A Caldeira in its Natural Environment
Join me on my 4 month journey in my ancestral homeland
Okay, yes, the title is definitely an over-exaggeration. There have been problems since I’ve gotten here. For example, in just the past week, our apartment had a gas leak that resulted in our gas being turned off for two days (meaning no hot water and stove access), our sink wouldn’t drain (we fixed it ourselves)…
I cannot believe it! It has now been 7-and-a-half weeks since I made Lisbon my temporary home. Those weeks have been filled with too many new adventures to remember (see my upcoming blog post for a list of my favorites). Making the trek to an entirely different side of the world has been more than…
There are so many words I could use to describe last weekend, spent in Portugal’s second city, Porto. Breathtaking. Idyllic. Also: Inundated. Unimpressed. Porto presented two sides to me this weekend. Its Jekyll: A Utopian town of red roofs stacked in tiers on the steep hillsides above the peaceful Douro River, where its residents sip…
Today, I will take you into a part of Lisbon that is one of its best kept secrets. Hence the title of this post, clandestino, which (if it isn’t obvious enough) means secret in Portuguese. But, it is in fact a necessity that this secret remain so. If this secret were to get out, it…
Football is often considered the world’s sport (and no, I’m not talking about American football, which will never have the impact real football has on the world). Kids around the world try to learn how to keep the ball up at a young age, and then mature to nutmegs and bicycle kicks. Those who are…
Portugal has been an amazingly beautiful country. It has everything one can ask for: islands, beaches, architecture, sunny weather, etc. However, there is one drawback in all of this: I still have to go to school. It is called study abroad for a reason. I have focused intensively on the “abroad” part of the phrase,…
Another weekend comes, another trip happens. My study abroad program, API, has done all of us a service by including excursions into our cost of attendance. Last week, it was the beautiful Algarve, with its shadowed history and sunny beaches. They also take us on trips within the city, such as a cruise on the…
Okay y’all. I have a task for you. Yes, I’m asking you (!!!) to do something other than read my musings. We are going to use a different one of the 5 senses today. The photos? They won’t be of anything I write about today. “No visuals you say? You’re a crazy lad!” I know,…
The Algarve, Portugal’s southernmost region, is known for its Atlantic beaches and golf resorts. Whitewashed fishing villages on low cliffs overlooking sandy coves were transformed in the 1960s, and now its central coast between Lagos and Faro is lined with villas, hotels, bars and restaurants. The only thing Wikipedia is forgetting is the insanely high…