Edinburgh - Royal Mile

Edinburgh, in Scotland, is one of my favourite cities in the whole world. Its history can almost be touched in the air. Its beautiful buildings and gloomy skies give it a mysterious atmosphere. Its people make it friendly and cosy. And there's the memories of course. Johan lived in Edinburgh for 3 years. At the time was living in Poland at first, and then in Brazil. I visited him many times and being in Edinburgh meant I was with him, so I have the best memories of this gorgeous Scottish city. Five years later we went back. We spent a couple of days in the city and enjoyed ourselves revisiting our favourite spots and meeting with Johan's friends. I felt like at home and Johan felt that even more, of course. 

A couple of years ago I heard about Rick Steves, his guides and podcasts. Since then I have the Rick Steves app in my phone and I always check if he has any guided walking tour in the cities I visited. For Edinburgh, I downloaded the walking tour of the Royal Mile, the street that connects the Castle on top of the hill, to the Palace at the bottom. I learned a lot of new things and I noticed new details I hadn't seen before. To know more about the Royal Mile you can read here or download the podcast yourself (there are more details in the podcast). I can contribute with pictures of my experience. 

Edimburgo, na Escócia, é uma das minhas cidades preferidas no mundo inteiro. A história paira no ar e quase que pode ser tocada. Os seus edifícios são lindos e os céus sombrios dão-lhe um ar misterioso. As pessoas fazem da cidade um local amigável, onde nos sentimos bem. E as memórias, claro. O Johan morou em Edimburgo durante 3 anos. Nessa altura eu morava na Polónia e mais tarde no Brasil. Visitei-o muitas vezes e estar em Edimburgo foi sempre sinónimo de estar com o Johan e de estar feliz, por isso tenho as melhores memórias desta cidade escocesa. Cinco anos depois voltamos. Passámos pouco mais de dois dias na cidade mas revivemos locais e pessoas amigas. Senti-me em casa e o Johan ainda mais do que eu, claro.

Há uns dois anos atrás ouvi falar de Rick Steves, dos seus guias e podcasts. Desde essa altura que tenho a sua app no telemóvel e antes de viajar vejo sempre se há algum podcast com um passeio explicado por ele disponível para esse local. Para Edimburgo há um passeio pelo Royal Mile, a rua que liga o castelo no topo da colina, ao palácio no fundo. Aprendi muitas coisas novas e reparei em detalhes que nunca tinha visto. Se quiserem saber mais sobre o Royal Mile podem ler aqui ou fazer download da app como eu fiz (há mais detalhes no podcast da app que no texto). Eu posso contribuir com fotos da minha experiência.

The Edinburgh Castle entrance. The castle sits at the top of a hill/cliff and the best view of it is from afar. Every August there is a Military Tattoo show and the patio just outside the castle was almost ready for it. That also meant we couldn't get the spectacular view over the city as there were stands blocking the way (below).

A entrada do Castelo de Edimburgo. O castelo fica no topo da colina e a melhor vista sobre ele é de longe. Em Agosto há uma parada militar e quando nós lá estivemos o recinto à porta do castelo estava quase pronto para o evento. Isso quer dizer que não pudemos apreciar a fantástica vista sobre a cidade como de costume, uma vez que as bancadas cobriam a maior parte do espaço (em baixo).

The Witches Well. A cast iron wall fountain that commemorates the place where over three hundred women were burned at the stake accused of being witches.

O Poço das Bruxas. Uma fonte de ferro em honra das mais de trezentas mulheres que foram aqui queimadas, por se julgarem serem bruxas. 

 The Royal Mile

 St. John's church / Igreja de São João

Gladstone's Land, a restored merchant's house (left), one of the first high buildings being built, back in the 1600s. A shop with a lucky pig (right).

Gladstone's Land, uma casa de um comerciante recuperada (esquerda), um dos primeiros prédios altos a ser construído, nos anos 1600. Uma loja com um porco da sorte (direita).

A passageway that can so easily be missed. When one walks through it ends up in a gorgeous patio where sits the Writers museum. 

