All about France - My story

Today is the national day of France, or the Bastille day. To celebrate that, I decided to tell you the story that connects me to this country. At the same time, Phoebe from Lou Messugo has an open call for posts about France in her All About France "project", so I will take a chance to contribute with my story as well. 

I am Portuguese. He is Swedish. It all started 7 years ago. I was living in Poland. He was living in Scotland. We both went to the same conference, in Montpellier. 

I was very tired of my life in Poland. I felt lonely and I couldn't wait to see the end of it. I had never been to France. The closest image I had of the country was carried by all the portuguese immigrants in France, that always visited my hometown in August every year. They were arrogant, they pretended to not understand portuguese (even though they were portuguese), and they tried to show off all the money they didn't have. In this way, I didn't expect much from my trip to France, although it's always nice to go to international conferences.

What I didn't know was that destiny had different plans for me. In the first day of the conference I met this tall beautiful swedish boy. His smile was gorgeous and it was really pleasant to talk with him. So we did, for 5 days, we discovered how similar we were. It took us 4 days to ask each other's names and by that time other people thought we were best friends since childhood.

When the conference was over all we had was 2 computers, internet connection and the will to not loose each other. We chatted every day and even though we didn't see each other, we knew more of each other than any other couple actually dating for the same time. Months later we decided to meet again. In Amsterdam. It was fantastic to see each other again. A couple of months later we met in Switzerland. And then in Glasgow. Then in Kirchberg, Austria. In London. In Paris. In Szczecin, Poland. In Edinburgh. In Porto. For the first 3 years it was like this. We lived in different countries and met each other once a month in different cities in Europe. Afterwards, we lived in different continents and then we finally moved in together! Risky, crazy, weird were a few things we heard from other people. We didn't really care because when you know it's right, you just know it's right.

We love our story and we never miss a chance to share it. Today, we shared it with you. I hope you had a good time reading it!

Running in the morning

A minha próxima meia maratona é em 10 semanas e já comecei a treinar para ela. Ao longo do ano tenho experimentado correr em horários diferentes para perceber qual o que se adapta melhor a mim.
De Janeiro a Abril corri à hora de almoço e foi óptimo, porque como era Inverno essa era a hora que estava menos frio. Em Maio as temperaturas subiram e tornou-se difícil correr durante a hora de almoço. Comecei a correr ao fim da tarde, depois do trabalho. Não funcionou... Foram mais as vezes que desisti de ir do que as que fui. É certo que estava num periodo mais relaxado, sem corridas pela frente, mais ainda assim foi miserável. Em média, em Junho devo ter corrido umas duas vezes por semana. Ao mesmo tempo soube-me bem fazer um intervalo na loucura dos treinos mas no final já andava cheia de saudades dos meus ténis.
Agora estou de volta aos treinos mais a sério e ando a seguir um plano (pelo método de Hanson, do qual fiquei fan). Como ainda é Verão tem estado muito calor e sabendo que não consigo treinar ao fim do dia só me resta treinar de manhã pela fresca antes de ir trabalhar. Isso significa que tenho que me levantar às 6h30 para comer, esperar meia hora e ir. Não é assim tão mau (há pessoas que se levantam bem mais cedo!) e eu sempre fui uma pessoal mais matinal.

My next half marathon is in 10 weeks and I started training hard again. I have been experimenting to train at different times of the day, to see which one suits me better.

From January to April, I ran at lunch time, which worked really well since it was winter time and quite cold. In May, the temperatures raised and it became too hot to run during lunch break, so I started training after work, just before sunset. It didn't work... I gave up on it more times than I actually went. Sure it was also a more relaxed period without any races to train for, but still. I'm just too tired to do it after work. In June I must have ran, in average, twice a week. It felt really good to relax and not care so much, but in the end I was already missing my running shoes. 

Now I'm back on training and following a plan (Hanson's method of which I became a fan!). Because it's still summer and it has been really hot here, and knowing I can't run in the evening, I chose to run early morning before going to work. That means getting up around 6h30 to eat something, wait 30 minutes and then go. Its not so bad (I know people who go up earlier than that!) and I have always been a morning person.

As primeiras 2 manhãs foram duras. Senti o meu corpo confuso e a perguntar-se o que raio estava a acontecer e porque é que nos estavamos a mexer tanto?? Senti que tinha que arrastar um bloco pesado enquanto corria.

It was only a problem the first 2 mornings. My body was confused and wondering what the hell is happening and why are we moving so much?? I really felt I was dragging a huge heavy block while I was running.

Depois disso habituei-me e até comecei a acordar antes do despertador, tamanha é a excitação de ir correr. Pessoas normais têm um diabinho ou um anjinho em cada orelha, eu devo ter a preguiça e um atleta nas minhas. Felizmente o atleta ganha sempre e só é uma pena a discussão acontecer 1h mais cedo do que a hora de acordar. Uma vez que abro os olhos já não volto a adormecer e acabo por ter tempo de sobra de manhã. Hoje usei esse tempo para imaginar estes cartoons...

