movingtoportugal

A bit of fun this week. Alyson, the author of another expat blog, www.algarveblog.net , approached me to do a short interview about the Moving to Portugal blog and my life here in the Algarve. You will find my interview by visiting this link. I enjoyed answering the questions so much that I suggested we do it as a joint feature, so she agreed to answer the questions herself too, so read on for her interview!

1 Why did you start to write your blog?

I was inspired by Ben’s Moving to Portugal blog as I found this such a useful resource as we planned our own move to live here in the Algarve – it was great to find someone who had already ‘been there and done it’ and it inspired me to start my own blog. It was also a great way to keep in touch with friends, and to answer the same question we kept being asked ‘How’s it going?’ (We’re still asked that one now – and also ‘How’s the weather out there?’)

Alyson's Algarve Blog

2 Why did you choose Portugal to live?

We fell in love with the sleepy fishing village of Ferragudo about eight years ago after a last-minute unplanned holiday to the area; and five years ago we managed to finalise our plans to sell up in the UK and buy our house out here. It then took another 4  1/2 years of planning and plotting to actually move out here.

3 What do you love most about where you live?

I love the people, our neighbours are all Portuguese and so friendly, helpful and gentle. The weather, obviously, but also the peace, slower pace of life, fantastic light for photography and painting, and the great simple food.

4 Is there anything you miss about the UK?

We have friends and family there and we obviously miss them – although the diary is filling up with visitors! Sometimes I miss the range of shops we had, how easy it was to get just about anything you might need, and some food items are hard to find here. But there’s a MUCH longer list of things I don’t miss!

5 Quick choice:

Mac or PC? - PC – I love the sleek design of a Mac but have not been tempted yet!

Starter or dessert? - Dessert every time!

Early morning or late night? - Erm, neither! I’m so not a morning person, but I also like going to bed and reading too!

Air con or log fire? - We don’t have either here – but a log fire would win for me – crackling and welcoming

XFactor or Strictly Come Dancing? - Strictly every time! I love Brucie!

6 What book(s) are you reading now?

Oh I’m a very shallow reader sometimes – I love soppy romantic fiction, so my Danielle Steel books are all being devoured again having been in the loft for so long. Also loving ‘The War of Art’ by Steven Pressfield.

7 Do you have a role model or someone who has inspired you?

As a teenager growing up it was Cliff Richard! I have just started a new blog and I have posted about the artists that have inspired me - The People Who Encouraged me to Paint

8 What blogs and web-sites do you read regularly?

Jeff Goins – Mr Inspiring!

Tamara Out Loud – love her quirky take on life.

Robert Brault –  love his quotes!

9 For people new to your blog, where should they start?

Just dive in there and see what catches your eye – and maybe check out the About Us page too!

10 What is your favourite meal to order in a restaurant?

I’d have to travel for this one, I’d have Salada do Polvo (octopus salad) for a starter from the little restaurant near the beach in Burgau; rabbit stew from a little restaurant we love in Odeceixe, and then mousse de caramel from Toc Toc’s in Ferragudo.. with a nice red wine (Monte Velho is good!)

The Beach at Ferragudo

11 What were your best subjects at school, and do they relate to your work now?

P.E. English and Art – So I took a degree in sport, a teaching qualification PGCE in PE and English, and then joined the Police, working my way out and into senior education roles! Finally I am now able to concentrate on my painting and art, and I am loving every minute.

12 Do you have any advice for anyone thinking about starting their own blog?

Go for it – but have a ‘theme’ and a purpose – and consider something like Wordpress as an easy way of hosting and designing a site.

13 Where else can we find you on the web or in print – any books, articles, Facebook or Twitter account?

Just started a new blog, thethoughtpalette, as I wanted somewhere that I could write more generally – I would often hear or see something and think ‘oh I want to blog about that’ but I didn’t fit the Algarve Blog theme. You can see our art and photography on our web-site A3 Art.

14 Can you share one thing about yourself that we would never know about you from reading your blog?

I’m a huge fan of John Barrowman!

15 For people considering a move to live abroad, what would you recommend they do first?

Visit the place lots of times first – at different times of the year, not just during the ‘holiday times’ – i.e. see what it’s like in Winter! Ask lots of people lots of questions, and maybe plan to rent first, if you can, to see if you like it enough to want to live there.

16 Can you name three favourite places you would recommend people visit if they are on holiday here in the Algarve?

Ferragudo, Silves and the West Coast.

Silves, Algarve, Portugal

17 Do you have any tips or tricks for anyone who has just arrived to live here in Portugal? And is there anything you wish you had found out or discovered sooner about living out here?

