My New " Pantufa"

When the temperature goes down, my feet is the first one to suffer as it feels imediately the change in temperature.

For this, i must use a sock or wear my "Pantufa"(winter slipper).I buy almost every year a new pantufa as they dont last me long.It´s because i like to use it all day or at least until i go to bed. I prefer the warmth and comfort of wearing pantufa at home ( its not my habit to wear shoes inside the house).

Last years "Pantufa" was a local craft from Alentejo, exterior part is made from a pork hide and a soft lambs wool for the interior part to warm my feet. This one served me well and its now readily available to buy in any craft store here in lisbon.I have feeling i will continue wearing this one until it gives up on me. They are really warm and comfy!

Here´s how my last years "Alentejano Pantufa" looks like now.



And during our visit in one of the island in Greece, i saw this local "Pantufa", a copy of the "Evzones" clog leather shoes.I find the pompom on it nice and amuzing!So,we bought one for me and for hubby too. Mine is in red and maroon for hubby as shown below.



Hubby already started wearing his new pantufa and he likes it a lot,he said they are really warm!I think they are really nice and cute, dont you think so?

Evzones, The Greek Presidential Guards

Looking back at my Greek holiday photos,i just discovered some nice shots taken during the elite "Evzones" ( Presidential Guards) changing of guards at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. These elite ceremonial units are famous around the world for its unique traditional uniform.Their proven valour and peculiar dress turned them into a popular image for the Greek soldier especially among foreigners.

Just thought i´d post about them here.



Photo below are the different traditional uniforms they have.From Left to Right,Islander,Macedonian,Traditional Mainland,Modernised Mainland.Pontic



For me, the last photo of the changing guards photo (above the different traditional uniforms)to the righthand side was the best. While the guards are leaving their post, they past through the side where the pigeons are..It looks like the pigeons are also marching their way out of the square..Dont you think so?

The Castle of Monsaraz in Alentejo

I took this photo last May, when we went to Reguengoz de Monsaraz in Alentejo for the week end. Its called the "Telheiro Fonte". Fonte means source or fountain in english.

We stoped here to ask for direction.I was just wondering and admiring the unusual arab stytle design at first from a distance,when i saw the an old pump and the roman numbers on the wall,it was then i realized that it must be a historical landmark in the area...

Alentejos capital in "Alta Alentejo" is Evora and for the "Baixa Alentejo" is Beja. Both these capital are rich in history, ruins,and historical buildings, due to its turbulent backgrounds of invasions, batles,ocupations, either by the Romans, Vandals, Moors or the feuding Royal families within Portugal after the "Reconquista "( reconquest) of the Castelo from the Moors by a famous soldier called Geraldo "Sem Pavor"(the Fearless).He then set on improving its fortification then gave the castle and village to the military Templars.


This small hilltop town of Monsaraz used to help guard and secure a section of the River Guadiana againts the Spanish.Perched on the hilltop,this little known small town is a "jewel in the crown" of Alentejo if not Portugal itself.It is a small group of dwellings that preserved most of its charm by retaining the old exteriors and preserving the original slated streets. The inhabitants of the town take pride in maintaining its medieval atmosphere with its few narrow streets that are in parts are quiet steep. The view from the 13th century castle are panoramicover the plains of Alentejo, the waters of the newly built Dam and the views toward the Spanish border as you can see from the photos below



During autumn, many neighbouring villages in this region use to create temporary makeshift bullring within the courtyard area to give the "local young bloods" the chance to show their courage and skills in confronting the charge of a young bull without any special protection or weapon.

We stayed in the castle to watch the sunset, managed only to take this shot from the cafe and a night view of the castle from the outside



And I will end this post with my favorite "Asulejo"(handpainted frame in tile)of a typical "alentjano house"in the region,used as a decorative frame on the wall of the house where we stayed for the week end.

Breaking the Rule at the Palace

Yesterdays post was about "Palacio de Pena" in Sintra and i´ve shared photos from the exterior part of the palace showing mostly the beatiful and diversified style in architecture.

We are not allowed to take photos inside, i broke the rule (could´nt resist it even though security are all over)as i wanted a souvenir photo for myself to keep and now i would like to share it as well.

First, was the beautiful sitting room with a beautiful work of art in limestone or white marble (i think) at the ceiling. We cant go inside, the door is blocked with glass baricade.This photo was taken while hubby was the look out for the security.