Afterwards it became better and I have been waking up excited before the alarm. While normal people have a little angel and a little devil in each ear, I must have a lazy guy and a runner in mine. Fortunately, the runner always wins, and the only problem is that the discussion happens usually 1h before I actually have to get up! Once I'm half awake I just can't go back to sleep, so I usually have time to spare in the morning. Today, I used that time in a creative way and imagined these cartoons...

Sara Jump - Karlovy Vary

Um Sara Jump com respingos de água termal... Sem muita energia e ainda a recuperar da corrida dei tudo o que tinha porque Karlovy Vary merecia.

A Sara Jump with thermal water droplets... I was low on energy and recovering from the race, but I gave everything I had because Karlovy Vary was worth it.

Karlovy Vary, Maio 2015

Karlovy Vary

Karlovy Vary é uma cidade spa, situada na região ocidental da região Boémia da República Checa. A cidade é famosa pelas suas nascentes de água quente, das quais as pessoas bebem em canecas engraçadas, pelas suas propriedades termais. Karlovy Vary tem alguns pontos turísticos interessantes, mas é a cidade como um todo o mais interessante, pois é repleta de edifícios lindos e coloridos. 

Karlovy Vary is a spa town located in western Bohemian of Czech Republic. It is famous for its hot springs, from which people drink in funny looking mugs, for their thermal properties. Karlovy Vary has a few interesting sights, but the best of it is really the whole town together, rich in beautiful and colourful buildings.

Market Colonnade

Interior do Market Colonnade

Inside of the Market Colonnade

Spa hotel

Edifícios lindíssimos - Em baixo à esquerda é a Igreja Ortodoxa de São Pedro e São Paulo.

Beautiful buildings - The bottom left one is a Orthodox Church of Saints Peter and Paul.

Uma das avenidas principais, já em preparação para a corrida. 

One of the main avenues, getting ready for the race.

Mill Colonnade

20 Km, um sinal tão bom de ver quando vamos na corrida!

20 Km, what a beautiful sign to see when you are running!

Esquerda: um geyser; Direita: as arcadas da Mill Collonade.

Left: an indoor geyser; right: the inside of the Mill Colonnade.

Mosaicos musicais / Musical tiles

Espalhadas pelas colonnades há muitas fontes de água termal, com temperaturas entre 45 e 75 ºC. Cada fonte tem uma placa com o nome e a temperatura. Nas ruas pedestres há quiosques onde se podem comprar as canecas tradicionais, com uma palhinha embutida, tudo em cerâmica, adequadas para se beber as águas das fontes. O sabor das águas varia bastante dependendo da fonte. Experimentei algumas com muito sabor a ferro (que para mim eram difíceis de beber) e outras quase sem sabor nenhum (muito mais fáceis de beber). No geral adorei experimentar!

There's a lot of hot springs spread all over the colonnades, with temperatures between 45 and 75 ºC. Each spring has a plaque with the name and temperature of the water. Along the pedestrians streets there's lots of kiosks selling the traditional cups, with an incorporated straw, all in ceramics, proper to drink the thermal waters. The taste of the water can change quite a lot, depending from which spring you drink. I tried some with a strong iron flavour (quite hard to drink for me), and some other ones that were almost tasteless (and easy to drink). In general I really enjoyed trying the different waters!

Perto do centro da cidade, depois de um pequeno passeio pelo monte acima, podemos encontrar a Torre de Observação Diana, onde se pode ver toda a paisagem em volta da cidade. 

At a short walk from the city center up the hill, visitors can find the Diana Observation Tower, to observe the surrounding landscape .

Nós, com Karlovy Vary ao fundo / Us, with Karlovy Vary in the background

O banco do lobo / The wolf's seat

Apesar de estarmos adoentados e não nos sentirmos grande coisa durante a nossa estadia em Karlovy Vary, gostamos imenso do fim de semana que lá passamos. Esperamos poder voltar em breve e desta vez aproveitar os spas e as piscinas termais.

Even though we were a bit ill and didn't feel great, we still enjoyed our stay in Karlovy Vary a lot. Now we hope we can go back some day to enjoy the spas and the thermal pools. 

Elsa & Pedro's Sara Jump

A Elsa e o Pedro, que nos visitaram em Praga o ano passado, foram passear pela Tailândia e adoraram. Numa das suas idas à praia fizeram um Sara Jump muito esforçado, pois o único local disponível para colocar a máquina fotográfica era um baloiço e foram precisas muitas tentativas até conseguirem esta foto. Obrigada pelo esforço e pelo fantástico Sara Jump no Paraíso!!!!!

Elsa and Pedro, our guests last year, went to Thailand and fell in love with the country. In one of their visits to the beach they made a very difficult Sara Jump. The only available place to put their camera was on a swing and they had to try the jump many times until they got this photo. Thanks for all the effort and for the fantastic Sara Jump in Paradise!!!!!

Tailândia, Junho 2015

Telma & Marco's Sara Jump

Os noivos foram em lua de mel até à Républica Dominicana mas não se esqueceram do Às Voltas no Mundo e fizeram um Sara Jump na Ilha Samoa, uma praia paradisíaca onde foi filmado o filme A Lagoa Azul. Obrigada aos dois e aproveitem as férias!