Learn to slow down! Eat where the locals eat and shop where they shop. Take time to settle and don’t rush things.

And I wish I had realised how slowly the wheels of organisations can actually turn – we are still trying to get our address at the bank updated and sort out our on-line banking!

18 How’s your Portuguese and  what would you recommend for people wanting to learn the language?

Oh I wish it was better! We are not frightened to ‘have a go’ now and we have found the Portuguese are very friendly and will always try to help you – usually by speaking English which doesn’t help us learn the language! We have found the Michel Thomas CDs very good as a starting point.

19 What is your favourite:

Film? - ’What dreams may come’ – a little known Robin Williams film

Book? - ’Wind in the Willows’ – Kenneth Grahame

Album/Music? - Sugarland, John Mayer, Tricia Yearwood – there’s a long list!

Gadget? - Before I left my last job I was a real gadget girl with all the latest toys, but now I would have to say it is my camera.

20 And finally, where do you think you will be in five years’ time, and what will you be doing?

Hopefully still living here in the Algarve; I would love to be known as a professional artist, with regular exhibitions shared jointly with Dave and his photographs, and maybe to have finally written that book that is lurking inside!

Don’t forget to check out my own interview over at the Algarve Blog.

Readers interested in the Portuguese language course recommended by Alyson can find it at the link below:

Total Portuguese with the Michel Thomas Method (Michel Thomas Series)

Image Credits: joaoa, timo_w2s

Technorati Tags: algarve blog, algarve interview, living in the algarve

The Algarve is far from a sunshine paradise right now.

Summer ended with a humdinger of a wind and rainstorm on Sunday night. We were woken up throughout the night by beating rain and gales rattling the shutters. When we got up on Monday morning, the tops of some of our local palm trees had blown clean off, and when my wife stepped out onto the terrace to retrieve our soaking laundry, she ended up ankle-deep in water as debris had managed to block our drainage pipe.

Our home got off far more lightly than Faro airport, where some of the roof was damaged resulting in a number of injuries. Local news reports suggest it may be several months before the damage is fully repaired, but flights seem to now be returning to normal, after some were diverted to Lisbon and Seville earlier in the week.

Faro Airport - No longer looks quite like this

To complete the rather depressing moment when we had to pull our warm clothes from the back of the wardrobes, we both came down with coughs and colds – in my case the third round of bugs I have had in a couple of months. Frequent trips back to the UK along with visitors bringing UK germs here with them has resulted in a very irritating run of illness that I will be pleased to see the end of!

With all this in mind, I don’t have an awful lot to tell since my last post, as all we have really done is struggled through our working days, watched TV, eaten a lot of hot curries and breathed plentiful Olbas oil. So for anyone reading this and considering a life in the Algarve, be warned that sometimes it really doesn’t differ all that much from life in the UK!

Image credit: orudge

Technorati Tags: algarve summer, algarve weather, faro airport, portugal weather

As I write, I can see that it has been a full two weeks since I last posted here, and for that I apologize. It’s been a busy time. We spent the last week in the UK where we saw some friends and family, did some work, and, in my case, had a tooth extracted.

It was a bit of a whirlwind like every trip “back,” helped somewhat on this occasion by the fact we flew with British Airways. We choose our flights based primarily on lowest price and it just turned out that BA was cheaper on this occasion. Compared to our usual budget airline experience, which seems to bring out the worst in every passenger, it seemed so much more civilized. From the generous baggage allowance to the online check-in and seat allocation, the journey just seemed less of a chore than normal, and the floppy egg mayo sandwiches even sated my wife’s strange fondness for crappy airline food. Now their employees seem to have got their fondness for striking and worker militancy out of their systems, we will be sure to check their prices on each trip back.

A Civilised Flight to Portugal

Anyway, one of the reasons I have been absent from the blog for a couple of weeks is that I have been involved with a number of other writing assignments recently, which I am now going to proceed to plug shamelessly! All of these articles contain useful information about Portugal, so should hopefully be of interest and make up for my “content-free” fortnight!

First off, I have an article in this month’s (October) issue of “A Place in the Sun” magazine, exploring some of the more unspoiled areas of the East Algarve. You can get it in all good UK newsagents.

I have also produced an “Insiders Guide to Portugal” feature for Cheap Flights, a US company selling airline tickets, which you can find here.

Finally, I have taken on a weekly writing role for the Overseas Guides Company where I produce a regular newsletter about life in Portugal and issues related to buying a property here. The content of the newsletter is updated every Friday and can be found here.

