I realise that this is after-the-fact, but if anyone's planning to visit Porto next year I reccomend going in May and checking out when Serralves (the local modern art museum) is doing their "Serralves Em Festa" weekend. Basically they open the place to the public for 40 straight hours - and the thing is, the museum is sorrounded by these absolutley huge and gorgeous gardens. So you get to lounge about in these beautiful spots o forest, grass, etc. and catch random performance art, dance, music, etc. They also more high profile concerts at one place, this year we had Dan Deacon, A Certain Ratio, Gravy Train and Metro Area DJs. It's like a really friendly, laid back festival, basically. Oh, and you get to visit the museum, free of charge. I reccomend going on Saturday at like three in the morning, when the place is just full of people who are drunk/high/wasted as shit. It's an experience.
Also, Livraria Lello in Porto is the most amazing looking bookstore in the world.
Gorgeous, but not actually a good bookstore. They know that they're on every tour guide's plan and coast on that, very unfriendly service and the selection's for shit. A friend of mine enjoys browsing their technology section, though, because it's full of early 90's "omg virtual reality!" type books.
― Daniel_Rf, Saturday, 4 July 2009 13:02 (fifteen years ago) link
Just want to say something kind about the Gulbenkian in Lisbon.
― Le présent se dégrade, d'abord en histoire, puis en (Michael White), Saturday, 4 July 2009 14:44 (fifteen years ago) link
Simão, alongside Lampard, is also on the cover of the Portuguese edition of FIFA 10's cover (it is the 18th title in Electronic Arts' FIFA series of football video games, available for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360 and Wii). He said: "It's an honor to be part of the EA Sports FIFA. Being on the cover of this fantastic video game with such a rich history it's truly a great achievement for me".[26]
― Salted gnocchimole (admrl), Friday, 2 July 2010 19:19 (fourteen years ago) link
Happy 25th of April everyone!
http://i.imgur.com/eApG736.jpg
― Daniel_Rf, Thursday, 25 April 2019 13:10 (five years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBrp6b2th4Q
Folk, marching band music, Funk, Chanson, Rock and a cover of "Maiden Voyage" - pretty much all you could ask for from a Portuguese protest singer record.
― Daniel_Rf, Thursday, 25 April 2019 13:17 (five years ago) link
✌️
― xyzzzz__, Thursday, 25 April 2019 16:00 (five years ago) link
Portuguese government has decreed that ALL asylum seekers and ALL undocumented migrants with pending applications for residence are AUTOMATICALLY granted and may access ALL STATE PROVISION including healthcare and benefits. I'm going to faint. https://t.co/EU4bP75eis— Zoe Gardner (@ZoeJardiniere) March 28, 2020
All current residence and asylum requests automatically granted so immigrants can access health services!
― Daniel_Rf, Saturday, 28 March 2020 13:21 (four years ago) link
dope
― nashwan, Saturday, 28 March 2020 14:16 (four years ago) link
Just about every single Portuguese film I've seen in recent years has a very explicit pro-immigration stance. Very heartening to see culture bleed into policy
― ban laggy jazzer (imago), Saturday, 28 March 2020 14:39 (four years ago) link
<3 <3 <3 <3
― There's more Italy than necessary. (in orbit), Saturday, 28 March 2020 14:58 (four years ago) link
Haha, imago, don't think the niche that is Portuguese cinema had anything to do with this, audiences for that (like myself) tend to be leftist and pro-immigrant by default. The fact that Portugal's current PM is the son of immigrants perhaps more so, but also right now it's a total win-win measure - ppl who might have the virus not getting access to healthcare helps the virus spreading in general, even most racists understand that.
We are (were?) currently in the middle of a culture war regarding racism nonetheless, coinciding with a huge influx of ppl coming in from Brazil due to the terrible situation there.