Uma passagem que pode passar despercebida facilmente. Se a atravessarmos damos por nós num pátio agradável onde se encontra o museu dos Escritores.

 Writer's museum / Museu dos Escritores

Johan thought this appropriate as he claims Portuguese people call everybody cousins.

O Johan gostou desta frase porque ele diz que os portugueses chamam toda a gente de primos.

 Deacon Brodie's tavern, gentleman by day, thief by night.

By day, Brodie was a respectable tradesman, Deacon (president) of the Incorporation of Wrights and a member of the Town Council. Part of his job in building cabinets was to install and repair their locks, other security mechanisms and repair door locks. At night, however, Brodie became a burglar and thief. He used his daytime job as a way to gain knowledge about the security mechanisms of his clients and to copy their keys using wax impressions. 

De dia Brodie era um homem respeitável, presidente da corporação de Wrights e membro do governo local. Parte do seu trabalho na construção de armários era colocar-lhes fechaduras ou outros sistemas de segurança e reparar fechaduras de portas. No entanto, durante a noite Brodie tornou-se um ladrão. Usava o seu trabalho durante o dia para aprender sobre a segurança usada pelos seus clientes que depois roubava, copiando as chaves.

St. Giles Cathedral / Catedral de St. Giles

 Lateral view / Vista lateral

Did you know that the famous red telephone cabins were built in Scotland and sent to London?

Sabiam que as famosas cabines telefónicas vermelhas eram construídas na Escócia e enviadas para Londres?

 The Royal Mile 

When one gets to a gap in the Royal Mile gets a view over the Governor's house in Carlton Hill, used to be a part of an old jail.

Quando se encontra um espaço entre os edifícios do Royal Mile consegue-se uma vista sobre a casa do Governador em Carlton Hill, que antigamente fazia parte de uma antiga cadeia.

The Scotts are highly proud of their whisky. Cadenhead's prides itself on bottling pure whisky without watering it down or adding cosmetic colouring.

Os Escoceses são muito orgulhosos do seu whisky. Os donos de Cadenhead's orgulham-se de vender o mais puro dos whiskys sem lhe adicionar qualquer tipo de corante.

 The Graveyard at Canongate Kirk / O cemitério de Canongate Kirk

 Another cute close / Mais um recanto encantado

At the end of the Royal Mile we meet the Palace of Holyroodhouse, one of Queen Elizabeth's official residences and the home of Scottish royalty, including James IV and Mary, Queen of Scots. 

No fundo do Royal Mile encontramos o Palacio de Holyroodhouse, uma das residências oficiais da rainha Elizabete e a residência da familia real Escocesa, incluindo James IV e Maria, a rainha dos Escoceses.

The access to the interior is limited but it is possible to visit some of the rooms. Those who do not wish to visit the interior can take a few pictures through the gates (like we did).
O acesso ao interior do palácio é limitado mas há visitas a alguns dos aposentos. Os que não quiserem visitar por dentro podem tirar algumas fotos através do portão da entrada (que foi o que nós fizemos). 

Across the palace there's a building remind us of the modern times: the Scottish Parliament. After 300 years of being ruled from London, the Scots regained their own parliament in 1999, and a few years later built this striking, eco-friendly home for it. It's a very interesting building.

Em frente ao palácio está um edifício que nos lembra que estamos nos tempos modernos: o Parlamento Escocês. Depois de 300 anos a serem governados de Londres, os Escoceses recuperaram o seu parlamento em 1999 e poucos anos depois construíram este edifício fantástico e ecológico. É um edifício muito interessante.

The palace is the last building in the Royal Mile. Besides the things pointed out above there's many many souvenirs shops and many many tourists all along the Royal Mile. Although crowded it is one of the most iconic sights of Edinburgh and well worth a visit.

O palácio é o último edifício do Royal Mile. Além do que escrevi acima, também se encontram por lá muitas e muitas lojas de lembranças e muitos e muitos turistas. Ainda que cheio de gente é um dos pontos icónicos de Edimburgo e vale mesmo a pena percorre-lo.

Later that day in a narrow gap between two buildings we saw this gorgeous sunset. It would be impossible not to share it here...