Find me at OGC for Portugal

Now I’ve drawn your attention to lots more info about Portugal, I would like to quickly mention a situation that is developing over at the Expats Portugal forum. As many readers here probably know, Expats Portugal is a very popular site and a huge source of support and information both for prospective expats and those of us already living here.

Basically, the forum has ended up involved in legal action as the result of a post last year that contained a discussion about a property company. The company in question (who I won’t name here) took exception to the thread and it has all got unnecessarily unpleasant.

It is horrible to see something like this happen, as many people benefit from these forums, and as someone who knows websites personally, I can confirm that the financial rewards are rarely in proportion to the level of effort involved in maintaining such a site. If the forum has helped you, please take a look at this thread, and make a donation if you are able.

Expats Portugal - A Valuable Resource

That’s about it for today, as every time we return after a week in England, the house seems to have got dirty all by itself and there is never any food in the cupboards, so more next week. If you want more to read about Portugal in the meantime, I highly recommend this guide to Buying Property in Portugal. If you look carefully, you’ll find the bit that I wrote inside! Have a good week!

Buying Property in Portugal (second edition) – insider tips for buying, selling and renting

Image Credit: Deanster1983

Technorati Tags: a place in the sun, BA to Portugal, british airways, cheap flights, expats portugal, life in portugal, overseas guides company

It’s trivia time this week on Moving to Portugal. We’ve just come to the end of a long run of different guests staying with us, and this morning I was reflecting on some of the little bits of information about life in Portugal that sometimes come out in conversation, and are a surprise to those who haven’t been here before. So, here we have a light-hearted list of ten things not everybody knows about life in Portugal.

1. There is a reason why people often spend what seems like an unusually long time at the cash machine. The Portuguese Multibanco system is highly sophisticated, and allows you do to all kinds of things. Want to go fishing? Buy your license at the ATM. Need to pay your tax bill? Use the reference number on the bill, and pay it directly from your account using your cash machine (a quite scary task when thousands of euros disappear instantly from your account…. you will definitely want to double check that reference number). Want to book a seat on the train to Lisbon? Yep, you do it with Multibanco. With this in mind, try not to get impatient in the queue for the cash machine!

Portugal Multibanco Machine

2. There is a nominal fee made in Portugal for a TV license. It is charged automatically on your electricity bill.

3. Petrol is even more expensive in Portugal than it is the UK.

4. So are cars. Due to the ways cars are taxed here, they are a LOT more expensive. On the bright side, the climate down here in the Algarve means they are less likely to rust.

5. When, after a meal, you appear to have become invisible to the waiter as soon as you have been served your coffees, it doesn’t mean standards of service have suddenly dropped. Here in Portugal, people often sit for some time after finishing a meal. On one occasion, I even saw someone place head on table and have a short nap before leaving. We don’t have a table-turning culture. Just ask for the bill as and when you are ready to leave.

6. Shopping centres here universally stay open until 11pm, even on a Sunday.

Fernando Pessoa

7. Portuguese people typically revere literary figures at least as highly as famous musicians and sports stars. In an increasingly dumbed-down, X-Factor loving world, this is a wonderful thing.

8. It is unclear why there is a nationwide shortage of all euro coins in Portugal, but there is. Prepare for wrath if you intend to pay for a 2.08€ grocery transaction with a note and you don’t have the 8 cents. Once you’re known in your local town you may be sent on your way with your goods and asked to come back tomorrow with the right change!

Portugal - Where are the Euro Coins?

9. When eating, it is customary to keep your napkin to the left of your plate, and not on your lap. I’m not sure why this is, but it is practical. Constantly reaching down for a napkin below the table results in sardiney fingers making clothing smell unpleasant.

10. It can get cold here in winter. Really bloody cold. Without central heating, it can feel colder than the UK. People never believe this, but those of us that live here don’t just say it for a laugh. People who have actually visited us during the winter know this to be true, but, for some strange reason, May and September always seem to be “the popular months” for most!

So, I’ve thought of the first ten. Can any Portuguese residents think of more? If so, please comment below.

PS. Anyone wishing to become familiar with Portugal’s literary output would do well to begin here:

The Book of Disquiet (Penguin Modern Classics)

Image credits: anabananasplit starrynight1 FreeFoto

Technorati Tags: facts about portugal, life in portugal, living in portugal

Those readers who follow the Expats Portugal blog will have probably seen a long recent thread about the opening of an Iceland store, down here in the Algarve.

