Three years ago...

I started this blog!

To mark the occasion I leave you with a photo that has absolutely nothing to do with the title of my blog, but it's of a place I love to visit. It's called Torreira and it's on the Aveiro Lagoon.

Wildflowers near Aveiro

Whenever I can I take a drive along the Aveiro Lagoon (Ria de Aveiro, in Portuguese). At Easter its banks were looking very colourful, even on a rather grey day.

Cee's Fun Foto Challenge - Water

Water, winter, sea, ice, storms, rain, steam, sound, mist, acid. salt, time, pressure, moon, mirror, snow, frost, sugar... hmm, so much to work with - where to start?

OK, I love water and the sea so I've got lots of photos of these two subjects.

The Arade River passing through Silves

The Aveiro Lagoon at Torreira

A winter sea view at Torreira beach, Aveiro

Now, when it comes to winter, I have to tell you it is my least favourite season of the year but it does make for some spectacular shots of snow and ice. In Portugal we don't have much of that so I have to settle for grey, misty mornings.

Very grey and misty - another part of the Aveiro Lagoon

The Arade River - Silves (again)

And now something on a much smaller scale - my godson's pond:

The fish were in hiding!

To visit more entries for this challenge, click on the image.

Cee's new blog url updated on 7th November 2013.

Architecture

For this theme I have chosen examples from different regions of Portugal.

From north to south...

In Arouca, granite is a common building material.

Traditional house in Arouca, district of Aveiro

Granite again - Arouca

In the fishing town of Torreira, stripes and colour are traditional.

Fishing village of Torreira, district of Aveiro

In the posh town of Praia da Granja, these pretty houses are set amongst ornate mansions of the early 20th century.

Some of the smaller houses of Praia de Granja

And in the Algarve, ceramic tiles and ornate trimmings are common in older houses. 

Tiled house in Castro Marim

Ornate trimmings, Algoz

Which do you prefer?

Visit Jake's challenge for many more takes on architecture.

Favourite Spots

Favourite Spot is Jake's suggestion for this week's Sunday Post but I couldn't choose just one favourite spot, so here are three:

My favourite corner of the garden

I love having breakfast or tea with this view before me or lying on a sun lounger under the orange tree.

 My favourite beach

This is a great spot to swim and sunbathe or to go for a relaxing walk at low tide.

The Aveiro Lagoon

This is the view from the coffee shop I like to stop at when I'm up north. I have to confess that I have better photos of the lagoon but I can't find them at the moment. This one was taken around Easter on a cloudy day.

To join in the challenge or see other bloggers' entries,  visit Jake's Sunday Post.

Activities galore at the Medieval Journey

As I said in a previous post, there were many activities for visitors in 20 different areas: at the castle, along the way to the castle, at the bottom of the hill, by the stream and along some of the city streets. 

Here are some photos to give you an idea of some of the things you could do.

 

• You could watch strange contraptions go by...

 

•  You could go for rides...

• You could see the exhibits...

• You could visit the many stalls...

 

   Below is the Moroccan 

   section (always crowded).

 

• You could try you hand at making paper in the old-fashioned way at the "Paper Museum".

 

• You could try to hit the target using a bow and arrow.

 
 

• You could try scaling the castle walls.

 
 

• You could try using this bridge (children)...

        

     ...or this one (adults).

Hunger and thirst would be sure to hit everyone at some time, so there was an enormous food "court"...

Suggestive, isn't it?

• You could also visit the many cafes along the streets...

 

• You could dress up as king or queen and have your picture taken on a "royal set".

 
 

• And you could even have your palm read by "gypsies" at the "Pond of Spells"!

I really recommend you visit the official site (it's in Portuguese, Spanish and English) because it is fantastic - it has so much that I haven't even mentioned!

Related posts:

Medieval Journey - Procession

Top Medieval Journey in Portugal - to the castle!

Medieval Journey - Procession

The Medieval Journey at Santa Maria da Feira lasted 10 days!

On the last day I was there for the procession, which took place in the afternoon. I have made a slideshow of some of the many photos I took. I hope you like the result.

This was a first for me as I had never uploaded anything onto YouTube before. Thanks to my blogging, I have learnt something new. (I hope I got everything working properly.)

