Reset search
Maria Marques
Maria Marques

Maria Marques

From Portugal Read more🇵🇹Lagos
FollowMessageStatistics
  • Maria MarquesMotivation III - ESA - RomaniaMaria Marques

    Porto - Brussels - Craiova

    March 31, 2019 in Belgium ⋅ ⛅ 7 °C

    At 8:35 we leave the airport Sá Carneiro in Porto, heading to Craiova, with a stopover in Brussels. Four out of the six students are newcomers to the art of flying and the lesson that will last seven days starts immediately at the airport.

    Today’s lesson: going around the airport and acknowledging boarding procedures. Security check, boarding gates, passport control, safety procedures and being able of taking care of their own belongings was a big challenge. The team won 10 points out of 10! Congratulations!    Read more

  • Açores

    ... Faial de carro!

    March 8, 2019 in Portugal ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    Último dia nas ilhas açorianas. Desta vez fazemos o Faial de carro. Damos a volta completa à ilha começando na Horta, no sentido dos ponteiros do relógio. Varadouro, com as suas piscinas de águas cristalinas convidam a um mergulho que não se concretiza porque a época balnear não está aberta. Assim, seguimos para o vulcão dos Capelinhos onde a paisagem lunar é interrompida por um farol de beleza singular meio soterrado nas cinzas vulcânicas de 1957. Do topo do farol consegue-se ter uma visão magnífica das redondezas e é visível o monte vermelho que se pensa ser uma parte da cratera do vulcão que teve a sua erupção a partir do mar. Continuamos em direção a Cedros atentos aos estômagos que reclamam comida, mas dos Capelinhos até ao restaurante da Aldina, tudo se encontra fechado. Acabamos por nos encontrar neste espaço com os turistas alentejanos com quem já nos tínhamos cruzado no vulcão. Quase ocupam todo o restaurante, mas ainda conseguimos um cantinho para aplacar a fome com sopa, salada de polvo e mexilhões com alho!
    O tempo parecia cada vez melhor, mas acabamos por ver a Caldeira aos poucos e à medida do aparecer e desaparecer do nevoeiro que a enchia... a praia do Almoxarife com as suas areias negras e o Monte da Guia com vista para a Caldeira do Inferno, Porto Pim e a baía da Horta encerraram o fim do dia com um por do sol cheio de nuvens. Fim de dia e de viagem no Peter a comer sopa de peixe, bolo de chocolate e fofas do Faial!    Read more

    See translation
  • Açores

    Horta a pé

    March 7, 2019 in Portugal ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    O Faial estava cheio de sol e o Pico a mostrar-se vaidoso com uma saia de nuvens.
    Palmilhámos a ilha de lés a lés. Até Porto Pim, a pé é um saltinho e o café com o mesmo nome tem uma tarte de maçã deliciosa. Continuando a rodear a baía passa-se pelo Portão do Porto e segue-se pelas Muralhas de São Sebastião. À tarde voltamos à Marina passando pelo Clube Naval em direção ao Terminal Marítimo onde não chegámos porque subimos ao miradouro da Vista Alegre, passando pela Torre do Relógio e a Universidade dos Açores. Do miradouro temos a cidade a nossos pés com o Pico mesmo em frente. Parece pavonear-se ao longo da tarde, descobrindo-se e cobrindo-se de nuvens até deixar de se ver ao fim do dia. Daqui a caminhada é longa de volta a casa onde decidimos passar o resto do serão em converseta de amigas que já não estavam juntas há uma eternidade.Read more