I’m sure when the original poster typed his short message to share the news of the opening; he never expected it to generate 21 forum pages of comment, opinion, and, at times, vitriol. I myself voiced some strong opinions, but these were more in disagreement about the discussion’s descent into something akin to a class war, than about the opening of a British discount store and freezer centre.

The whole debacle raised an interesting question though, which is just how much us expats / immigrants should integrate or do integrate into our new home countries?

Various aspects of the culture of Portugal were strong factors in our decision to move here; strong family values, a relaxed pace of life, and a cultural existence that compels citizens to revere famous authors more highly than X Factor “stars” being just three examples. Simple, high quality cuisine was another reason we were likely to highlight when asked the “so why Portugal?” question.

Portugal Weather - Another Deciding Factor!

We have been here around two years now, and have worked very hard to integrate. Our stuttering Portuguese has enabled us to make friends with our Portuguese neighbours, we don’t huff and puff when held up during shopping or driving because those in front of us have decided to have a chat, and we are familiar with the works of Saramago and Pessoa. If you were to walk into our home at around 9.30pm (because that is now when we usually eat dinner) you would be as likely to see us tucking into bacalhau a bras as beef stew and dumplings.

However, none of this means that we don’t get excited when we spot a jar of mint jelly, a frozen Yorkshire pudding, or (as joyfully happened last week) the opening of an English style butchers. I was perhaps initially surprised just how much you do come to miss things from “back home” once you have lived abroad for a while.

If you think about it, there’s nothing unusual about this. If you go for a wander around Stockwell in south London, you will find plenty of Portuguese shops and restaurants. The culinary variety that can be found in London is made all the more rich by the immigrant populations. Everybody wins, because the restaurant and food stores that provide comfort and familiar products to those populations also provide variety and new flavours to all.

Sometimes Expats in Portugal Miss British Food

Now, I know that Iceland is hardly a home of epicurean delights, but I’m not going to complain about increasing availability and value of products that add variety to our daily meals. After all, when we lived in London, we didn’t “eat English” every night, any more than we “eat Portuguese” every night here. Chinese, Indian and Italian all make at least a weekly appearance.

Integrating, to me, is about showing respect for our new home, contributing to the community, ensuring we operate our fiscal affairs according to the laws of Portugal, and respecting the cultural differences of our new country. I don’t think we’re really going to offend anyone by buying the occasional packet of smoked mackerel from Iceland (something I am greatly looking forward to, as it happens).

I do take the point that large stores make it more difficult for independent local businesses, but that situation is far too advanced for one more chain to make any difference. In fact, despite the recession, small businesses continue to pop up everywhere in our area, with low overheads that still, in my opinion, make it easier for entrepreneurial types to try something out here than back in the UK.

Are signs with no Portuguese respectful?

I’m quick to moan when I find myself in touristy areas such as the Albufeira strip, and see wall-to-wall English breakfasts, menus with no sign of any Portuguese, and sunburned Brits shouting “two large beers” without attempting so much as a “bom dia.” That does display a frustrating lack of integration. But I refuse to be judged for being pleased that I will soon be able to buy inexpensive Branston Pickle. And, who knows, some Portuguese people may even get a bit of a taste for frozen “double stuffed takeaway style pizzas with a sweet chilli layer.” Sometimes, after a hard day, crappy junk-food in front of the TV is just what the doctor ordered…..

Image credit: higgot

Technorati Tags: iceland, integrating abroad, living in portugal

It rained at the weekend. Now, for those of you who don’t live in the Algarve, that won’t seem particularly interesting, but for August in these parts, it’s actually quite unusual.

Given that a lot of people move to Portugal for the climate (and it certainly played a large part in our own decision), it is strange how much your attitude to the weather changes once you get used to it.

After a couple of years, I have finally managed to get out of my system the urgent need to get outside as soon as I see the sun is shining. It is important to do this if you live here, otherwise it’s impossible to get anything productive done between June and October!

When I was in the UK recently, a friend said to me “what’s the weather supposed to be like when you get back?” My reply? “Hot, I imagine.” The fact is, once summer starts, I don’t really even check the weather any more.

I´m reluctant to say that I now take the weather for granted, but I have got used to this different climate.

Which is why rain in August came as such a surprise, and, it has to be said, a wonderful surprise too. It was fun to have to grab our BBQ food and run for shelter when the storm blew through. A day of rain turned out to be an unexpected treat, like a day of hot sunshine would in March in the UK. See how back-to-front our lives have become?