― Daniel_Rf, Saturday, 28 March 2020 19:09 (four years ago) link
to add to what Daniel_Rf said on the Latin thread about young Portuguese speaking English, the government has now put UK passport holders into the fast track queue
I know UK's oldest ally and everything but the scale of the Anglophilia is quite something
― imago, Friday, 29 April 2022 10:34 (two years ago) link
you whippersnappers need to remember Eusebio and all that etc etc
― imago, Friday, 29 April 2022 10:35 (two years ago) link
will add that said Anglophilia was very much in evidence when I visited last in 2019. either that or I'm an uncommonly charismatic kinda guy
― imago, Friday, 29 April 2022 10:37 (two years ago) link
lol sorry to disappoint but it's not anglophilia it's wanting $$$$ from tourists, the national economy now being entirely reliant on this
Portuguese kids speaking English is entirely to do with the yanks.
― Daniel_Rf, Friday, 29 April 2022 10:37 (two years ago) link
b...but we fwends?
― imago, Friday, 29 April 2022 10:38 (two years ago) link
Most of their footballers play for Wolves these days.
― Was Hitler a Hobbit? (Tom D.), Friday, 29 April 2022 10:38 (two years ago) link
My Airbnb host in Faro had taken to supporting Wolves! He was watching them on telly when I arrived
― imago, Friday, 29 April 2022 10:40 (two years ago) link
'entirely to do with the Yanks' is EPL erasure surely
― imago, Friday, 29 April 2022 10:42 (two years ago) link
Oh Faro isn't Portugal, the Algarve is a UK territory obv.
― Daniel_Rf, Friday, 29 April 2022 10:43 (two years ago) link
lol, where does Porto fit on that metric (a mooted destination)
― imago, Friday, 29 April 2022 11:00 (two years ago) link
Porto is Portugal but also, as locals will tell you, a nation of its own.
To be clear my joke about the Algarve is only half-joking: there's a huge amount of British retirees living there, pretty much self-segregated from the locals (much like some regions in Spain) and its industry is even more directed towards tourism than the rest of the country, it's just not representative at all. The only other place I'd say this about would be Madeira.
― Daniel_Rf, Friday, 29 April 2022 14:16 (two years ago) link
When I went, I avoided the Maddy McCann Zone to the west of Faro, staying in Faro itself and venturing eastward to Olhau and Tavira by train, and it definitely didn't feel like expat country; hardly any UK retirees (maybe they were there in various Brexit complexes I didn't stumble across). Loads of good birdwatching tho!
― imago, Friday, 29 April 2022 14:20 (two years ago) link
https://www.portugalresident.com/algarve-drought-nears-catastrophic-level/
― xyzzzz__, Monday, 22 January 2024 14:55 (seven months ago) link
Love Portugal, hate seeing that Chega guy’s smug face on every billboard.
― B. Amato (Boring, Maryland), Thursday, 8 February 2024 17:34 (seven months ago) link
Also admire the commitment to double parking on both sides of the one-way narrow street.
― B. Amato (Boring, Maryland), Thursday, 8 February 2024 17:57 (seven months ago) link
Ha, going in May and hoping to avoid driving, but may rent a car to go to the drought-stricken south? Would love to hear your tips/experiences.
― Jordan s/t (Jordan), Thursday, 8 February 2024 18:30 (seven months ago) link
I’ve been in Porto and the north, saving Lisbon and points south for another time. Highly recommend Coimbra, just lovely, small, but had a liveliness to it since it’s a university town. Salazar’s alma mater!
― B. Amato (Boring, Maryland), Thursday, 8 February 2024 19:06 (seven months ago) link
Oof, apologies for the fucking Ventura billboards, at least in Porto ppl have been quite good at vandalizing those.
Coimbra not so much "a" but THE university town, it's in its main distinguishing feature. Lots of great stuff from there tho I do hate the whole black uniform serenade shit.
― Daniel_Rf, Thursday, 8 February 2024 20:11 (seven months ago) link
Hey I went to the University of Virginia a lot of performative “tradition” there too.
