Great expectations - Silves Medieval Fair

Everyone I had talked to spoke highly of the medieval fair at Silves, so I had to see for myself. Here are some of the photos I took.

 The streets were lined with stalls.

 

There was music and dance at the main door of the cathedral. 

It's a beautiful building!

Behind the cathedral there were more stalls and more eating areas.

Hmmm? Did they have stainless steel in the Middle Ages?

I had great expectations but, having visited other fairs of this type, I was disappointed that in such a beautiful setting the atmosphere wasn't that of medieval times. It felt more like an arts and crafts fair to me. Street animation was promised in the programme, but I didn't see any. I was hoping to visit the castle but the only way to do that was to pay an extra 3 euros to see a show inside. To watch the jousting, it was another 3 euros.  The Archeology Museum was open and well worth the visit but some other exhibitions closed very early.

Having said this, I'd still recommend a visit, but be prepared to pay more than the basic entrance fee of 2 euros if you want to be entertained and wear sensible footwear because the cobbled streets are very slippery. This fair ends on the 11th of August.

May Day competition

I now know that the display along the EN 125 was the result of a competition organised by a local football club (Futebol Clube de Bias) but I still don't know which entries won. Today I am posting one of my personal favourites.

Packed and ready... to emigrate!

In the accompanying poem, the student complains of not being able to pay for a university education and reflects on emigration as the only way out.

As much as I love this country, if I was younger, I'd be packing my bags, too!

Attraction

Jake is back this week and has suggested the theme "Attraction".

Living in the Algarve means that you will see just about anything turned into a tourist attraction. Some things lose their charm when that happens, which is why I love to find things that are definitely attractions but haven't lost their spontaneity or authenticity. Those are qualities I discovered in the displays along the EN 125 on the 1st of May.

Satirical view of the Portuguese prime minister and his finance minister

Passers-by were wondering how the "prime minister" kept waving

Portuguese passers-by loved the beheaded "finance minister" and the satirical poems!

I chose to see this at lunchtime, worried about the congestion I might encounter in the afternoon. There were many foreigners already snapping away and many Portuguese, of course. I even had the chance to chat to one of the locals who had put out the display below and came out to see how passers-by were reacting to his work.

This scene was so perfectly set!

So much attention to detail!

That's all for today, but I will be posting more about this, both on here and on my Portuguese blog.

May's straw people

Celebrating the 1st of May with straw people and imagination!

This is just one of the many straw people you could find today along the EN125 road between Marim and Alfandanga (near Olhão). There is a poem, too.

This one is a rant about waiting at the hairdresser's.

Whatever next?!

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"

Porto and a road with a view, or two

The trains weren't running but I encountered other means of transport.

I passed this quaint thing on Clerigos street. It caters for tourists.

 

There are yellow and red double-decker buses. If I didn't have my little dog with me I would have gone on at least one of their tours.

Some interesting sculptures:

I had to wait to get a shot of this newspaper seller ("ardino") because lots of tourist couples were taking turns having their picture taken with this guy. And I took a fancy to this angel:

This is what I had with my coffee - it's a "broa de mel", a rich honey sweetbread.  It was so good and fresh, that I asked the waitress to let me photograph one.

This is the "Passeio dos Prazeres", with the garden below:

 

It's a pity they had to put the dumpsters right next to the sign!

And just a few metres from where I had left the car, I found this beautiful old fountain :

This is the Arrabida Bridge ("Ponte da Arrábida"). I took it to get in and out of the city.

A road with a view

Then I decided to check out the views from the other side of the river, travelling on another road with a view:

That bit of green is the garden surrounding the Rosa Mota Pavilion ("Pavilhão rosa Mota").

This used to be the customs building, now a congress centre and museum,

You can just see the Serra do Pilar Monastery and the top of the steel Luís I Bridge ("Ponte de D. Luís").

If I saw all this in a few hours, imagine what you could do in a weekend!

Related posts:
I'm the great pretender tourist
Uma turista no Porto - 1

You may also like to visit:
Porto and the Gaia Wine lodges
Porto and the north

Porto - the city