Algarve Portugal Weather - Back to Normal

The following day, the rain had removed most of the humidity from the air, resulting in a cooler day (though perhaps the word “cooler” should be kept in perspective, given that we now call anything under 25C “cool.”) The bigger treat was a cool evening last night, which meant we could step IN from the balcony to a warm apartment, rather than in from a HOT balcony to a cool, air conditioned apartment. I can think of no better proof of our acclimatization than the fact that that in itself felt unusual.

So, what’s it like outside today? It’s back to normal: hot and sunny, with no change predicted for the next couple of weeks, which is fine by us. It was, however, wonderful to get a sneak preview of the change in seasons, and enjoy a cosy Sunday indoors, complete with newspapers, roast beef and Yorkshire pudding.

In conclusion, we had a splendid weekend, BECAUSE it rained. Strange.

Technorati Tags: algarve rain, algarve weather, portugal weather

This post continues from where I left off with my last post, describing our visit to Lisbon and the surrounding area. If you haven’t already seen it, it’s probably best if you read this first, then come back here.

Sintra is a beautiful hilltop town on the outskirts of Lisbon. Luckily our hotel was located near a station with convenient trains. The journey surprised us with the sheer density of housing in the suburbs between the city center and Sintra. After 30 mins of travel past countless tower blocks, we suddenly arrived in Sintra, a total contrast to everything we had seen on the way there.

Beautiful Sintra, near Lisbon

Sintra is a UNESCO world heritage site and boasts a range of palaces and museums. The town is beautiful and the architecture really different to the Moorish influences we are used to where we live in the Algarve.

We really visited to get a general sense of the place, rather than visit specific attractions, but unfortunately, our failure to properly read the guidebook resulted in us visiting on the one day that the main Palacio National that we did wish to walk around was closed to the public. We did have a good look around the outside though, and were a little surprised how poorly maintained it seemed to be – certainly not the bright white Disneyesque building shown in our guidebook!

View of Sintra Portugal

After visiting a pasterlaria and stocking up on seriously delicious queijadas (super sweet cheese-based sponge cakes), we strolled around the “semi-tropical” gardens and up through the town, visiting a range of tourist tat shops, and a fabulous antique shop specializing in scientific instruments and old fashioned technology. We then headed to the wonderful toy museum.

I’m not a great one for museums, but I loved the toy museum, although it was quite depressing that so many things I had as a child are now considered museum pieces! The museum has everything from vintage Hornby train sets to Barbies, Action Men and 3000 year old stone toys. It is well worth a visit – my only piece of advice would be that all male visitors should perhaps start on the top floor and work down. After getting very excited about Star Wars figures and toy cars, I was quite disappointed when I got to the top and only had dolls left – I should have saved the best till last!

Sintra Toy Museum - Hornby Trains

We headed back to Lisbon by train, stopping for a quick expresso and pastel de nata before heading across town on the metro to Cais de Sodre, ready for the train out to Cascais.

The train to Cascais is a “must-do” for visitors to Lisbon. The views are incredible as you leave Lisbon, initially right next to a major road, which delivers the strange sensation of travelling on a road whilst on a train. The train tracks then hug the shore, nearly close enough for waves to break against the train carriages.

We passed through some far more upscale, and no doubt very expensive, suburbs on the way to Cascais, the beach resort of choice for Lisbon residents.

A lot of people had recommended Cascais to us, and it did deliver, in all but two respects: beach space, and sea water temperature, which was bloody freezing compared to the Algarve, which itself isn’t really all that warm!

After a quick walk round the town, which included a stroll around an antiques fair and a stop for bifanas (pork sandwiches) and beers, we walked around the marina, which was preparing to host the Americas Cup. As such, it was also hosting a large collection of ostentatiously wealthy Europeans and their spoiled and noisy children, so we quickly got away and searched for somewhere to have a rest.

Cascais - Our Secluded Beach Spot

We found just the place, a tiny “beach” on the edge of a park on the way out of town. It was really just an inlet, where the sea was still flowing into the land between the parts of the marina, but it was an oasis of calm that seemed undiscovered by the tourists. We finished the rest of our quiejadas and had a dip in the water.

With our energy restored, we found the main seafront and joined the hundreds of locals in the early evening promenade tradition, stopping for a drink en route to Estoril, a couple of miles away.

We didn’t explore much of Estoril town, other than to buy an ice cream and sit on the pretty park in front of the huge casino, said to be the inspiration for many of Ian Fleming´s James Bond tales. We then rejoined the prom back into Cascais, which by now was packed with people looking for somewhere to have dinner.