    See translation
  • Açores

    Ilha do Pico - São Roque e Madalena

    March 6, 2019 in Portugal ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

    O dia no Pico foi relaxado. Depois de uma travessia turbulenta a partir de São Jorge até à Madalena, seguida de uma corrida de táxi enlouquecida em direção a São Jorge, a acalmia foi necessária. Ficamos a saber mais tarde que as ondas atingiram os sete metros e os estômagos de Wolfi e Sónia não resistiram. À custa de muita meditação e controlo de respiração lá me aguentei mais uma vez. Grata por ser praticante de ioga e reiki!!!
    São Roque é uma vila encantadora batida pelo mar indomável! O azul das ondas que parece arrastar gelo na rebentação, tão característico de ilhas vulcânicas, hipnotiza-nos e faz-nos avançar lentamente, ao ritmo da ilha. Há um moinho que nos convida a uma sessão fotográfica combinada com o topo da montanha do Pico. Mais um vez as cores do Açores: o azul do mar, o negro vulcânico, o vermelho do moinho e o cinzento intenso do céu de hoje. Às 14:25 há um autocarro para a Madalena e é nele que seguimos. Fazemos uma espécie de visita guiada. Passamos pelo Cachorro, onde é possível ver a paisagem de vinha carimbada pela UNESCO. É realmente admirável a proteção que é feita com muros de basalto. Apenas dois ou três pés em cada espaço para garantir que o ar salgado não afeta as plantas. Já na Madalena passamos por uns apartamentos turísticos próximos do Terminal Marítimo João Quaresma que envergam, cada um, o nome de cada casta cultivada no Pico. Desta vez, a travessia da noite anterior não permite grandes aventuras vínicas e compromete-nos a um regresso para conhecer a ilha a fundo.
    O resto do tempo na Madalena passámo-lo a deambular pela vila que pouco tem a oferecer. Para além da biblioteca e do auditório praticamente novos, há um ar de abandono que deve ser diferente no verão.
    Regressamos ao Faial mais uma vez de barco, mas desta feita o mar está de feição e os vinte minutos de travessia são passados em amena cavaqueira.
    Pena irmos encontrar a Sónia ainda a sofrer da travessia do dia anterior.    Read more

    See translation
  • Açores

    São Jorge

    March 5, 2019 in Portugal ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    São Jorge é um sítio maravilhoso neste arquipélago dos Açores. Neste primeiro dia na ilha passámos pela capital - Velas - e pela Calheta também. Na Calheta o Porto tem águas límpidas e consegue ver-se o fundo independentemente da profundidade. O almoço foi no Topo e a seguir pudemos entrar no farol com vista para o Ilhéu do Topo, na Pontinha. Mais tarde foi a vez de visitar a deslumbrante Fajã do Ouvidouro, seguida da Poça Simão Dias. Aqui a natureza é indomável e as ondas enchem a poça que serve piscina, que faz as delícias de quem a visita no Verão. À noite ainda demos um salto a Velas para ver o centro da cidade e beber uma cerveja. O dia acabou nas Manadas, onde o nosso anfitrião nos fez sentir em casa. Obrigada pela hospitalidade Paulo Pereira!Read more

    See translation
  • Açores

    ... mais São Jorge

    March 5, 2019 in Portugal ⋅ 🌬 13 °C

    A manhã acordou soalheira e a motivação para fazer a caminhada até à Fajã da Caldeira de Santo Cristo estava em alta. Pena que a Sónia não pode ir connosco, mas o Paulo foi um guia perfeito. Passando pela Caldeira dos Cubres em direção à Caldeira de Santo Cristo é possível imaginar como terá sido a chegada dos portugueses a estas paragens. A vegetação é luxuriante e o mar é indomável. Consegue ouvir-se o som do mar a bater nos rochedos e ir entrevendo a aldeia abandonada na fajã aquando do terramoto que obrigou à evacuação aérea dos habitantes. A maior parte não quis regressar. Apenas uma família vive permanentemente na aldeia, desde então. Só os geradores põem a eletricidade a funcionar neste sítio remoto. Segundo Paulo, este é um sítio muito frequentado por famílias e turistas no verão. Só se pode chegar a pé - cerca de 45 minutos - ou de moto quatro. Ainda é possível ter o céu estrelado no firmamento, livre de poluição luminosa, fazer uma fogueira para aquecer e conversar longamente sobre a vida, ou simplesmente ficar em silêncio. Neste dia, em que o vento forte que nos atrasava os passos não teria permitido tal fogueira, apenas encontramos o funcionário da câmara que divide as suas tarefas de rotina com a sua paixão pelo surf. Este é um spot ideal, de acordo com Paulo. O caminho de volta foi fácil, em amena cavaqueira, apenas interrompido pela habitual queda das viagens, na versão “Maria, the professional faller”.
    Voltamos a Manadas apenas para apanhar Sónia que nos acompanha no resto dos passeios. Ponta de Rosais com o seu farol abandonado faz-me lembrar um pouco os edifícios do Tarrafal. É um farol desativado com um certo charme que vem de todo o verde que o envolve, da falésia abrupta em frente ao mar revolto e da vermelha estrada parecida com uma serpente acima e abaixo no relevo , mas sempre em frente em linha reta.
    De volta a Manadas passamos pela Igreja de Santa Bárbara, frente ao mar! É a única igreja na ilha com um interior barroco que só conhecemos por fora porque não está sempre aberta, ao contrário da igreja da Caldeira de Santo Cristo que tem sempre as portas abertas para a sua simplicidade e beleza que combina todas as cores dos Açores num só espaço.    Read more

