Most people travelling to Portugal go because they love the country or perhaps love the sunny weather and the magnificent beaches, but why not try something a little different next time? For instance, why not combine your next trip (be it holiday or a property viewing trip) with a local event that will allow you to share a happy and celebratory time with local people? It’s great way to have fun and to make new friends.
This thought occurred to me when I saw something about the fantastically colourful carnivals in Portugal. For instance Loures, just 15 minutes away from Lisbon, has a great carnival tradition. There you can see an amazing carnival parade with over a thousand participants and many costumed characters in floats. This year the parade is scheduled to take place between the 6th and the 8th of March at 2:30 p.m. weather permitting – do check all dates and times before travelling by the way.
Then what about the carnival at Torres Vedras, only about 43 kms north of Lisbon, from Friday 4th to Wednesday 9th March 2011? This, they say, is the most ‘Portuguese’ carnival in the country - whatever that may mean! Evidently the parade has decorated streetcars satirising society and politics – it sounds interesting and quirky, doesn’t it?
As a confirmed bookaholic I rather liked the idea of the Lisbon Book Fair – no Kindle books for me! Evidently this has been held in Lisbon’s Edward VII Park (Parque Eduardo VII) since the 1930s and offers visitors a wonderful opportunity to browse through both old and new books, including comic books for the young/young at heart! It takes place some time from April to May – to my mind that’s worth bearing it in mind. And perhaps there will be a whole lot of like-minded locals to get chatting to…
The other thing I love to do when travelling is to walk, either alone, with friends or on arranged walks locally. It doesn’t have to be for miles – just a wander out into the country around Óbidos for instance is an utterly lovely experience. Spring is of course the perfect time to do this, with spring flowers popping up all over the countryside.
I also walked the walls that surround the town of Óbidos. I have to confess that I love peeping into people’s lives and seeing how they differ from ours – or indeed how often they are in many ways the same.
What I have often found is that if you walk just a few yards off the tourist trail you sometimes come upon enchanting places that are quiet and totally unspoilt, even in pats of the country that are otherwise quite crowded. Walking through the woods up to the palaces that rise above the town of Sintra was one such experience. All around me was it was quiet and cool and lovely with glimpses of birds and squirrels, while crowds of tourists drove to the top in their hot buses or cars!
There are so many towns and cities in Portugal that are fascinating to wander around – I did quite a bit of walking around Tomar for instance and found many small, intriguing insights into the town that I would never otherwise have seen. It is a mediaeval city with the streets and squares arranged in a chessboard pattern with lovely interesting Renaissance and Baroque buildings, medieval churches and the Castle. There is rumored to be a secret passageway between the Santa Maria dos Olivais church and the Castle – perhaps you may stumble across it!
So do a little research and pack those walking shoes next time you travel to Portugal: you may find the most wonderful things to do as you travel the country.
Have fun until next time…
Carol.
The Overseas Guides Company
http://www.Portugalbuyingguide.com
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