We were lucky enough to grab the last table at a low priced grill restaurant and tucked into some very succulent piri piri chicken, chips and salad. The clearly very wealthy English family who came to sit at the next table towards the end of our meal provided some entertainment, and their embarrassing, squabbling behavior while we drank our coffees gave us something to talk about on the way home!

We boarded quite a late train back to Lisbon, with surprisingly few people on it considering the number of people in Cascais. A late night underground train then dropped us almost at the door of our hotel.

Our stay is Lisbon was over when we awoke the following day, so we checked out of the hotel and headed out of the city, this time choosing to drive over the stunning, seven mile long Vasco de Gama bridge instead of joining the horrific traffic for the 25 de Abril bridge.

On the way back to the Algarve we stopped at Freeport, a huge outlet mall for designer goods, which proved to be a huge waste of time, with nothing seeming to be particularly good value. Promises of shirts from 10€ and jeans from 15€ on the windows never seemed to materialize in the shops themselves-we wouldn’t bother with a repeat visit.

After this stop, our journey back was over very quickly, with a planned detour to the west coast of Portugal proving unsuccessful when we realized our borrowed satnav didn’t contain beaches as points of interest. So we headed home, tired but content after our break in Lisbon, and ready to get back to work.

As I mentioned in my previous post, our chosen guidebook was really accurate and helpful on our trip to Lisbon and the surrounding area. You can find the book we used here:

Rough Guide Directions Lisbon

Technorati Tags: cascais, estoril, lisbon day trips, sinta

We had a week off work last week, and beyond a vague intention to have a break in Lisbon at some point, we had no firm plans.

Our plans accelerated on Friday evening, just hours after switching off our laptops, when a quiet drink on our terrace was disturbed by the appearance of a scuttling rodent. Long term readers of the blog will be aware that I am not exactly a fan of these things, so I quickly found myself safely locked indoors, booking a hotel in Lisbon for the following day!

We spent five days in Lisbon, a brief account of which follows. I do intend to write a more detailed account of our stay there, which will form part of a forthcoming Kindle book – stayed tuned for details.

SATURDAY: After arranging for our relatives to remove some plants from our balcony, with our beautiful peach tree believed to me the main attraction for the newly discovered vermin, we headed off up the A2 toll road to Portugal’s capital. Our planned arrival time was scuppered by the level of traffic approaching the main 25 de Abril bridge into the city. So after a couple of hours of traffic jam, we only had time to settle into our hotel and enjoy a light dinner, consisting of a Greek mezze platter (something we would never find down here in the Algarve), and a couple of very overpriced cocktails.

SUNDAY was exploration day. We purchased a one day public transport pass and boarded the clean and efficient metro into the Baixa area. I was delighted that, although it had been some time since I was last in the city, I instantly knew where I was, and had a rough idea of my way around.

After a scarily expensive toastie and iced tea, which reminded us instantly that we weren’t in the more affordable sticks any more, we set off on a wander to explore downtown Lisbon.

Santa Justa Elevador

First stop was a free-to-enter design museum, which included some fascinating exhibits including iconic 70s furniture and HiFi systems. We then boarded the Elevador de Santa Justa, a huge vertical lift that, in seconds, takes you from the low-lying baixa district to Chiado and Barrio Alto, located on a steep hill above. We walked though Barrio Alto, Lisbon´s main nighttime restaurant and bar area, which is strangely quiet and residential during the day, and onto the pretty park at Praca do Principe Real, where we stopped at the Esplanada café for a cooling drink.

When we settled at our table, I was a little disconcerted by the guy sitting across from us, who kept catching my eye, but all was explained when I read my guide book and found the café described as a popular gay pick-up spot!

We failed to find our way into the very well hidden botantical gardens, and started to get hungry, so we decided on a picnic in the Parque Eduardo VII, which we reached via metro, stopping en route at the huge Corte D’Ingles department store for provisions. We enjoyed our picnic of cheese, bread, chorizo and bola de berlim (Portuguese cream donuts) in blazing heat….or at least I did – my wife ate most of her food standing up to avoid the ants….

Amazed at how much we had achieved in one day, we headed back to the hotel for a quick swim before dinner, which turned out to be a very quick swim due to the vast numbers of noisy children in the hotel pool.

Late in the evening, we ventured out, again by metro, to the completely transformed Barrio Alto district. Packed with tourists when we went into our chosen restaurant, these were largely replaced by locals by the time we left around midnight.

The noise and atmosphere carried us along and we visited several bars and drank numerous cocktails. By the time we stumbled out of a cab and into our hotel, people were already in reception checking out ready for early morning flights.