    See translation
  • Açores

    Horta

    March 3, 2019 in Portugal ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    Encontramo-nos com a Sónia e o Paulo para almoçar na Horta. O café foi no Peter, seguido de um lento e saboroso passeio pelo porto de veleiros até ao Porto de mar para adquirir as passagens para São Jorge. A travessia começou bem e até São Roque, nada a apontar. Depois dessa paragem tudo mudou. O mar ficou mais agitado e Sónia e Wolfi acabaram com o estômago às voltas... dormir, neste caso, foi o melhor remédio!Read more

    See translation
  • Porto

    Passeata na Invicta...

    January 26, 2019 in Portugal ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C

    Passear no Porto é sempre uma alegria. A ida à Conga é já um clássico e atravessar o tabuleiro superior da Ponte D. Luís com a vista do rio pontilhado de rabelos e do colorido das casas cada vez mais bonitas da Ribeira, também.
    Apesar de ser janeiro o sol é suficiente para tornar esta tarde tão agradável na companhia da Tixinha e do Wolfi. Subimos em direção ao Bulhão na esperança que a reconstrução deste espaço esteja concluída, mas parece que ainda vamos ter que esperar um pouco... Acabamos por entrar na Manteigaria com as suas natas Lisboetas que conseguiram implantar-se no coração do Porto... Deliciosas por sinal!
    Depois da tradicional volta por Santa Catarina e de uma fugaz entrada na Igreja de Santo Ildefonso, rumamos à outra margem do Douro, parando na Ramos Pinto e entrando no Mercado que se transformou em espaço gastronómico português.
    Bom... tínhamos que terminar à moda do Porto com a francesinha no Capa Negra ❤️    Read more

  • Christmas Holidays

    Viena 4

    January 1, 2019 in Austria ⋅ 🌬 8 °C

    Happy New Year Vienna! The weather is always the same - cold and windy! But we are weather proof and we don’t want to skip many things from our original plan, so we go metro hop on hop off and we can see a lot of the majestic buildings around the metropolis. The Golden Cabbage - the Secession and its nearby market, the Musikverin, where the famous new year concert was happening, the Museumsquartier where we had been the previous evening, now could be seen on daylight, the Karlskirche, the Votivkirche - a neo-Gothic church and the Minoritenkirche where there is a life-sized copy of Leonardo da Vinci's The Last Supper on the church's northern wall. It is a mosaic made by the Roman mosaic artist Giacomo Raffaelli, commissioned by Napoleon I in 1809, but it was not finished before Napoleon's abdication. Francis II of Austria bought it, wanting to install it in the Belvedere in Vienna. As it was too large for the building, it was set up on the north wall of the church, where it remains to this day. The mosaic is 9.18 x 4.47 m and weighs approximatively 20 tons.
    Before going to the opera we still had time to visit the Wurstelprater, an amusement park and section of the Wiener Prater (a park) in the second district of Vienna, Leopoldstadt. This institution dates back to the time of the Austrian Empire, when Emperor Joseph II made the Prater (which has been serving as Imperial hunting ground until then) open to public in 1766. Soon the first snack bars, stalls and bowling alleys opened up on the grounds and the Wurstelprater was born. The best-known attraction is the Wiener Riesenrad, a giant Ferris wheel. With a weight of more than 240 tons and a height of roughly 65 m the Giant Ferris Wheel looms over the Prater in Vienna since 1897.
    The UNO city is normally the landscape for the Vienna marathon starting point. It is here that the skyline has some skyscrapers that are lined along the Danube.
    The Bat - Johann Strauss Opera - was hilarious and the cherry on top of the cake for these short holidays! The atmosphere, the performance and the music gave us three hours of pure entertainment! Surely something special to repeat! End of the day in the Bermuda Triangle- called like so because many people who go to this area tend to forget where they were during their passage because of the great amounts of alcohol that one can drink in this area.
    As the following day was only for travelling back home, this was the end of the journey!

