A Portuguese Love

“Portugal – The beauty of simplicity” won Silver Medal at The 55th World Film Awards 2012 awards ceremony for the Short Film category for the promotional film. The video was a production of Turismo de Portugal. The Jury honored the World’s Best TV Programs & Films and awarded three Grand Trophies while only 2 silvers were awarded this year in the Short Film Category. This festival received entries from forty countries around the globe. All winning entries were selected by a Grand Jury made up of award-winning Television and Film professionals. The film can be downloaded  here .

Video Graduation movie at Willem de Kooning Academie, Rotterdam. The unofficial symbol of Portugal is the brightly colored Galo de Barcelos - Barcelos Rooster. This animation tells the story of the legend.

Last week I read shocking news in the newspaper. A young Danish woman asked for a ride and was raped. It happened in Rio Maior maybe 80km from my town. Although not able to speak Portuguese she asked for help in English at the gas station. She came to Portugal with a group of friends and settled in Oporto. Then the 24-year-old woman decided to leave her friends and discover the country by herself. She wanted to get to Lisbon. At Leiria, she asked for a ride from a truck driver. Not far from Leiria the truck driver stopped the truck in a desert place and threatened her with a screwdriver and then raped her. In resisting him she was attacked on the head, forehead, and neck. The attacker then dropped her on the roadside. She was clever and took the license plate number so the police were able to identify and arrest him. The man lives in Rio Maior and is married. He will be presented to a judge soon and punished. These situations are infrequent but do happen in Portugal. From time to t...

António Serginho Photo Hello friends and readers.  I’ve been too busy to write anything but today I bring to this blog an important story. Sure that you already know that I love Oporto city and its people. I have already shared with you some photos of the city and you can expect some more in the future. Last year in June I spent some days at Oporto during St. John’s Festival. It’s traditional to celebrate it on the streets with dancing, music, eating sardines, and lighting paper balloons or jumping bonfires. I attended Fontinha’s St. John's street party. It was a collective party. People were invited to bring food to share. There was already music and typical decoration hanging when I arrived at the scene with my friends. When we left the place was full of people from all social backgrounds and ages - babies, children, youngsters, adults, and seniors. From the windows of the surrounding buildings, some of the Fontinha quarter inhabitants watched us and waved to us. It was cool....

Vintage Easter Bunny Easter Egg Flowers Easter Holiday Card by kinhinputainwelte Easter - Some Bunny Loves You Holiday Card by steelmoment Vintage Bunny. Easter Cards by oldandclassic Personalized Happy Easter Card by Art_By_Seema SIlly Golden Retriever dog with Easter Bunny ears Holiday Card by freya18801 Egg Puns Holiday Card by Mark_Ewbie_Art Golden Retriever Easter Bunny Holiday Card by khpstore Vintage Easter Bunny Postcard by golden_oldies Happy Easter Card to My Granddaughter by envisager Easter Blessings Rose Banner Chalkboard | Easter Holiday Postcard by NBpaperco

As I told you previously I went to visit NRP Sagres on the weekend. I had great expectations about this ship and they were totally fulfilled. I visited Sagres during the night with my sister and nephew and then in the morning, just by myself. It's amazing to watch the ship with all 6000 lights up - it takes 2 hours and a half to put all the cables and lights one by one! But by night there were too many visitors for my taste. The next morning I returned and then I was able to watch every detail of the ship the way I wanted and even asked the crew all sorts of questions. Sagres has sailed across the world and will continue to do it. If you have the chance to visit it, don't miss the opportunity. It's a beautiful ship. I also watched her going up the river and then going away to the sea in her return to Lisbon. It was quite a show. Usually, Figueira da Foz is very windy but on Sunday morning there was no wind at all, and when she left neither! So I did not have ...

It's Easter time. In many countries, it is traditional to eat almonds at this time of the year. The small fruit is often covered with colored sugar or chocolate. We eat those almonds too. But in Portugal, there is a special kind of almonds that I believe are unique in the world. They are called Bonjour Almonds and their price is high, 36 euros per Kilo. It's a small luxury. That small amount you see above cost me more than 5 euros. In fact, they are not exactly almonds, they are dragees. You can buy these anytime of the year in a little store at Oporto. It's called Arcádia. The small and traditional shop is the visible face of Arcádia, the candy factory. Skillful hands create delicious treats, almonds, and chocolates. Margarida Bastos, along with his brother, John Bastos, manages the Arcadia. The grandfather of Margaret and John opened the Arcadia in 1933 and Bonjour Almonds were inspired by a recipe that he has brought from Paris. Inside these almonds, there aren't ...