MONDAY was a bit of a write-off, after the excesses of the night before, so we enjoyed the TV in our room, a room-service pizza, and several overpriced but rehydrating juice drinks from the minibar. In the afternoon, we started to feel guilty about wasting our holiday time, so set off by metro to Centro Columbo, a shopping center described in our guidebook as the largest in Iberia, located next to Benfica football stadium.

Benfica Stadium Lisbon

I don’t know how much of our distaste for the place was due to the hangover, but we couldn’t get away quick enough. It was packed with people and almost impossible to find our way out of. Our shopping trip turned into a military operation to source a DVD, bags of popcorn and soft drinks. We were quickly back at our hotel, the only saving grace of the entire jaunt being a large tub of green apple sorbet which finally started to make us feel human again.

TUESDAY: Cautious of having squandered one day of our break, we were up early and headed off to the Parque das Nacoes, a huge area of Lisbon developed for Expo 98 and dedicated to leisure. We enjoyed views of the river and the stunning Vasco de Gama bridge whilst walking around and then headed to the large Oceanarium via the rather disappointing and poorly maintained water gardens.

Lisbon Oceanarium Penguins

The queue at the Oceanarium looked horrendous, but actually moved very quickly, and we were soon inside to look at the marine life in Europe’s second largest aquarium. We enjoyed the Oceanarium, but it was packed, and quite hard to get near the windows to the main tank. However, we were particularly taken with certain species, particularly the impossibly cute otters, who I swear were enjoying the attention, seadragons, and brightly coloured jellyfish.

For what its worth, although we enjoyed the oceanarium, I probably enjoyed the aquarium at the Algarve’s Zoomarine more, because what it didn’t have in sheer scale, it made up for in additional space to relax and enjoy looking at the fish. Had we visited at a slightly quieter time, I may have had a different view.

Otters at Lisbon Oceanarium

After a quick mobile lunch of crepes and waffles from Oriente station, we headed back to the hotel, aching all over from walking up and down the steep hills of Lisbon. It seemed like a good time to visit the hotel´s spa. After this we didn’t fancy going far, so took the chance on a local Chinese buffet restaurant, which was surprisingly good quality, compared to the disastrous meals we have had in similar establishments, such as the one I talk about here.

WEDNESDAY was our last full day in the Lisbon area, so we decided to venture a bit further to explore Sintra, Estoril and Cascais. Details of our explorations of these areas follow in next week’s blog post. Please come back and read it!

Technorati Tags: algarve zoomarine, benfica lisbon, benfica stadium, lisboa, lisbon, lisbon oceanarium, oceanarium

Living in Portugal is great, and I’d be the first person to support and encourage anyone thinking of making the move themselves. Having said that, a dose of realism is required. Every week, someone new pops up on the expat forums stating their intentions to move here, and you can detect a level of naivety and lack of research that is only going to end in tears.

So, for this week´s post, the time has come to dispel some myths about life in the sunshine.

First off, living somewhere is NOTHING LIKE being on holiday there. Being on holiday in London is nothing like working in London, and it’s no different in Portugal.

Tourists enjoy the beach in Portugal while we work indoors

For a start, unless you have retired, you actually have to work, and trying to be productive when it’s 32C outside is vastly different to reading a book on the beach when it’s 32C outside. Just because it’s hot and sunny every day, it doesn’t mean you have time to sit out in it and get a tan. By the time our work is done for the day, the sun has lost much of its strength, and it can be rather frustrating finding yourself half way through the summer with less of a tan that a tourist who has only been here five days! Looking over the top of a laptop at people swimming in the pool all day sucks too.

We have also been a little bit surprised that we still frequently find ourselves desperately short of time at some points. Once the working week is out of the way, the house tends to need cleaning, and shopping and other errands need to be sorted out-in the blazing heat. So, that’s Saturday gone. Then it’s Sunday, and then, shit, it’s Monday again. Much like real life in any other place!

Driving back to Portugal from Spain

And don’t expect anyone “back home” to believe you or offer any sympathy. Whatever you say, they will assume that you spend at least half of every day drinking pina coladas whilst floating in the pool. There is nothing you can say to convince them otherwise.

Next up, finding work. We spent three years designing a way to earn money remotely. So when the forum newbies say “what kind of work will I get, I can’t speak any Portuguese yet?” What do they really expect the answer to be? Why not ask a different question: “I’m Portuguese and moving to England, I can’t speak any English yet, what kind of work will I get?” Does that help to answer the original question?