Mais tarde nesse dia vimos por entre uma falha estreita entre dois prédios este pôr do sol fantástico. Seria impossível não o partilhar aqui...

I hope you enjoyed the walk with me.
Espero que tenham gostado de passear comigo.

Scottish/Irish humour

For those who are not even a little bit interested in running and are now wondering why the hell are they following this blog, here is a sneak peak of my latest trip to the islands. More (and better) will come, but I have over 1500 photos to take care of first. I love funny signs so I put together a small collection for you. 

Mauds, ice cream shop

This one is not funny, just very very polite.

Who wouldn't want to shop at something fishy? Fresh fish everyday!

Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon Dublin - review

The Rock 'n' Roll series is a running event present in many different cities and countries, all over the world. The concept is fun and in each city there's a bunch of smaller events happening usually in two days. It's perfect for amateur runners who just want to have a good time and have a good excuse to travel abroad. It was my first time in a Rock 'n' Roll race and we, me and the usual gang, chose Dublin. I was coming from an knee injury, Johan sneezed the week before and got his back injured (this is the shorter and funnier version of the story) and D. did not feel in great shape either. Still, we all made it relatively well. Especially D. who was the first to cross the finish line, despite of having the French guy stalking him (story here).

 Phoenix park

Getting ready

Positive

Registration - Easy and relatively cheap. It included cool Rock 'n' Roll t-shirts.

Races - There was 5k, 10k, 21k and a Fun Run of 1 mile. Distances for everybody.

Pickup - It was well organised. It was inside Trinity College, one of the main sights in Dublin. A good start of the weekend.

Toilets - Best portable toilets I have ever seen! You could flush them! Believe me that makes a huuuuge difference! 

Start - Divided into groups according to estimated time. There was a small break in between start groups so it wouldn't be a too big mess on the road. It worked out nicely.

Course - The course was fun. It started in the docklands and ended in Phoenix park, the biggest park in Dublin, a bit outside of the city. For me, any race that starts and ends in different places is always better. The course went along the Liffey river and it crossed the most emblematic places of Dublin like Temple Bar, Christ Church, Guiness brewery, museum of modern art and its gorgeous gardens. It did have some hills but doable.

Water - There were only 4 water/powerade station. At first I thought it was very little, but Dublin is not that warm and it was enough. In the 2 last stations the drinks came in bottles so one could actually run with them if necessary.

Bag drop - We left our bags at the start and they were transported by the organisers to the finish line. Everything worked our perfectly. At least for us.

Remix Challenge - One could run 5k on Saturday and then run either 10k or 21k on Sunday and get a extra medal for completing both races. We did it. It was fun to have two race days in the same weekend.

Medals - The medals were really cool! The one of the Remix Challenge was the most fun as it was a miniature of an electric guitar!

Festival - There were a lot of tents with food, drinks and souvenirs and a live concert. We didn't take advantage of it too much because we were too tired and it was cold. Still it looked fun.

Shuttle buses - Connecting the start/finish to the corner of the park, where one could take a tram or regular bus. There were many shuttles and although they were full, there weren't any big queues to get in one.

Me after finishing the half marathon, wearing my club's shirt, CDC Pinheiro and holding the flag of my country.

Negative

Swag bags - Ugly. Uncomfortable to take. Ridiculous.

Start time - 8h30 in the morning, which means we were eating pasta at 6am. A little bit later would have been better.

Weather - It was crazy windy. So strong in some spots that it actually made miss a step here and there. Fortunately, it was not windy the whole race and it didn't rain.

Bottles - It is true that some runners enjoyed having bottles of water and powerade instead of the usual paper cups. Although, most runners took the bottles, drunk a few sips and threw them away. It was a huge waste! Maybe having both paper cups and bottles would be the solution?

Trams - Both the start and the finish were far from the centre, where most runners were staying. The trams were free but this was not informed in advance. We, and many other runners, learn this only after buying tickets.

Adverts - We got many emails advertising the different challenges, packages, other smaller events, photographs, and races. We got them over and over again, sometimes just repeting the whole thing again. Singing off wasn't an option because one didn't want to miss important information, provided in the same way.