    Only one more thing... Thomas, our Airbnb host was a character who prepared really nice breakfasts, was very enthusiastic about having people around... especially Wolfgang... and maybe the only person that I have met who says: I really love housekeeping!!!    Read more

  • Christmas Holidays

    Viena 3

    December 31, 2018 in Austria ⋅ 🌙 3 °C

    This time we had a car and so we were around Vienna near the lake Neusiedlersee. This is an area with vineyards and we visited the Vinery Beck in Gols. The wine is completely different from the Portuguese wines. Nevertheless, some of them were really delicious and we ended up buying some bottles to bring back home. On the way back we stopped in an outlet shopping centre where we had lunch and after giving the car back we went around the city centre where the Silvestre - New Year’s Eve - could already be felt. There were different areas around the city with all kinds of music. At night we ended up in Stephansplatz where classical music was being played and we wished each other Happy 2019 under a “smashing” atmosphere. Meanwhile we had stopped in Bellariastraße in Bellaria coffee house for Sacher torte, apflestrudle and kaiserschmarrn... delicious! Dinner was at a small traditional Viennese restaurant and the night ended up on the street, dancing and drinking hot wine from the cutest cups ever!
    Happy New Year!!!    Read more

  • Christmas Holidays

    Viena 2

    December 29, 2018 in Austria ⋅ ⛅ 5 °C

    The second day in Vienna was very rainy. The day before we had bought the tickets to visit Schönbrunn Palace and that was our first stop. This is definitely a special place to visit in Vienna. If you can start early you can have a relaxing stroll around the rooms. The free audio guide is very nice because it explains enough for one to understand what happened in Sissy’s time. Entertaining and not boring at all! After this we made an effort and went to the city centre but the rain got heavier and heavier, so our plans for the walking tour around the city centre were stopped after a while. One stop for coffee and Sacher torte, another in Saint Stephan’s Cathedral and even an attempt to go further after buying an umbrella weren’t enough to fight the discomfort of walking under the rain, so Wolfi went to the rent a car stand and the rest of us relaxed at the Airbnb for the rest of the afternoon. In the evening we met Miriam and Lucas for a special traditional dinner in Heurigen Sommerbauer Resi in Perchtoldsdorf. Heurigen is the name given to taverns in Eastern Austria at which local winemakers serve their new wine under a special licence in alternate months during the growing season. The Heurige are renowned for their atmosphere of coziness shared among a throng enjoying young wine, simple food, and - in some places – Schrammel music. Heuriger is the abbreviation of "heuriger Wein" (this year's wine). Originally, they were simple open-air taverns on the premises of winemakers, where people would bring along food and drink the new wine. Nowadays, the taverns are often situated at a distance from the wineyards and offer both food and drinks. Heurige where apple or pear cider is served are called a Mostheurige. In the well-known wine-growing areas of the city of Vienna many eating establishments have a rustic interior design similar to Heurige, yet they have a normal licence and sell wine they buy from outside sources.Read more

  • Christmas Holidays

    Viena 1

    December 29, 2018 in Austria ⋅ 🌬 3 °C

    Once again we went to Viena by bus. 70 km separate us from Bratislava, so this was a short journey. When we arrived it was already a good time to eat and that’s what we did. The Schönnbrunn palace was packed with tourists and no more tickets were available for the day, so we bought them for the following day and strolled around the Christmas market where the traditional Viennese cookies and Christmas decorations. So cold but sooooo beautiful! After checking in with Thomas - our make up breakfast specialist host - we headed to the city centre where it was still possible to visit St. Stephen’s Cathedral and the pedestrian area with the Opera House and the Sacher Hotel with the fancy butler and the Sacher Torte fans queuing outside.
    At eight we met Dorothea and her husband in a nice traditional restaurant with delicious Austrian food!!!    Read more