― B. Amato (Boring, Maryland), Thursday, 8 February 2024 23:23 (seven months ago) link
50 years ago today
― Daniel_Rf, Thursday, 25 April 2024 11:22 (four months ago) link
will head to my local portuguese cafe-bar for lunch :)
― imago, Thursday, 25 April 2024 11:48 (four months ago) link
hopefully the proprietor isn't a salazar fan (i suspect he isn't)
― imago, Thursday, 25 April 2024 11:50 (four months ago) link
Wish him a happy 25th and find out :)
― Daniel_Rf, Thursday, 25 April 2024 12:13 (four months ago) link
After an initial "Oh yes, I didn't know it was the 50th" and an initial "I was a little boy in South Africa then, wasn't a big deal to us", uncorked a resounding "all it did was create all these bloody corrupt governments!" x_x
Cited Jose Socrates. I nodded and smiled. Not my area of expertise. But...hmm
― imago, Thursday, 25 April 2024 12:25 (four months ago) link
Anyone running a small customer-facing business has at least a 60% chance of being a reactionary crank, regardless of nationality.
― This is Dance Anthems, have some respect (Camaraderie at Arms Length), Thursday, 25 April 2024 12:31 (four months ago) link
Sounds like a Chega voter all right!
― Daniel_Rf, Thursday, 25 April 2024 12:51 (four months ago) link
Happy 50th!
I was in Porto a couple of weeks ago having a marvellous time. That is, until a full-on (and pretty terrfiying) ne0 n4z1 protest started taking place right outside our apartment window. earlier in the day we'd also spotted a totally separate anti-abortion march going through the city. no it won't do
― your mom goes to limgrave (dog latin), Thursday, 25 April 2024 13:03 (four months ago) link
Sad stuff. Friends back home are mobilizing against it and I feel a bit of guilt over not being there to contribute...not that things are great here either.
I do think (hope?) that the anti-abortion stuff is gonna turn more ppl off these fash wankers than anything else.
― Daniel_Rf, Thursday, 25 April 2024 14:51 (four months ago) link
Damn. I'll be there in a few weeks (Lisbon > Madeira > Porto > ???), excited.
― Jordan s/t (Jordan), Thursday, 25 April 2024 15:44 (four months ago) link
lisbon is great, just so great
― close encounters of the third knid (darraghmac), Thursday, 25 April 2024 16:07 (four months ago) link
I really loved my mere week in Northern Portugal, want to go back and see Lisbon, Evora, etc.
― Are you addicted to struggling with your horse? (Boring, Maryland), Thursday, 25 April 2024 16:48 (four months ago) link
Where did you go in the north besides Porto?
― Jordan s/t (Jordan), Thursday, 25 April 2024 16:53 (four months ago) link
The Douro valley, Vila Real, and Coimbra (which isn’t really that north)
― Are you addicted to struggling with your horse? (Boring, Maryland), Thursday, 25 April 2024 18:21 (four months ago) link
Oh nice, we're definitely planning on Douro and I want to go to Coimbra too.
― Jordan s/t (Jordan), Thursday, 25 April 2024 18:39 (four months ago) link
We only stopped in Coimbra for lunch (and unluckily it was graduation day or something and packed with berobed students & their families), but it seemed really nice. I'd recommend this place if veg/an appeals: https://veg.fangas.pt/home-en/
― rob, Thursday, 25 April 2024 19:44 (four months ago) link
My wife is vegetarian, thanks!
― Jordan s/t (Jordan), Thursday, 25 April 2024 19:46 (four months ago) link
I have Lisbon vegetarian recommendations too...just give me a sec
― rob, Thursday, 25 April 2024 19:49 (four months ago) link
I'm having trouble figuring out the names of some places we went, but I can say:
Ao 26 was the best strictly vegan place I went to, and what's cool about it is they do vegan versions of some of the trad Portuguese stuff you otherwise can't eat (e.g., francesinha).
Senhor Uva is good too (both of these are on the fancy side though), though it's tapas & wine and we were all still a little hungry at the end of the meal -- in contrast, Ao 26 was very filling.
But mostly I'd just say that it's easier to be vegetarian, even vegan, there than people who haven't been recently will tell you. Even down in Faro I got by okay
― rob, Thursday, 25 April 2024 20:14 (four months ago) link
Excellent, tysm!
― Jordan s/t (Jordan), Thursday, 25 April 2024 20:19 (four months ago) link