Portugal

Hello, everybody.

We back and we berrer. New Energy and new motivation.Your girl is officially back, baby. Consistency is the key, and I have been lacking. lool

 In this blogpost, I will be talking about my experience in Portugal. I will visualize the story by adding different pictures into the paragaphs. Pictures have their own way of telling stories.

Yes, your girl took all these pictures herself.

23.03.2019

I have never been to Portugal before. Their lifestyle is different compared to the one in England. However, already coming from a European country, the lifestyle in Portugal did not really seem to surprise me. For example, shops not opening on Sundays or till late in the night, hella  people starring at you when they see a bunch foreigners, etc. I’m already used to standing out lmao.

Let me start by saying I almost missed my flight. 5am in the morning and my alarm decided to bail on me. Anyway, my God is greater. I still made it on time to the coach, even tho the driver literally had to come pick me up in front of my house. #luckyme

I have never panicked this much in my life lol. My first time travelling to a different country all by myself (without moms or pops). I have mentally been preparing myself for this trip. In that current state of my life, I just needed a break. So getting the opportunity to travel to Portugal with my college was the best escape getaway.

Escape of education as things were just stacking up and getting too much and an escape of the four walls in my room.

We lived in North Portugal; Povoa de Varzim, which only was ten minutes away from the Povoa beach. Our Area seemed very quiet, not much was going on. The girls in my room seemed quite surprised. The difference was clearly evident. In Portugal you don’t hear the ambulance van every ten minutes. They weren’t used to so much peace in a country. #cultureclash

Luckily I never had to take the bus nor train because I was always driven by car. #Queentings

Staying next to the beach was of an advantage, considering the fact that I have never been to the beach before. Bare foot standing on the sand, listening to the waves crashing on the stones and  smelling the fresh smell of ocean water wakes up a hidden feeling in your body. I loved it. I noticed that I am a beach person. I felt alive, renewed and I was able to breathe again. The waves whispering, the sun blinding your eyes and the soft sand under feet. You zone out for a split second. #powerful

Moments like this matter. It is you reconnecting with the earth. Forgetting all your sorrows, your issues and your problems.

This is an eldelry man admiring the beauty of his country. It touched me.

The weather was a mixture of chilly and warm. Hence -  no bikini pictures. #sorrynotsorry

My College and I visited like four different cities; Porto, the old city of Guimares, Braga, Vila de Conde and Palmeira de Faro. 

Porto:

The city is known for its stately bridges and porto wine production. Porto is the second largest city in Portugal after Lisbon, with a population of 1.9 million and an area of 2,395 km2.  Let me enlighten you its beauty with these pictures. Porto is a very famous place for tourisms.

Trousers

Braga:

It is the third-largest urban centre in Portugal. It is host to the oldest Portuguese archdiocese, the Archdiocese of Braga of the Catholic Church and it is the seat of the Primacy of the Spains. We had to climb up a massive hill. As for me, who told me to wear heels? All in the name of fashion.

I took my sneakers with me cuz it is not me that will fall down and break my back.

These cities were just filled with so much history that enlightens your perspectives of things. I loved the passion our tour guide used when speaking about all these historical memorials.

Vila de Conde:

Vila de Conde is another city with another story. The landmark for the vila de conde are the Monastery of Santa Clarawalls which describes the riches and the power of the city. 

Another landmark that visualise the riches of the city would be the vila de conde ship, which is a rebuild ship to demonstrate the sale trading in the 16th century. 

Old City Guimares

It’s a city that still has the remaing building from the 16thcentury; for example a castles and old paintings. Ngl (not gonna lie; slang fuer ich schwoer), when I saw that castle I felt like I’m in a casting shoot for Game Of Thrones. I  absolutely did not know how to act. #historyfreak #gamesofthronesfreak

 I captured every moment,  because being in such a historical place just demonstrates how  we humans have developed ourselves.

The food and the people:

Portugal folks eat very healthy. Every dish they have has to have salad or bread as side.They love organic ingredients like olive oil, etc. There aren’t that many fast food restaurants like in the UK but definitely more restaurants where you can get freshly cooked food.

Portugal had me shocked. We were more visiting the country side of Portugal, so there weren’t as many people of colour in the areas we were. Nevertheless, the people welcomed us with open arms. Young and old! Several old ladies tried teaching me some Portuguese haha and kids always seemed to be amazed by my hair. The people are very friendly and welcoming and even though they didn’t speak English, they tried their best to communicate with you. If it wasn’t for one specific classmate, we all would be looking at each other. Looool Would have been abit of a sticky one still.

 Travel advice: When travelling try exploring the country and the city. Don’t only go loking for the next club. You are in a different country with a different culture. Explore the city and understand the people. Understand the history of the city and let your travel spirit guide you.

Obrigado Portugal (thank you) and hopefully, I will see you again. x

I hope you guys enjoy this little travel post and stay tuned guys x

I would like to give a special thank you to the Erasmus+ organisations and our host planner Lisa for creating such remarkable trip.