  • Christmas Holidays

    Bratislava

    December 28, 2018 in Slovakia ⋅ ⛅ 7 °C

    After a 2:30 min bus ride from Budapest, we arrived in Bratislava. The Virgo Hotel was just a short stop for leaving the luggage and we immediately started walking to the castle. This a huge building with a stunning view over the Danube, the UFO bridge and St Martin’s Cathedral. Downhill, after a long stop for lunch, we walked to the Old Town and could still see St. Michael’s Gate (Michalská brána), Schöne Náci Statue, Čumil, the Primate’s Palace (Primaciálny palác) and Blue Church (Modrý kostolík). It was a pity that by 16:30
    It was already dark and that we couldn’t see the magnificence of the church by daylight. Nevertheless, the city is nice and all main attractions are within walking distances. It would all be perfect if we didn’t have to eat out or buy groceries. Most people aren’t friendly. In fact, it seems that smiling is a bit difficult for their facial muscles. As for communication, it is not so easy because most people, like shop assistants, waiters and bus drivers, don’t speak English... that’s about it for Bratislava.    Read more

  • Christmas Holidays

    Budapest 2

    December 27, 2018 in Hungary ⋅ ⛅ 6 °C

    This the second day in Budapest. We visit another part of the city. First, near home, the Great Market Hall - a beautiful building with the traditional Hungarian paprika hanging from the ceiling and all kinds of goods you can think of. Then we follow the plan we prepared and we strolled along the way to pass by Dohány Street Synagogue, the Jewish quarter, the House of Terror, Andrássy Avenue, the Heroes Square, Szechenyi thermal spa, Vajdahunyad Castle and finally, to relax from the long walk, Kiraly Spa Baths. The Turkish bath in Kiraly Bath has a characteristic dim light, as the pool gets its light from the 16th century dome holes covered in glasses.
    The bath has not been restored for many decades, which gives it an even more fascinating historical appeal, where the Turkish details are mixed with the medicinal bathing culture of the 1890s, and the practical, ahistorical approach of the Communist Budapest era.
    Kiraly Bath is open every day 9 am to 9 pm, and the once famous men only bath is now completely mixed, unisex every day.
    The day ended in Sir Lancelot, a medieval restaurant with theatrical exhibitions, live music, belly dance and huge amounts of food.    Read more

  • Christmas Holidays

    Budapest 1

    December 26, 2018 in Hungary ⋅ 🌬 5 °C

    Budapeste

    It is the 26th December and we arrived the day before in Budapest. After some phone calls to Catherine it was possible to get into the Airbnb flat. It is in an old fancy block of flats. Tixa and Wolfi described it as the scenery of a James Bond movie. The are two open courtyards that we have to cross and an arched veranda leads us to the butterfly door! Nicely renovated it has room for the five of us to be pretty much comfortable.
    The following morning breakfast is at home and after that the city is here for us to experience it. It is bank holiday in Hungary and the streets are almost empty as we head to St Stephen’s Cathedral. It is a magnificent Basilica with splendours ceilings and Christmas trees around. The Christmas market outside is full of lovely handicrafts, food and hot wine stands. The smell of the spices invades the cold air still filled with the Christmas spirit. But we still had a lot to explore and the Parliament and the river bank with the Shoes Memorial are outstanding under the pale sunlight. After crossing the Chain Bridge we stop for lunch in a Belgian beer pub. Delicious food and a perfect way to get back to warm hands and faces. It was cosy enough to keep us there for a while but still on time to visit the Fisherman’s Bastion and the Castle Hill. The view to the other side of the river is amazing and we can have sunset and evening in our pictures. Crossing back the Chain Bridge we look back at the castle reflection on the Danube... breathtaking too. Again the chilly windy evening takes us inside a coffee shop to eat apple cake. Walking back home for some rest before dinner, we still pass by the Christmas market for mulled wine that keeps us warm all the way back.
    Dinner is around Raday utca. We choose an Hungarian restaurant and, again, the food is delicious!
    Nothing better than to end up the day at a ruin bar a bit far away from home... well... it was actually a bar in the Jewish ghetto because Szimpla Bar was closed - second Christmas Day.    Read more

