London Update

22nd May 2006

Hello again!! I have not had the time to upload the rest of the Portugal photos but I think everyone got the idea from the Porto photos so I thought I would let everyone know what I was up to in London.
I have now moved into a permanent residence in Dolis Hill which is about half an hour from Hammersmith where I am now working in a pub called Dartmouth Castle where I have been working behind the bar and making coffees and will also eventually waiter food once I am trained some more. I get free meals after every shift and what ever juices/etc I want while working we also have wine testing days and get to try a wine with our meals and get to try the occasional dessert which makes up for slightly low wages which I dont mind as long as I can save some and pay for rent and food and all that jazz...we will see how it goes!
I should also tell about where I am staying - though the living area, kitchen and bathroom are quite small I have quite a nice size bedroom with my own bed, two cupboards and dressing table and a desk but mostly its just a place that I have all to myself!! My roomates are two Italian girls (we have one vacant room which a Polish girl is supposed to moving into) Nora and Renata who I have met somewhat breifly today but who were very friendly and lovely and I've already plans to go out with Nora to the local pub!
I may still be able to load the last of the Portugal photos but I will start taking photos of my room and flat mate and work colleagues who are also all very friendly and fun and when the pub gets a bit dead (its a new pub so it happens a bit) they are all great just to chat too about anything!
More when things get a bit more interesting
xxoo em

Porto Photos

12th May

OK here are the first lot of photos - I've decided to divide them up into Porto, Lisbon and Cascais, Estoril & Sintra.

Porto - drinking Sangria on the water front, Sal and I on the water front, in front of the Porto Bridge, after the Port Tour and the red roofs which are all over Portugal and add a fantastic brightness to the scenery! The last one is a moument which I rather liked but can't remeber the name...

Sintra

12th May

Sintra

Our last full day in Portugal we again ventured outside Lisbon this time with two friends Ben from Germany and Wouter from Holland who we met the night before at our hostel and played cards with. Sally and I had already decided that we would go to Sintra because it sounded like something different from Estoril and Cascais which is certainly was!
We walked from the Estoril station up a big old hill where we visted the castle ruins of Castelo dos Mouros which were absolutely fantastic with a great view and lots of steps to walk up! It took quite some time to discover it all so once we'd gone back done the hill we had a coffee and journeyed back to Lisbon. That was our last day full day in Portugal and we were both excited a about going back to London but sad to leave the warmth and adventures of Portugal! I really have loved Portugal and cant wait to see more of Europe!!

Lisbon

7th May 2006

We are into our third day in Lisbon and have been taking it very easy because we are here until Thursday when we fly back to London! Yesterday after breakfast we headed up towards a national park where we watched the assortment of geese, ducks and ducklings and roosters! The park was quite lovely though there wasnt much to do so we came back down to the main centre for Sangria and in the afternoon took a long walk and found out where we would be staying our last few nights (since theyy are already pre booked). It was a very slow day and we thought today we would make up for it and visit the statue which Sally and I refer to as The Giant Jesus - the more famous version is in Rio and known as Christ the Redeemer and is a figure of Jesus with his arms stretched out to the side. The one here in Portugal is a smaller version and we unfortunetly were not able to get across to the other side of the sea by foot so took some pictures from afar. However we made up for it this afternoon by visiting the Castelo De Jorge and seeing the ruins and getting spectacular views of Lisbon below which we enjoyed for quite some time and took in the sunshine.

9th May

On the Tuesday we ventured out of Lisbon to Caicais which is 25 minutes by train and to a more ideal location for beach goers!
We started with a walk around the shops which was lots of beachy stuff and then moved out on the open decking for San Gria (with white wine this time which got the tick of approval from us both) and then brave Sally went for a swim! The sun may be hot and the sky may be blue with very little clouds but the water is absolutely freezing!! So I just went to my knees and we returned sandy and slightly pink but we were glad for the change of scenery! The area looks simply fantastic with the sun out and some of the locals are bad looking either!
Today we checked into our new hostel which we pre booked called the Lisbon lounge which is much cooler than the hotel we stayed in though it not such an ideal location seems its away from the centre of the city.
We headed back towards Caicais again early afternoon and but instead went to a larger beach not too far away in Estoril which was had much more people lying about we were probably the whitest chicks on the beach!! Sally would like me to mention that AGAIN I did not go swimming but its just too cold and I am on holiday and would rather be warm on the sand!
We have one a half more days left before we head back to cold London so we are going to try and make the most of the sun while we can! We are planning another trip out of Lisbon tomorrow so hopefully I will have more exciting things to write about
xxooo Emily

Portugal Adventures in Porto!

5th May 2006 Hello Everyone! I am in Portugal! Sally and I arrived early yesrday morning and have since been taking it all in! On our first day here we were slightly drained since our flight was very early in the morning but we had arrived in Porto in Portugal!! After checking into our Hotel on Rue De Cedofeita we went looking for a tourist information place where we were able to find out where all the good stuff to do was! The most exciting propesct (we thought) was to go to the Port breweries (which are located on the other side of the river Douro) and do find the good shopping stip along one of the main streets Rue De Catarina. The area is really quite beatiful and feels quite warm after London - today we were actaully able to sit in the sun and feel heat! We found a lovely little cafe which serves the best Sangria (which is wine mixed with juice) which I love and also very good prices on meals! We walked along the banks and crossed the river taking plenty of photos but thought we would do a Port tour the following day. The rest of the afternoon was spent exploring the Rue De Caterina where the shopping was though neither of us were tempted to buy anything for the moment! What is very tempting is every second or third shop window is full of delicious looking pastries but we have stuck to the alcohol so far! Today we woke up slightly late but sat early afternoon having Sangria and then went over the otherside of the bank to do a Port tour!! I should say we were very excited about the sunshine as Sangria is very refreshing so we could of sat there for ages! (Ok so we did!) The Port tour was standard but still enjoyable and quite cheap as we god a ten minute tour and then a samply of the white and the red - this was my first taste of Port and OK I will admit that I liked it! It was sweeter than wine and had a great smell so I bought a small bottle of white! Any bets on if it will last the week? For the afternoon we went back to our cafe from yesterday and had more Sangria and a pizza! We are leaving to go to Lisbon in the morning and want to head futher south from there to find some beaches and really relax...its pretty tough here in Portugal! xxxooo Emily