Us three after finishing two races and therefore holding cool guitars!

All in all, I would totally do it again! 

If you are a runner and want to have fun you should try one of the events in the Rock 'n' Roll series! 

Running update

From February to May I trained a lot and well. So well that I got overconfident and I ran the race in Gothenburg too fast becoming exhausted and ill.

After that race I also fell and hurt my knees against a concrete block.

I felt terrible.

I went to Portugal and I decided to take a break, running only a few times, just to enjoy myself.

I kept having pain in one of my knees.

Last February, I had taken an online course about exercising. When I understood that the pain I had was not from the fall, I went back to the class about knee injuries.

I recognised mine as a common injury caused by running or cycling.

I had ran hundreds of kilometres and I had only cycled 10 minutes a day, not even every day, going to the supermarket, and occasionally for about 1h in the weekends.

The injury had to be from running, right? Wrong.

I stopped running for 2 weeks, but I kept cycling.

I got worse.

My injury was from cycling!

I understood later that I had my bicycle too short. It had actually been mentioned in the class that a wrong bicycle fit is the number 1 cause of knee injuries in cyclists.

Then, I had 4 weeks to go until the next race and I had a lot of knee pain.

It was time to stop, think and train smartly.

I stopped completely for a week.

I started running very short and slow runs in the second week. I noticed that it stopped hurting after 1 or 2 km, which was an indicator of mild injury, one of those who can be heeled at home (rest, ice, compress, elevate = RICE).

I ran a few more times in the third week, including a semi long 14 Km, to give me confidence.

In the fourth week we were already away. We walked a lot never ran. I did not feel the pain again.

I still had no idea if I would be able to run a half marathon in Dublin. 

On Saturday, the 5K race went slow and nice. No pain.

On Sunday, the 21K race went also slow and nice. I didn't walk once. No pain.

Comparing both half marathons, I did it slower in Gothenburg than in Dublin (by 1 minute), just because in the first I got so exhausted and I had to walk a lot. A good example of a Portuguese saying the faster you do it, the slower you end up doing it. I also enjoyed it much more in Dublin, although the Gothenburg race has a much better atmosphere. I'm guessing not being exhausted to death helps!

With the hard times come good lessons and I did learn from these experiences.

I also registered for Gothenburg's half marathon next year. It won't beat me. Not again.

De Fevereiro a Maio treinei muito e bem. Tão bem que fiquei demasiado confiante, correndo depois a meia maratona de Gotemburgo demasiado rápido, ficando exausta e doente no final. 

Depois dessa corrida também corri e magoei os joelhos contra um bloco de cimento. 

Senti-me péssima.

Fui a Portugal e decidi parar de correr. Corri só algumas vezes, só mesmo porque o adoro fazer.

Continuei a ter dor num dos joelhos. 

Em Fevereiro tirei um curso sobre exercício físico. Quando percebi que a dor no joelho não era da queda, revi a aula de lesões nos joelhos.

Reconheci a minha como sendo a mais comum entre corredores e ciclistas.

Tinha corrido centenas de quilometros, enquanto que só andava de bicicleta 10 minutos por dias, nem sequer todos os dias, a caminho do supermercado, e às vezes dava uma volta de 1h ao fim de semana.

A lesão tinha que ser de correr, certo? Errado.

Parei de correr durante 2 semanas, mas continuei a andar de bicicleta. 

Piorei.

A lesão era de andar de bicicleta!

Percebi depois que a minha bicicleta estava demasiado baixa. Essa foi de facto uma das coisas ensinadas na aula. Uma bicicleta mal ajustada é a maior causa de lesões entre ciclistas. 

Nessa altura faltavam 4 semanas até à minha próxima corrida e eu com dores no joelho.

Estava na altura de parar, pensar e treinar também com a cabeça.

Parei por completo durante uma semana. 

Na segunda semana comecei a correr devagar e por pouco tempo. Notei que a dor no joelho passava ao fim de 1 ou 2 Km, o que é indicação de lesão suave, que se pode curar em casa com descanso, gelo, compressão e elevação.