The newly-weds went to Dominican Republic on honeymoon. They didn't forget this blog and they sent me a Sara Jump made in the Samoa Island, a paradisiac beach where the movie The Blue Lagoon was filmed. Thank you and enjoy your vacation!

Ilha Samoa, Républica Dominicana, Junho 2015

Quatro dias de alegria

Estive em Portugal, na minha cidade natal durante 4 dias. Os 4 dias mais intensos de sempre!

Fui ao casamento da minha melhor amiga de infância, a Telma, uma pessoa super hiper espectacular que encontrou um homem à sua altura, o Marco. É a mais nova de 5 irmãos, de uma família linda e muito unida. Foi várias vezes campeã nacional de ginástica, é hiperactiva e não consegue estar quieta nem um minuto. Conseguem imaginar como foi o casamento, não conseguem? Uma animação do início ao fim com momentos para rir, dançar, chorar de emoção, abraços, sorrisos e palavras que tocam o coração. O evento do ano!

I just returned from Portugal, where I spent 4 days in my hometown. The most intense 4 days ever!

I went to the wedding of my childhood best friend, Telma, a super hyper spectacular person who found a man just like her. She is the youngest daughter of 5 siblings, of a beautiful and united family. She was a national champion in gymnastics several times, she is hyperactive and she can't be still for more than a minute. By now you must be able to guess how this wedding was. It was a roller-coaster of laughing, dancing, crying with emotion, hugs, smiles and words that came from the heart. The event of the year!

O resto do tempo foi dividido entre idas ao banco/dentista/oculista e outras coisas obrigatórias como ir comer pasteis de nata quentinhos e um gelado no jardim, comprar bacalhau para trazer, além das visitas a amigos e familiares. Ainda tivemos tempo de subir à cerejeira e comer cerejas mesmo boas e de passar em 2 festas de São João. Uma das festas estava a ser organizada pelo meu clube de corrida, onde fui conhecer o resto dos elementos que ainda não conhecia pessoalmente (sou uma atleta recente). Leveram-me à sede do clube que foi renovada e mostraram-me a parede com fotos com todos os atletas, que fizeram recentemente. A minha foto está lá, a segurar a bandeira de Portugal, entre verdadeiros campeões e outros amadores como eu. Não consigo expressar como me sinto feliz por o meu clube me ter acolhido desta maneira, apesar de mal me conhecerem e de eu não passar de uma corredora amadora. 

The remaining time was spent in the bank/dentist/ophthalmologist and other compulsory things I have to do when I'm home, such as eating warm Portuguese custard tarts, eating ice cream in the main garden of the city, buy codfish, besides all the visits to family and friends. We also climbed the cherry tree in my parent's backyard and ate fresh cherries, and went to two São João festivals, typical on the evening of June 23rd. One of them was organised by my running club and as I'm a recent athlete I could meet personally some of the elements I only knew through facebook. They took me to the club's house, that has been renovated, and showed me my picture in the wall of photos they made recently. There I am, holding my country's flag, among true champions and other amateurs. There's not enough words for me to express how happy I am for the way I have been taken in by everybody in my club, even though they barely know me and I am just an amateur.

Living abroad is...

... finding out at lunch time on a Friday that the following Monday is a public holiday!

Oh happiness!!!



Viver no estrangeiro é...

... descobrir numa Sexta-feira à hora de almoço que a Segunda-feira seguinte é feriado!

Oh felicidade!!!

Portugal - Sweden Final under 21

Tuesday evening was the final match of the Under 21 championship in football. We both bought the official shirt of the championship (because the shirts of our countries are elsewhere), grabbed our scarves and headed for the stadium. The atmosphere in the stadium was amazing!! The yellow shirts of the swedes popped out, while the red shirts of the portuguese blended with the red chairs of the stadium. The same way, the Swedish supporters could be heard miles away, while the portuguese voices got lost.

We tried, of course, to shout for Portugal but we were not enough. Having heard all the swedish songs in the semifinal match for 2h, I couldn't help but sing along with them. Their enthusiasm was contagious and I was glad I had a good excuse to scream Sverige! 

The champions with the supporters behind. The supporters were spread a bit everywhere around the stadium but the biggest block was behind that goal.

The match itself was quite balanced and exciting, even though it ended up 0-0. It went to penalties. When I saw that the penalties would be scored in the goal just next to the swedish supporters I knew Portugal would fail. The pressure was so incredibly high, the booing was so loud, it was impossible to not get affected. And so it was... Sweden became an European champion!

 Carlgren, the swedish goalkeeper, exchanging his shirt by a supporter's flag. 

The swedish coach and the cup.

And I celebrated like if it was my own country. I can't really explain how or why, but the truth is I was really happy for them. The supporters deserved it. In 3 days, they managed to organise buses and bring 4000 people here. They came from everywhere and they shouted for over 3h, restless, happy, just like children. It was beautiful!