Holidays memories - V (Final)

And after those wonderful days we went to Spain. This time to Vigo. Remember this picture of Vigo by night?

There we ate a lot of nice things, including the chocolate crepe which picture I posted already some days ago and a lot of the amazing spanish food.

Here is an example of the many – so many – dishes we tasted in the days we were there.

And from Vigo we went to Santiago de Compostela.

Such nice city. I liked it even more then Vigo. Much more. My husband went there already some years ago, including to the Cathedral.

The town is a world heritage site. The cathedral is amazing. I felt such a deep feeling, knowing that Saint James is there, in that place.

It was full of people, everywhere. It is a very, very nice place.

A traditional cake of Santiago de Compostela.
And from there we came to Vigo again and then to Portugal.

Our holidays ended but we can’t forget all that happiness we felt, visiting such wonderful places, all together.

View from Oporto, by train, in movement.

We usualy spend our holidays in Madeira Island but we have my husband full time with us only some days because he has some work there. Even so is good but this time was really special because we were together all day long for days and days.

Lisbon, Estação do Oriente (Orient Station)
And my husband says he prefers that way too, being with us all the time and visiting such beautiful and important places.

Autumn is here !

Thanks be to God.
Summer is gone.
Autumn and Winter are so much better then Spring and Summer.
This summer was quite easy, really, nothing compared with the previous ones that made me feel in Purgatory. If all summers would be like the one that ended (it feels good to say ended) I wouldn't mind so much to have a summer every year.
Today, when my big girl reminded me that today begins Autumn I suddely was so happy. It means summer is gone... - I thought to myself.
Such a relief.
Welcome Autumn!

Holidays memories - IV

After so many church visiting I thought my husband could be a bit tired but, praise the good Lord, he wasn’t. He asked me if I wanted to go next Sunday to mass at Sameiro Sanctuary ! How happy I was!
And we went.

See how beautiful it is.

After going to Sameiro we came back to Braga. Such wonderful days and nights. Good restaurants, nice gardens, beautiful architecture. Wonderful time we had.

Holidays memories - III

Here I am again.

One garden we went to visit in Braga was the Gardens and Palace of the Biscaínhos.

In this one we can see 3 of my children. The other one is not in the picture but she is in the garden.

It was in the day after that visist that we went to Bom Jesus.
When my husband said we would go to Bom Jesus next morning, I was so happy. Such a wonderful place: the park, the garden and the church.

And on the day after we went to Tibães Monastery.

Here are my girls on a lane at Tibães.

We had a wonderful time. We made a picnic there and then visisted the gardens and convent, including the church.

Did you see, some post ago, a picture of an hydrangea with rain drops? It’s from that garden.

Wonderful place, as everything around Braga.
Just look at the inside of this church.

See you tomorow for the final post about our holidays.
I think some of you are maybe tired of that kind of posts, but I feel I must do it so it would be recorded.
How could I just ignore sunch a wonderful time I had with my husband and children?
And in such beautiful places.

Holidays memories - II

Our days in Luso – and Bussaco – were wonderful. Plenty of days of good air, wonderful landscapes and amazing leitão which is a culinary speciality from the region, not only Luso and surroundings but also from Coimbra, the place where my grandmother was born, she and all my family – the one from that side, the side of my family most dear to me, the side of my grandmother.

Well, all happy, there we went to take the train again and heading to Braga, in the North of the country.
That is a wonderful place. I shall never tire to praise the beauty of that ancient city, once a roman town. It had an important role in the begining of Christianity. There was more then one Council of Braga .
Some years ago my husband was there to attend a conference and went to look for a nice hotel to take us there when we could go. He saw one that he liked very much for the appearence and for the location. It was in the middle of the historic center. So we went there and when we realized that was such a nice hotel with wonderfull views, he went to book for more days. And in good time he went because in the day after all the hotel was full. We heard a frensh man opening the door of his room for the first time and says:
Oh, mais c’est magnifique! C’est magnifique !
It was fun.

Here is the view from one of our room windows, seeing in the distance the Bom Jesus (Good Jesus).
You can see the same view here but in the rain.

The Bom Jesus

( 3 of my children here).

(The way to go up to Bom Jesus, otherwise you must go on foot.)

More to follow...

Missing England

If somebody is reading my blog, he must have realized the amount of english (british) blogs I've been adding to my blog list.
The reason why I'm doing this is:

1. I do like british blogs;
2. I'm crazy for England;
3. I do miss going there;
4. When I look at british blogs I feel a bit there.

When the Autumn cames here, I am homesick of England.
First time I went there, it was October and I was just married. It was our honeymoon. Almost twenty years ago.
We went to England and to Paris.
It was then that I discovered England. Before that I liked it already but I thought that all that loveliness only could exist in movies. When I arrived there it was love at the first site. And I'm still in love. For ever.

The picture above shows a lot of drinking chocolate I brought last time I went there, at Christmas time. After that, my husband needed to go there and came full of drinking chocolate too, for me.
England and chocolate.
Two passions I have.

Note: Please, the non british blogs don't be ofended because I like you all.
Update: I couldn't resist and added some americans too.