Corri mais algumas vezes na terceira semana, incluindo um treino semi longo de 14 Km, só para me dar alguma confiança. 

A quarta semana já foi passada em passeio. Andamos muito mas nada de corridas. Nunca mais senti dores.

Não fazia ideia se seria capaz de correr a meia maratona de Dublin ou não. 

No Sábado foi a corrida de 5 Km, que fiz devagar e sem dores.

No Domingo foi a corrida de 21 Km, que também fiz devagar e sem dores. Não precisei de andar nunca.

Comparando as duas meias maratonas, fiz a de Gotemburgo em mais tempo do que a de Dublin (1 minuto a mais), apenas porque fiquei tão exausta que tive que andar vários quilómetros. Acho que qui se aplica o ditado quanto mais depressa mais devagar! Também aproveitei a corrida em Dublin muito mais, ainda que em Gotemburgo o ambiente seja muito melhor. Suponho que não estar cansada de morte ajuda!

Com os tempos difíceis vêm as grandes lições e eu tirei várias destas experiências.

Também me registrei para a meia maratona de Gotemburgo do ano que vem. Desta vez não me vai bater. Outra vez não.

Stories of my world #5 - special Dublin

There was a half marathon race. He was running. I don't know so much about him. In fact, I only saw him in pictures. He was wearing blue shorts and a white t-shirt. For reasons unknown to any of us, he decided to do his race only a few centimetres from one of the boys in my team, D.. He literally became a shadow of D. for almost 20 Km. For about 1h30 he was always in his step. When D. slowed down, he slowed down. When D. stopped to drink, he stopped to drink. It was only in the last bit to go that he decided to speed up and pass D., that got so angry with him that ran with all his power and sprinted him out. None of us understand why someone would do that. We found later, through the race results, that he was french. The boys were both wearing shirts from the half marathon in Portugal. Could this have been a revenge for the Euro tournament final, in which Portugal beat France in Paris? It would be a very silly reason for a grown man to do that, but right now I just can't think of any other reason. Theories...

Freedom

Today I ran. Between 9 and 10 Km. Between 45 and 55 minutes. I don't know. I had no music. I had no watch. Just me and the road. It was strange at first it was strange but then I got used to it. I was free! 

That might have been the last training before my next half marathon in a week. I will not be posting here in the meantime as I plan to be busy living new adventures.

See you soon! 

Stories of my world #4

She was a hairdresser in Prague. She was from the United States but had lived in the Czech Republic for almost 10 years. Her number was listed in a website for expats. We chose her because she could speak English and because she had good reviews. The first time we met, she opened the door with a smile. She was wearing only black, including her hair, which she kept long with two small high pigtails and pink bangs. Her arms are covered with tattoos, including hairdressing tools. The most special tattoos are on the side of her lower arms, along her thumbs - two rulers, one in inches and one in centimeters. She always asks the costumers how much hair they want to cut off, showing the two rulers to avoid misunderstandings. The first thing she asked me was how I usually use my hair and how do I take care of it. I told her that I wash it almost everyday, because I train almost everyday, and that I never blow dry it because I don't like it. As always I expected to be shouted at. I wasn't. She told me one should have a hairstyle that fits the lifestyle. Finally, someone understood my point of view! Finally, someone did not try to sell me a million hair products. Finally, someone did not spend an hour explaining how the hair gets rotten if I don't blow dry it (myth!) or how I should not wash my hair everyday because it's gets fungus (myth! - and better fungus than old sweat on it). I became a fan of her work since day one. Johan as well. Her good work was even more obvious in his hair. After her haircut it always grew beautifully, instead of becoming weird. It went from short and cool, to medium and cool, to long and cool. It was impressive. We always went back to her and we wished we could still go there every time we need. She understood hair like no one else I have ever seen. 

In her home hair saloon there is always music playing in the background. Metal music. She always offers beverages to her costumers. She always chats and tells stories about her life, her work, US and her relationship with Czech Republic. She loves her job. WE loved her work. She is the coolest hairdresser ever. She is the best hairdresser we have ever had. She is Dayla.

Photo from here

The Stories of my world will have a small break as I will be off next week. 