  • Maria MarquesMotivation III - ESA - ItalyMaria Marques

    Back home

    December 1, 2018 in Italy ⋅ 🌫 3 °C

    Coming back home was also part of the project learning experience.
    The Italian train system isn’t the best thing in the world. So, what we most feared happened: we had to catch two trains and the first one was so late that we couldn’t catch the second. Still, we were lucky enough to have a second one a bit later. We only had ten minutes but that would have been more than enough to be relaxed. The only problem was that apparently the last platform was number four, so I asked where platform one - ours- was and we ended up in the metro station, according to five different security officers at the platforms... Lesson: stop, look better and trust your feelings. We ended up running like mad people and begging the train officer for two more minutes because not everybody was inside the train. It was a crazy rush but team work solved it all. Thanks Portuguese team for being so fast!Read more

  • Maria MarquesMotivation III - ESA - ItalyMaria Marques

    Verona

    December 1, 2018 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 7 °C

    Verona one more time. This time started from the opposite way: on top of the hill where the city can be viewed, the river can be seen and the cold air gets into your lungs as if you didn’t even need to make it happen.
    Downhill we ended up in the oldest bridge in the world - UNESCO of course - Ponte Pietra, not before visiting the Roman theatre. This is an open air museum and the whole day we have an history class going on with the Italian teachers in the morning and a specialized tourist guide for the Arena in the afternoon.
    English Literature was obviously focused on the way, wouldn’t it be the city of Romeo and Juliet. We visited the house of Shakespeare’s heroine, touched her breast for luck and gazed at the balcony where she would supposedly be.
    The Roman Empire can be seen all over the city but the Arena is the best preserved one in Italy and nowadays it is still a place for shows - gladiators were substituted by opera or pop concerts. The acoustics is outstanding!
    But the day was far from being over because after “reality lessons” the hosting families of the Italian students took everybody to school for a farewell party with local food prepared by themselves.
    It was an amazing experience. Teachers and students have learned so much from this experience and the purpose of the project was accomplished, but this is just the beginning. We went to Italy to learn, we have put some things in practice there but our school is waiting for us to tell them how we can use photography to motivate students’ awareness of self esteem and safety.    Read more

  • Maria MarquesMotivation III - ESA - ItalyMaria Marques

    Roverè

    November 29, 2018 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 2 °C

    We spent this day in a different school. Roverè is a mountain village and it was pretty cold when we arrived there. On the way, on shady places the frost covered the hills with ice crystals, that later were glittering in the sun.
    The students from this school were waiting for us and were very proud of all the things they did at school. The robotics LEGO league competition in which they are involved, their regular classrooms and also the school facilities. The morning ended up with the final rehearsal of “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens. A moving simple adaptation of this amazing book.
    Before lunch it was still time to use photo techniques on the mountain. The hiking tour lead us through a winter wood full of art! I mean, real paintings were hanging on the trees!
    The afternoon was under the surface. This time it was a forest of stone. Stalactites and stalagmites are formed in the Cave of Monte Capriollo. It is a funny place with limestone formations, bats and an imported cave creature from the Dolomites caves called Protheus. It is white, blind, has red ears and eats alive worms. But the mountains still had something special for us: an amazing red sunset!    Read more

  • Maria MarquesMotivation III - ESA - ItalyMaria Marques

    Cerro Veronese - Bosco Chiesanuova

    November 28, 2018 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 6 °C

    This day started for students directly at school. The German class was the one that received them and they presented themselves, along with some members of the Polish team. After that we attended a photo workshop. Students were given a picture of themselves. They had to cut it in half, stick it to an A3 paper and complete the missing half by drawing or any other type of graphic representation. The purpose was to rise their sense of self esteem and awareness. This was a funny exercise that was lead by an Italian arts teacher. The Portuguese team had teacher Antonina - the best arts teacher - who also helped all the students around.
    In the afternoon we were learning photographic techniques to put in practice on the following day in the open air photo landscape of Venice. Geometric values and aesthetic parameters were taught to be used accordingly during the following day, but before going home we could still visit the stop motion laboratory to which we will go back to on Thursday.    Read more

