp the visa and mail it back to you as soon as…
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Bolhao Market
The famous Bolhão Market is an open-air market that covers an entire city block. It’s an easy 5-minute walk from my apartment. Over 100 years old, it just reopened in September after a complete renovation. More than 600,000 visitors strolled through in September alone. I go here several times a week for the outstanding fresh…
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Esquires Coffee, Porto
The Best Way to Begin Your Day in Porto The day is quickly approaching for my return to the US to complete my long-term visa application. In this blog, I’m bidding “See you when I return” to the team at Esquires Coffee. I was surprised to learn that it’s a franchise, because it doesn’t feel…
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Ribeira: On the Edge of the Douro
The image above is a view from Ribeira across the river to Vila Nova de Gaia, where the famous port wineries are located. Here’s another video attempt, from my walk down in the Ribeira district. Ribeira is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Happy Halloween
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October Update
Back to Porto, Moving In Wow, it’s almost a month since my last post from Figueira da Foz. A lot and not much has happened. I came back to Porto on Saturday, October 1, the day I was told I would be given keys to my apartment, even though the contract was not yet signed.…
Mamie Moves to Portugal 