If you'd like to know something about the activities visitors could participate in, please come back next week.

Related post: Top Medieval Journey in Portugal - to the Castle

Top Medieval Journey in Portugal - to the castle

Several towns in Portugal organise medieval fairs, mainly between March and December. These fairs usually portray historical events, daily life, and arts and crafts of people in the Middle Ages. I am going to tell you about the last afternoon of the Medieval Journey organised by the town of Santa da Maria da Feira, in the district of Aveiro. Please note that the locals don't call it a medieval fair. I was immediately corrected when I was discussing it as such with friends. (Oops!) Remember, this one is a Medieval Journey, and what a journey it is!

There are many activities for visitors in 20 different areas: at the castle, along the way to the castle, at the bottom of the hill, by the stream and along some of the city streets. The ticket that covered all the days of the Journey cost 3€ or you could spend 2€ for a day ticket but you would miss much of the fun. I was only in the area on the last day so I missed most of the programme!

At the end of the procession (on the last day), the crowds were getting to me (I'm not a fan of crowds). I hadn't been to the castle, so I thought I'd go there hoping the crowds wouldn't be so "bad" later. (How wrong I was!)

View from the church steps

Santa Maria da Feira's church

I took the photo below from the church steps. The procession had just ended.

It had come from that narrow street on the right. Then it had taken the winding cobbled road up to the castle.

Up and up along the winding road... Along the way there is a garden where wedding parties like to have photos taken by this large pond called "Lago dos Feitiços" (Pond of Spells).

On my way up to the castle, I came across many of the participants in the procession, as they came back down from the castle and dispersed.

 My first view of the castle:

Here is a close-up of someone trying to scale the castle walls.

Added to the castle in the 17th century, this white building is the Baroque chapel and its annex.

According to Wikipedia, the castle's "plan is irregular oval, with protected entranceway, guarded by a barbican with moat and four addorsed rectangular watchtowers. On its southeastern corner are portions of a minor bastion, while opposite it, in the northwest is the hexagonal Baroque chapel. The walls, with small battlements, are circled by a parapet of large stone, with cruciform battlements and embrasures."

You can see what makes it different from other castles in Portugal - the 4 watchtowers. 

The sun was going down by this time and I had to find my way back to where I had parked the car. The crowds had not diminished - they were getting ready for the evening's entertainment!

Next, you may like to read about the actual Medieval Procession. That will be in next week's post, if my internet connection doesn't let me down.

For a different view of the castle, have a look at "From a Distance"

From a distance

Santa Maria da Feira Castle, from a distance

I was lucky enough to visit the medieval fair at Santa Maria da Feira, but there were so many visitors there on the last day that I had to park really far away from the castle.

This is the first shot I took as I walked towards the centre of the town and it's my entry for Jake's Sunday post challenge "From a distance".

To join in or see the other entries, visit Jake's post.

If you like medieval fairs, you may like to return soon, as I will be posting pictures of the fair that many consider the best in Portugal!

Solid

Bridge over the Aveiro Lagoon (Ria de Aveiro)

"SOLID means : Stable, sturdy, firm, established, strong, durable, rigid, substantial, strong, ..." - so goes Jake's prompt for our Sunday post this time.

I believe this bridge has all of these qualities and is also a very elegant structure, in my opinion.

It makes it possible to travel from the north bank of the lagoon (left) to the south bank without taking the long way round.

Modern structure that livens up the roundabout at the foot of the bridge

Roundabouts have been replacing traffic lights and junctions in recent years. There are many, many roundabouts now all over Portugal - some big, some grand, some in ridiculous places and some too small for trucks to negotiate them comfortably. It is also the custom to erect a sculpture or some sort of decoration in the middle of each roundabout, which can be quite useful  when giving directions. 

At the foot of this bridge (north bank) we have a roundabout with a modern, solid monument, parts of which are covered by decorative ceramic panels.

The bridge from another angle - good spot for fishing

The area around the Aveiro Lagoon (Ria de Aveiro) is another of my favourite places and I promise to write more about it in the near future.

 

If you'd like to see more interpretations on this theme, just pop over to Jake's blog.