  • Maria MarquesMotivation III - ESA - ItalyMaria Marques

    Venice

    November 28, 2018 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 9 °C

    Venice was ready to fill in the empty pages of our sketchbook, but this time we didn’t use a pencil. We had our cellphones ready to capture the nicest frames of the city, and that’s what we did. This is one of the most photogenic cities in the world and we were so fortunate to put in practice all the details that we learned the day before. Symmetrical buildings coming from colourful reflections in the water. Clear perspectives coming from the long canals as if they are infinite lines and the three third rules that are so important in photo composition were all so easy to perceive. This was great to share with all the partners all the knowledge we had.Read more

  • Maria MarquesMotivation III - ESA - ItalyMaria Marques

    Bosco Chiesanuova

    November 27, 2018 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C

    The morning started with all partners meeting again at the hotel. Bosco is a mountain city and we walked down to school. It was about 400m and it was a pleasant morning stroll. At school the headmaster and some teachers were waiting for us and we had quite a nice presentation about Bosco and the surrounding area. It is located in a national park, just like Gerês, but the geological origin of it is quite different because Lessinia is of limestone and marble, whereas Gerês is of sandstone.
    Anyway, after a tour around school and a lunch break, we walked through the park to visit a house where cheese was made in the past and learn about all the process. From this day onwards, the students had dinner at home with the hosting families.    Read more

  • Maria MarquesMotivation III - ESA - ItalyMaria Marques

    Porto - Verona - Bosco Chiesanuova

    November 26, 2018 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 11 °C

    In Italy we spent seven days learning about photography and its usage for motivating students’ awareness of self esteem and safety. It was also an amazing way to get mingled with European culture, because it is easy to capture it through the camera’s lenses.

    The first day we spent it travelling. From the Oporto airport we flew to Milan, took a train to the city centre and then to Verona Porta Nuova station, in Verona. We started at 3:45 in the morning in Vieira do Minho and arrived in Bosco Chiesanuova, Verona, at 19:30. Meanwhile we had 3 hours to walk around Verona and lazily enjoy the city centre. Soooo beautiful!

    But for the project sake what really matters was the meeting in Bosco. All the hosting families and teachers were waiting for us and a welcome party was prepared in the hotel where the teachers stayed. Students went to families. The first impact was a bit scary because nobody knew what to expect.    Read more

  • França

    Marseille

    October 7, 2018 in France ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    Marseille is wonderful! We spent most of our time around the Vieux Port. The MuCem, the Chateâu d’If, the Fort de Saint Jean and the Cathedral are all around and it is amazing to feel the perfect combination of modern and old buildings, the cruise boats in the big harbour and all the fancy surroundings with expensive shops and restaurants to receive the hundreds of tourists that leave the cruises everyday.
    As for us, we preferred going to the old harbour where seafood restaurants are lined and we could taste a specialty that seems awkward but it definitely works: fried mussels with french fries... delicious! Also a salad with cheese and meat that seems funny at first but is totally delish! And the rest of the afternoon, supposedly to know a bit more about the city, was to rush into nice places when the thunderstorm decided to play some tricks on us. A nice bar for a coffee, a réplica of the Galleries Lafayette, a nice biscuit shop and, last but not least, a soap shop to buy the famous Soap of Marseille! After all we really ended up soaked by the late afternoon rain before going to the airport... loved it all anyway!    Read more

