Kick Off!

Well, the football season is under way once again, and with it come many changes. Of course, Estoril Praia have sold a few players, including a couple of the much loved and arguably better players such as Steven Vitória (to Benfica), Licá (to Porto) and Jeferson (to Porto). And of course this has brought money into the team with which to buy new players, notably Balboa (from Beira Mar) and Evandro (from somewhere in Brazil). The figures would indicate that the team have spent a little more than the income from the sold players, but only time will tell if it was money well spent. Perhaps the plan is to recoup some of the money through the new building along the outside wall of the stadium, which although currently empty, has been painted in the team's distinctive yellow and blue colours and my guess is that it will open up very shortly as a merchandising shop.

The first game this season was a Europa match against Israeli team Hapoel Ramat Gan, which I managed to get tickets for, but only just! Speaking in all honesty, Estoril played very well and although they dominated the ball for the most part, were unsuccessful in actually putting it in the back of the net. Fortunately Ramat Gan didn't score either, which meant that Estoril had all to play for on the away leg. I watched the return match on the box whilst simultaneously following the ticker tape commentary in English on the web. It was a decidedly one sided match, fortunately in our favour, resulting in a one goal to nil away win for Estoril!

The third match, and first of the league, was at home entertaining Madeiran team, Nacional. Last season we beat them 4-0 at home and they beat us 0-1 on the away match, so it could easily have gone either way, with I suppose the odds slightly in Esoril's favour. Twenty nine minutes in and they put one in the net. Calamity! But all was not lost. Far from in fact, and in the closing minutes of the first half we scored not just once, but managed to get two goals! What away to leave the pitch! Even more astounding though was that on coming back onto the pitch Estoril managed to get a third goal in off the very first play of the second half in the 46th minute! What's more, the first and third goals were both pounded between the posts by one of our new boys, Evandro, pictured front row centre. I only hope that his good fortune continues.

I bumped into my neighbour before the match against Nacional, and so we walked up to the stadium together, but on the way there, he led me to the supporters bar, which is where all the hardcore fans hang out before the games. I'd been told about this bar last year but never managed to find it. Anyway, I got myself signed up there as a supporter meaning that my tickets for the matches will be reserved there for me to collect every week. Fantastic! And so tomorrow afternoon I'll be going up there to buy some tickets for the evening's Europa match against Austrian team, Pasching. There's a few of us going, so it should be a good wheeze and especially since the numbers are indicating Estoril as clear favourites.

Come on Yellows!!

*Pictures courtesy of Estoril Praia football club, and their facebook page!

Post Camping Relaxation

Phew! Camping certainly was hectic. And after two weeks of living under canvas it's been really nice to sleep on a proper bed and do all those other simply wonderful little things that we take for granted, day after day, like waking up and popping the kettle on for a brew. Don't get me wrong though, the camping was loads and loads of fun too, with all those fantastic day trips out to sandy beaches, gothic monasteries and, most importantly, time off from the usual routine.

So, what exactly have I been up to since the camping trip? Well, not much, if I'm brutally honest. I still have my feet firmly planted in the summer holidays. That said, I have not been completely idle. My family and I have had a few day trips out...

We spent a day at the Museum of Natural History and Science. Quite a large museum in all, with many exhibits of different kinds, including the first hall upstairs detailing the historical journey of it's survival through fires and earthquake. The other more usual exhibits, including the "Equations and Form" exhibit, the dinosaur exhibits, "The Whale Room", not to mention the geology rooms and the exhibit detailing how the universe was formed, were all fantastic. And then....there's the adjoining Botanical Gardens and Butterfly House. A great day out.

Some very beautiful algebra.

A dinosaur's skull.

This huge geode was 4 foot tall! Gorgeous.

This tree grows new roots from the dangling tendrils into the earth.

A Venus Fly Trap.

Another carnivorous plant.

Caterpillars in the Butterfly House.

Chrysalises.

A very tall palm tree.

A lovely white flower. No idea of it's name, sorry.

Another nameless flower, but this time, in red.

We also spent a morning at a newly discovered beach, the Praia de Lizandro, watching the surfers surf and swimming in the adjoining river, which was (a), much safer for the children because it was only knee deep, and (b), a hell of a lot warmer than the icy cold sea!