You got to love Sweden #11 - Library

I love reading and I read a little bit of everything. It's rare the night I fall asleep without reading at least a few pages just before I turn off the bedside table light. A habit I got since I was a child. Sometimes my eyes are so sleep I only manage to read 2 pages, and sometimes I can read half a book. When I was 13, I went to Portimão, in the south of Portugal, with my sports team and we visited the city library, then newly refurbished. I fell in love with it. It had comfortable sofas and chairs where one could read magazines and newspapers, secret reading corners, areas to watch movies or listen to CDs, and an infinite (for me) book collection. Since then I have dreamed of living in a city with a great library like that. Here, I have been going to the local library, which is somehow comparable in size and features to that library I visited when I was 13. There is also a nice collection of books in English, which is good, as my Swedish is only allows me to read children's book yet (which, by the way, I have been doing). I was already happy with this library until I needed a grammar book that I could only find in the city library of Gothenburg. I went there yesterday, and I did fall in love with it. It was the exact same feeling I had when I was 13. Except this time I can actually use this library and it is ten times better and bigger than the other one. 

Adoro ler e leio de tudo um pouco. É rara a noite que adormeço sem antes ler umas páginas antes de apagar a luz. Um hábito que ganhei quando ainda era criança. Às vezes os meus olhos estão tão pesados de sono que só consigo ler 2 páginas, outras vez leio metade de um livro. Quando tinha 13 anos fui a Portimão, no sul de Portugal, com a minha equipa da altura e lá visitamos a biblioteca da cidade, na altura renovada há pouco tempo. Apoixeinei-me pela biblioteca. Tinha sofás e cadeirões confortáveis, recantos de leitura, uma área para ver filmes ou ouvir CDs, e uma colecção infinita (para mim) de livros. Desde essa altura que sonho morar numa cidade com uma biblioteca assim. Aqui tenho ido a minha biblioteca local, que de certa forma é semelhante a essa biblioteca em termos de espaço e servicios. Além disso tem uma boa colecção razoável de livros em Inglês, o que é bastante conveniente sendo que o meu sueco ainda só dá para ler livros de crianças (o que tenho feito). Já estava contente por ter esta biblioteca, mas precisei de um livro de grmática e descobri que só existia na biblioteca da cidade de Gotemburgo. Fui lá ontem. Apaixonei-me novamente por uma biblioteca, tal e qual como quando tinha 13 anos. Mas desta vez posso de facto usar a biblioteca, que é dez vezes melhor e maior que a outra.

The Gothenburg library is spread all over 3 floors and it's gorgeous, modern and cosy.

A biblioteca de Gotemburgo tem 3 andares e é linda, moderna e agradável. 

It's cosy, it has reading corners, computers, a cafe and on top of that a beautiful architecture. The book collection is huge! There's books in Swedish, several shelves of books in English and books in many many different languages. I found a whole shelf of books in Portuguese, including many titles I have been wanting to read for a while but I had not had the chance yet. There's a whole section focused on the learning of languages, where I found (too) many books of exercises for practicing Swedish, for all levels and for different second languages (I learn from English, but there's a lot of people learning from Arabic, Chinese, German, etc.). I literally got lost there.

É agradável, tem cantos para leitura, computadores, um café e ainda por cima uma arquitectura bonita. A colecção de livros é gigantesca! Há muitos em Sueco, claro, mas também tem muitas prateleiras com livros em Inglês e muitos outros em várias linguas. Por exemplo, encontrei uma prateleira inteira com livros em Português, incluindo livros que quero ler mas ainda não tive oportunidade. Há uma secção inteira dedicada à aprendizagem de linguas, onde encontrei (demasiados) livros de exercisios para Sueco, de vários níveis e várias linguas secundárias (eu aprendo de inglês, mas muitos aprendem de Árabe, Chinês, Alemão, etc.). Perdi-me na biblioteca.

Of course, I am now a member and I plan to go there many times. I am finally living in a city with a great library!

Claro que me tornei membro da biblioteca e espero ir lá muitas vezes. Estou finalmente a morar numa cidade com uma biblioteca fantástica!