A Portuguese Love

Hello friends and Zazzlers! These past two weeks went pretty fast. I went up north where fun is annually guaranteed for a couple of days and most especially from the 23 to the 24th. It's São João, one of the biggest street festivals in Europe ! The festival of São João is celebrated in several Portuguese cities-in the city where I live, Figueira da Foz, in Braga, where I lived all my childhood, and in Porto. ( And maybe in several others!) In these three cities, it’s a local holiday. Brazil, Quebec, and Newfoundland also celebrate it. São João takes place on the night of June 23 and it’s Porto’s most important celebration. This is a big street party where you can find a mix of all ages, from elderly couples to young children. For me, it’s a time to get together with friends I have at Oporto and have great fun. I love everything about this festival - the simple but tasty food, the fun walk through the streets towards Ribeira hitting strangers' heads with the hammer, the buyi...

These are just a few photos of my small TV that I hardly ever watch. But I was online this morning and read that the ceremonies of June 10, Portugal's Day in the city of Guarda were interrupted because the President fainted during his speech. So I turned it on and took some quick photos to show you what went on this morning at military celebrations at the city of Guarda. Portugal Day or, in the Portuguese language, Dia de Portugal, de Camões e das Comunidades Portuguesas (Day of Portugal, Camões, and the Portuguese Communities), is today. The date commemorates the death of national literary icon Luís de Camões on 10 June 1580. That's the way it's also known as Camões Day, His birth date is unknown so we remember and celebrate the big poet on his death date. This is a national holiday. Usually, there's a mix of cultural celebrations, sports events may be, and official celebrations that often include military parades. Every year I think that nothing sp...

Look who's on Sports Illustrated cover! It seems they have 4 different covers available. The magazine dedicated a special edition to Brazil's FIFA world cup event. Lionel Messi (Argentina), Luis Alberto Suárez (Uruguay) and Clint Dempsey (USA's national team captain) are the other choices. Yes, I know. I said I would not write about football. But this isn't football. It's just kind of celebrity gossip, LOL! Read all about it here .

The 2014 FIFA World Cup will be the 20th FIFA World Cup. It's scheduled to take place in Brazil from 12 June to 13 July 2014. Cristiano Ronaldo's four goals over two legs in their play-off match against Sweden booked Portugal's place in Brazil. Twelve cities are hosting matches: Belo Horizonte, Brasilia, Cuiaba, Curitiba, Fortaleza, Manaus, Natal, Porto Alegre, Recife, Salvador, São Paulo, and Rio de Janeiro, where the final will be played at the rebuilt Estádio Mário Filho, better known as the Maracanã. I am not a football enthusiast but sometimes is difficult to escape the phenomenon. I don't have an opinion about the Portuguese team. Is it a strong one? With Ronaldo in our team, the sky's the limit. But football is about a team, not a single player. Also, I have the idea that we're in a very, very tricky group. And now, for some fun here are some photos of the footballers and Cavaco Silva, the Portuguese President. Someone played with Raúl Meireles beard an...