The river at Praia de Lizandro.

View from the hill of Lizard Beach.

Of course there's always the obligatory walks along the promenade between Cascais and Estoril. With the weather improving since the camping trip up into the mid thirties the beaches along the line have been packed with tourists and locals alike all working on their tans, swimming, surfing and even paddle boarding. (I'm told that's what it's called, but don't quote me!)

Paddle-surfers!

View from São João towards Cascais.

With a couple of weeks left of the summer holidays yet, I'm anxious to make the most of it, so with luck, there will be more pictures soon...

Campismo 2013, Part 2.3

Friday 26th

The morning passed smoothly enough. We packed up our stuff into the car once more and, after an early lunch of pizza from the campsite shop set off once again onto Portugal's motorways through Porto back south towards Tomar. Deciding one again to completely ignore Sat Nav Kate's advice we headed along a new motorway to the campsite and by Kate's own admission chopped fifteen minutes off our journey time. We arrived, following her GPS coords, without problem and discovered a quaint site run by a Scots lady and her Dutch partner in the middle of apparently nowhere. After erecting the tent for the final time we ate and then headed for the bar where we met with an Anglo-Welsh couple spending their summer touring Europe and swapped stories into well after the children's bedtime. We decided that tomorrow would be a simple visit to Tomar with visits to the local caves and dinosaur remains to follow on Sunday.

Saturday 27th

Tomar is a very lovely town to visit. There's a river with a weir, The Convent of Christ to spend ages exploring, some fantastic restaurants and even (currently) a beer festival. The Convent, which as it happens also turned out to be the ancient headquarters of the Knights Templar and incorporated an entire monastery took all morning to look around, and we still missed bits. A tour guide would have been helpful as the place is huge and has such an important history. But, we have kids instead, so we just found our own pace exploring all the nooks, crannies and interesting looking spiral staircases.

The river and weir in Tomar.

The Church of St John.

Statue of Gualdim Pais, founder of Tomar.

View of the Convent of the Order of Christ.

The old entrance to the Chapel at the Convent.

The famous Chapel house Window at the Convent.

A Lego recreation of the Window featured at an exhibition in Tomar.

Sunday 28th

We started out early following the directions of our hosts to find the "Dinosaur Footprints" and after that follow the road into Mira de Aire to the caves there. Well, we didn't find the caves and soon found ourselves in Mira de Aire. Perhaps we would find the dinosaurs on the way back? So we bought some tickets for the cave sand waited patiently for our guided tour to start. The guide led us into a room where we watched a short video about the caves and how they were formed, when they were discovered and about the geology of the area, all in Portuguese of course, but I got the general idea from the pictures alone. Then we entered the caves and the guide led us first down the steps into an open cave. It was spectacular! After stopping to talk and get everyone to line up for photographs (to be sold to us later!) she proceeded to lead us from cave to cave in what turned out to be a very extensive set of caves leading ever downwards. Unfortunately, none of my photographs from the caves turned out very well, so I'll just link a Google Image Search here for you, to give you some idea of what it was like. Over lunch we talked about heading for the Dinosaur Footprints and decided that as we didn't really know exactly where they were, that instead we'd head to Batalha and look around the stunning Cathedral there. And it did not disappoint! We were very lucky to pass by the Chapel of the Unknown Soldier just in time to witness the changing of the guard. With their commanding officer barking out orders, the guards performed what seemed to be a highly ritualistic "stamping" march along the cloister's corridors! Across the other side of the Cathedral was a room containing the tombs of some of Portugal's royal family including that of King John I and his Queen, Philippa of Lancaster, whose marriage in 1387 secured the Portuguese - English Alliance, which is the oldest alliance in the world that is still in force! All in all, a very impressive day out!

The Cathedral at Batalha.

Rather impressive statue of a man on horseback.

The front entrance to the Cathedral.

The changing of the guard in the Chapel of the Unknown Soldier.

The Lamp, standing over the tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

Tomb of King John I of Portugal and his wife, Queen Philippa of Lancaster.