  • França

    Arles - Avignon - Aix-en-Provence

    October 6, 2018 in France ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    Arles is a World Heritage city with a lot of Roman remains, namely a small colosseum and an amphitheater. The city is on the left bank of the river Rhône and there is a long promenade alongside. It was nice to eat in a small creperie in the city centre, feeling the flavour of ripe tomato, chèvre cheese and Provence olive oil to relax for a while. The day is beautiful and it’s difficult to see the autumn coming...
    Avignon, the city of the Popes, reminds me immensely of Évora. The city wall is huge and the old city spreads inside. From the Palais des Papes and the cathedral to its side to the bridge of Avignon - only half, by the way - all is very beautiful and well preserved. The view from the gardens is amazing.
    We end up the day in Aix-en-Provence. Maybe because my expectations were high the feeling of delusion also strikes me. The whole city is under construction and it is not so nice as I expected. Nevertheless, the city centre is pleasant enough to have dinner and go back to the country house we stayed in to spend the night.    Read more

  • França

    Carcassonne - Bézier - Montpellier

    October 6, 2018 in France ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    6.10.2018
    Carcassonne - Bézier - Montpellier

    After having breakfast with Zé and Luisa we went to the food market in the city centre of Carcassonne. I was never in France before. This is my first time but what the eyes can see and the nose can smell takes me back to the imaginary of Joanne Harris and her books about France. Although we’ve just had breakfast I feel like eating all the nuts and olives. The fruits and veggies were so fresh and the flowers incredibly beautiful and scented. Afterwards we went back to the Gare de Carcassonne, just to take a look at the Canal du Midi during the day. Throughout the day we passed by it many times and on Béziers we made long stop to visit the nine dams that are ready to get the boats up and down the canal. It is amazing that so many years ago they had the knowledge to build such a great art of engineering. The city centre of Béziers is also very nice with its catedral showing its grandiosity as a skyscraper of the past! But before getting there we still had time to go to the citadel of the castle in Carcassone with a short stop to taste the Cassoulet, which is like our “feijoada” in Portugal.
    In the evening Montpellier almost gets me crazy. It is not easy to park a car in French cities and when finally we can do it, because a car is leaving, but the driver gets mad at your position in the park and he decides to put the car back in the parking place and start shouting at me... then I caught myself shouting back and saying a bunch of “truths” to the man like: “Vous êtes trés gentile. C’est à cause de personnes comme vous que j’aime lá France!!!” It seemed that suddenly I could speak French!!! Eheheh! In the end he left and we had a perfect spot! Dinner was perfect too. The city centre of Marseille is very lively and the food was special! Once again, but under a heavy rain and crazy thunderstorm, we slept in the van in a place out of Montpellier called Carnon-Plage - a small stripe of land facing the salty lagoons and the Mediterranean Sea.    Read more

  • França

    Lloret del Mar - Figueres - Carcassone

    October 5, 2018 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    After dinner in Praça Real in Barcelona and a stroll through La Rambla we headed to the ocean to sleep in the van, directly at the beach. The sound of the ocean is always the perfect song for deep sleep. The sun was shining when we got up and the Mediterranean was like a pond! Fishermen were around and some metres away was the picnic area where we had breakfast facing the deep blue of the sea. In Loret del Mar the beach was silent without children. Europe is back to school and only retired people spend relaxed holidays by the seaside. It was possible to take a nap after a short dip in the chilly water. Refreshing and beautiful with big fish swimming relaxed like around me but to cold to swim.
    But our target is Carcassone and after this relaxing hours, we decided to stop only at Figueres, the birthplace of Salvador Dalí. It was a small town with a surprisingly beautiful city centre full of art, as one should expect. The feeling of being near France strikes me for the first time when we get into a Patisserie and Spanish bocadillos mix with choux and nougat.
    Carcassone welcomes us at sunset and the castle is splendid at this time with this special light. Zé and Luisa are late because the TGV has a delay, so we take a stroll to the city centre where a lot of people are still having dinner. Carcassone is not an expensive city to have dinner out, as we will find out in other french cities. We end the day meeting them at the Gare de Carcassone and spend the rest of the evening with them.    Read more

Get your own travel profile

Free

QR code

FindPenguins for iOSFindPenguins for Android

  • 2026© FindPenguins
  • Home
  • About us
  • Group Tracking
  • Press
  • Terms
  • Privacy Policy & Cookies
  • Help Center
  • Legal notice