Two ‘words’:

Wii

iPod

Technology… Love it!!!

EDIT – i-mail/i-mode

30 wasn’t that bad, but 31 really feels… I don’t know…Serious? Adult? Responsible?

Nah!!! Still the same

No comments

Taken from BBC website

Ah pois! A menina foi ver um joginho de criquet (um dia hei-de perceber as regras, ou talvez não) ao solinho e apanhou um escaldãozinho no ombrinho!!

A culpa é da merda de tempo neste pais! Mesmo que venha o sol, ou tá vento ou um frio de rachar, ou tudo ao mesmo tempo. E isto é quando não tá a chover, vento e um frio de rachar.

A menina já nao vê o sol há tanto tempo que se esqueceu que queima! Ah pois é!

Estúpida! O que vale é que não é muito grave, mas chateia-me! Chateia-me mesmo!

As the ones who know me personally already know and the others may assume from the previous post, I received very bad news when I was in Scotland. For that reason I was not in the mood of transmitting the excitement I felt and how much I loved the city up until Friday. To be honest, I’m still not in the mood and this post won’t have the same tone as it would have. However, I think Edinburgh deserves a few words and I must put the memories of Friday aside for a moment.

In a word: Fantastic!

The opposite of Milton Keynes: every building has history, every corner has something to it, shops and cafes and restaurants everywhere. Beautiful! Although the weather could be better…

I didn’t take many pictures of the city. The few I took you can see here.

These show the two things I loved the most. The first, how they have weird entrance doors between the buildings and not in the centre as we would expect. The second shows the reason why we got lost: what you think is a door to a building or patio is actually a street!

Absolutely gorgeous!

Another thing I experienced was a traditional food, the Haggis which various parts of the lamb cooked in the sheep’s stomach. Delicious! Very much to my taste!

We also did some touristy things. Jemma and I went to a ghost tour. It wasn’t very scary but it was interesting to walk around the vaults and to hear some cool stories

We have only seen the castle from the outside, no time for a visit. The city is built on the crater of an extinct volcano and the castle is built on the top of a beautiful piece of basalt! Being a geologist, this interested me a bit more than the castle itself

For the geologists and for general knowledge of one of the most famous places in Edinburgh check Arthur’s seat . Again beautiful!

We also had a banquet in the science centre. It’s called Our Dynamic Earth and it is fantastic. Lots of cool things for the kids (and the adults )

Lots to see! Gorgeous city and I didn’t even have problems with the accent. On the contrary, I found it really cool!

It certainly deserves another visit! But some time from now, when things cool down and if they work out for the best.

There are situations in life that put everything into perspective. Everything else is of small importance. You even become religious to give you strength and you pray for your loved ones.

Situations where you feel useless, where there is nothing you can do. And all you can think is the ones you cannot help.

All I can do is pray and send my strength and hope with all my heart that everything will be ok.

Força Maria! Muita força! Vence!

The only country I haven’t visited in the United Kingdom is Scotland. But that is about to change

About 12 years ago I went on a trip to Republic of Ireland. It was the first time I left Portugal and I was going to visit a country I have always loved even without being there. On our way there we stopped at a few cities in England (including London) and Wales. Ireland was all I expected and more. I could really feel at home there. After the Republic of Ireland we went to Northern Ireland (very different from Rep. Ireland, the atmosphere was a bit tense at the time) and finally back to Portugal. The trip didn’t include Scotland

Although I’ve been to Wales again this year (will post about it at some point) and I’m planning to go to Ireland again, I still haven’t had the chance to know Scotland.

Fortunately, I will attend a conference this week in Edinburgh!! I’m leaving tomorrow afternoon and coming back on Friday. Hopefully there will be some time to get to know the city. I’m told it’s lovely! I bet it will be freezing though
I’ll try to remember to take some pictures and post them

EDIT: I hope I don’t get lost… I really have some difficulties in understanding some Scottish accents

Yesterday, 10th June, was Portugal day! It also mark the death of Luis de Camoes, the poet who wrote an epic celebrating the Portuguese discoveries in the 16th century, and it’s the day of the Portuguese comunities around the world! Special day! You can see more here

and daily in the last 3 weeks: ‘Ok, we’ll sort it out for you and give you a call back today‘

My phone never rang. Not ONCE!!!

If you want something done, do it yourself!

When someone comes to your house to fix something (electricians, gas people, painters, etc) it is polite, if not mandatory, to offer them:

In England-A drink, i. e., tea or coffee and/or some biscuits.

In Portugal-You fill your fridge with beer or take them to the nearest cafe on their break and buy them some.

(After 3 weeks of chasing the estate agency and desperation we finnaly have our boiler fixed!)