Monday 29th

A quick stop off at the market in Ferreira do Zêzere to buy some bread, cheese and fruit for our picnic lunch before heading to the "floating pools" at Castanheira for a swim in the river. Then a drive down the other side of the river (lake) to take on a quick view of the dam at Castelo do Bode before returning to camp for a much earned glass of beer.

The floating pools. Pic courtesy of regiaodozezere.blogspot.pt.

The dam at Castelo do Bode.

Tuesday 30th

Just time for a pony ride for my youngest followed by a quick dip in the pool to cool off. Tent packed back up into its surprisingly small bag, and we're of back home again.

A fabulous trip through three campsites. Yes, I would do it again. Probably next summer!

Campismo 2013, Part 2.2

Sunday 21st

Mostly driving. Mostly boring motorway stuff. After arriving at the campsite and putting up the tent we discovered the tunnels leading from the campsite under the golf course to the beach...

The view from the end of the tunnel across the beach.

Monday 22nd

Day out in Braga, which is a very lovely city a bit like Lincoln, full of old churches and narrow streets with arches at the ends. We walked around the Cathedral and through the shopping arcade. We ate lunch at a small bistro and then walked around some more. In hindsight it might have been better if we'd had a more concrete plan for which sights to see. Or perhaps not. We were happy simply meandering and saw plenty of fantastic sights anyway. In the evening I took a long walk through the tunnels again and along the beach. A way along I discovered that what I had previously thought were rocks were actually enormous white sandbags to reinforce the dunes and/or stop the golf course from collapsing onto the beach. Weather wise, it's just a shame that the clouds persist; It would be so much nicer if the sun would shine.

A Church garden in Braga.

Another big church in Braga.

The big fountain in the centre of town.

Church tower.

The beach next to the campsite, strewn with tatters of the sandbags.

Further along, where a stream joined the beach.

Tuesday 23rd

Hooray, the sun is shining. And so we decided to head for the nearest town, Póvoa de Varzim. We had obtained a little tourist guide from the campsite reception and the review of the beach was very good. Having found the seafront we drove along right until the end and then parked up. After a very relaxing morning on the somewhat gravelly beach we found a restaurant for some lunch and finished off the day exploring the shops along the prom and eating ice cream.

A small section of the immense wall of Azulejos near the harbour.

A small house curiously sitting in among the taller apartment blocks on the seafront.

Wednesday 24th

After much discussion last night we decided to go to Porto today and follow a walk from the Lonely Planet guide. It started off at a Church called Clérigos, with a tall tower to climb and get fantastic views of the riverside area. Then winding its way to the riverside though narrow streets and allies leading finally over the bridge to gain a splendid view of the riverside area from the far bank. Then our plan was to take a boat trip up the river a way and simply enjoy the scenery, which we did having been sold the tickets for a boat trip at the foot of the church tower steps. Finally since the tickets also gave a free visit to a Port Wine cellar, including a much advertised free taste, we indulged. We returned to camp late after a very busy and tiring day. Plans are to spend tomorrow, being our final day in the north, at Guimarães, arguably, or so I'm told, the birthplace of the kingdom of Portugal.

Torre dos Clérigos (Clérigos Church Tower).

Clérigos Church.

Ooooh, A tram!

The view from Clérigos Tower towards the riverside.

Example of stone working on a wall in the riverside area.

A bridge over the river Douro.

These boats were originally used to transport the wines down from the vineyards.

Another view of the bridge.

A different bridge, viewed from our boat trip.

A Port Wine cellar.

The customary tasting!

Thursday 25th

Guimarães today. A lovely town. Very medieval looking and apparently, although I'm no expert, with some French influence. Either way a town full of fantastic looking old buildings. We parked at the market and found our way to the historical centre where, after a quick visit to the tourist information office to obtain a map we wound our way through the cobbled streets and fountained praça's up to the palace and castle.

A church in Guimarães.

A symbolic statue of a (possibly) the first King of Portugal.

Azulejos depicting the Virgin Mary.

Another less symbolic statue.

The model of Guimarães Castle, that I'd previously seen at the Big Lego Event.

Inside the Palace, looking across towards the chapel.

The front of the Castle.

Fountain and view from the town square.

Back in camp I took the kids to the pool while my better half cooked us up a fantastic casserole to use up all the veg in preparation for our moving on tomorrow to Tomar.