Portugal is going through hard times economically. There’s a fair bit about it on the news. The ground-level reality of the situation bears no resemblance to the situation in England. The UK has a fair minimum wage, and there IS still work for those willing to do it. There are people in this country working very hard for a level of income that a UK benefits claimant would turn their nose up at…and the cost of living isn’t THAT much different.

For those of us lucky enough to have income, we have just been told there is a new extraordinary tax for 2011, meaning we have to give the government an extra 3.5% of what we earn. It IS hot, it IS sunny, but it’s not always easy.

Portugal - cost of living is fairly high, but sunsets are free

Now, I know all of that sounds like a rant, which is why I preceded it all with “living in Portugal is great.” It truly is. But you have to work and research to make it that way. Which is why, when people come to the forums expecting to be able to have a life which is like their summer holiday, and arrive here and walk into an English-speaking job, they need to realize that life isn’t like that.

Youngsters in their teens and twenties CAN just get on a plane, find seasonal work in bars and restaurants, and have a damn good time in the sun until the work dries up, and I admire their guts for doing it. But, it is different for people with families, and the thought of people coming out here without doing their research when it involves taking children away from their schools and friends frightens me a bit.

For those with serious intentions of moving, there is a wealth of existing information to help, on the forums and on blogs like this one. The people who dedicate days, weeks and months of their lives getting familiar with it develop realistic and achievable dreams, and they end up being the people we walk past looking happy at local beaches and markets. The others are the ones who have their dreams dashed by the time they’ve read the first three replies to their first post on a forum.

I highly recommend this book to anyone seriously considering a move, it contains lots of interesting information and case studies from people already living here, including (shameless plug) a bit that I wrote!

Buying Property in Portugal (second edition) – insider tips for buying, selling and renting

Technorati Tags: living abroad realities, Moving abroad, portugal economy

It was when I was in London a couple of weeks back that I got to thinking about the ways in which we were becoming “more Portuguese.” I had just bowled into my hotel, smiled, said “Ola, bom dia” loudly to the receptionist, then gone very red when I realised I had spoken in Portuguese instead of English.

It wasn’t the only time I did it during that trip to the UK. In fact, after that initial embarrassing experience, I started to over-think it, and found myself saying “good afternoon” before beginning a checkout transaction in Tesco Express, because I was translating the Portuguese “boa tarde” INTO English in my head before saying it. Saying good afternoon in a London Tesco may be polite, but I was looked at as if I was trying to parody a city gent from the 1930s.

Now, I know people say “when you start thinking in the language that’s when you are fluent.” Well, I am still very very far from fluent. But, in these day-to-day interactions, it has obviously become instinctive, and to such an extent that it feels more natural in some situations speaking Portuguese than speaking English. This realisation made me think about the other ways we are now “being Portuguese.” It must be time for another list post:

Being Portuguese

1. 10pm now seems to be a perfectly sensible time to do the weekly grocery shop. Midnight seems like a perfectly sensible time to light the barbecue.

2. If we are due somewhere at 2pm and have still not left the house at 5 past, I don’t really see that as being late, as such. (Although to be honest, my timekeeping has never been particularly good, I just now live somewhere where a lack of punctuality is more ingrained!)

3. If a person dawdles in front of me in a shop queue, I don’t feel an instant blood-pressure rise and begin seething and silently blaming that person for all the problems in my life. I just wait.

4. The same applies when the car in front stops for several minutes to chat to someone they’ve just spotted walking along the road.

5. The other day I saw a sardine recipe which called for the sardines to be gutted, and my horrified reaction was: “WHY would you gut them? How silly.”

Sardines are not usually gutted in Portugal

6. Still on a fishy theme, I actually find myself craving bacalhau at least once per week.

7. I now know which days of the week the butcher has lamb, so I don’t end up sulking because I can’t find any on a Tuesday.

8. 27 degrees Celsius is no longer defined as a “hot day.” In fact it is more likely to cause us to remark that “I’m sure it was warmer last year.”

9. I no longer check the weather online every single day. It’s summer, and therefore it will be sunny.

10. Carpets feel weird (that one was my wife´s contribution).

Just another Sunday in Portugal

Settling in another country is like getting older. When you are about 25, you look back at your 21 year old self and think “I can’t believe how little I knew.” Then you get to 30 and think the same about your 25 year old self. After 20 months of “being Portuguese,” I look back at posts I wrote after just six months in the country and can’t believe I thought I was already settled. It’s all a learning curve, and I feel that even after this long we still have a long way to go. It´s a good job that a fair proportion of it is jolly good fun.

Image credit (Portuguese flag): tiseb

Technorati Tags: becoming portuguese, being portuguese, going native