Next was the Royal dining room, showing dinnerwares at the table and on the other side are the silverwares.



Now, i´m not sure wether this was the Kings bedroom (i guess it was), the reading room next to it then the bathroom.Last was the observatory room of the King.



After these photos, i was not able to take more as the securities started following us closely when they perceived we´ve been taking pictures.
Therefore,the Queens and her lady in waiting bedrooms,the family room and other guest rooms were spared.I can only be happy with what i´ve got.

Palace Wonderland

Last Saturday, we went back to Sintra(Pls.read my previous post" A visit to the Castle in Sintra",Sept.07, 2007).This time, we are finally visiting the "Palacio da Pena"( Pena Palace)a National Monument built by King Fernando II who fell in love with Sintra when going up the mountain range for the first time and sighted the ruins of an old Convent of Frades originaly built during the reign of King João II and transformed by King Manuel I who ordered it to be reconstructed in praise of Our Lady of Pena, donating it again to the Order of Monks.

Entrance fee for tour to the Park and the Palace cost 8 euros each
Below are the signs showing us the way,followed by hubbys photo at the entrance gate.Then I noticed this group of young people dancing and having fun.We could have taken the classic bus up to the palace for 1.50 euros but we did´nt, thinking that walking way up was not that dificult as it was not that far from the gate.BIG MISTAKE!!



As we reach the Palace, we were enticed by its beauty! Like the ones in the childrens book of princess and prince enchanted kingdom as shown below.Pls click the photos to enlarge



The Palace constitutes one of the major expression of the 19th century romaticism in Portugal.The then young Prince Fernando who acquired the old convent which was devastated by Lisbon eartquake in 1755,began his romantic dream to reconstruct the convent and annex a new part of it to Portugals Royal Family summer residence. Almost the entire Palace stands on spectacular and enormous rock as you can see from the photos above.

The palace has a profusion of different styles and the volume movement has an unusual architecture.The mixture of eclectic styles,(neo-gothic, neo-manueline.neo islamic.neo-renaissance and among other styles)are intentional.Details of different styles will be shown below.

First photo is the main gate and the two watch towers above it.Next is another entrance door,colums or pilars,doors,windows and many more details that i could only post some of it for now.

Another Day Out

One Saturday morning , while having our breakfast at around 8:30 AM, hubby was telling me about something he read in one magazine featuring events for the week end. He said, he forgot to asked me the night before if im interested to see a falcon hunting show in Alter do Chão, Alentejo.Show starts at 10:30 AM, we might not make on time if we decide to go.

As hubby is not familiar with the place, he could´nt tell me how far or how long will it take for us to travel to the place.We checked our map to locate the area and calculate the distance ,its about 200 kms. drive from Lisbon! We´ll not make it to see the show on time but as i wanted to go and see another new place in Portugal, I tried to enticed him by reading a typical menu speciality of a restaurant nearby the place. As expected,"Prepare yourself quick and lets go!" That order was music to my ears..hahaha!

The drive to Alter do Chão was a pleasant one, it took us 2 hrs to get there and as we entered the village,this was what greeted our eyes..A small pleasant looking village and I did´nt expect to see another 13th century
"Castelo" in the area.




We stoped by the tourism offuce in this building below and took the photo next across the building.



We decided to have our lunch before proceeding to" Coudelaria Real" (Royal Stud Farm) an institution founded during the reign od King João V in 1748.

For lunch, we started with, "Quejo curado"cured cheese of the region (usually from goats milk), "Torresmos" crispy fried pork belly, olives and again " Pão Alentejano" bread from Alentejo. And for the main dish, hubby had "Pesinhos de Coentrada" (young porks feet with lots of coriander)Not my kind of food but its one of the speciality in the region, and i did eat a piece, it was good! Anyway, I ordered "Borrego no forno com arroz amarelo (yellow rice)"a baked lamb chops with safron rice.As for dessert we had a tarte called "Tecomeco" exquisite name for dessert but was also good as it was made of almonds,egg yolk and white pumpkin sweet.We ate very well!! Ahhh! and a very good house wine from the region! For everything that we ate, hubby only paid 27.50 Euros!! Quiet cheap is´nt it?



After lunch, we then proceeded to Coudelaria Real where we were told we could have a guided tour for the sum of 3 Euros. We had a wonderful time! We first went to the Museum where they have collections of medieval sadles ,arms and armours used during that period, then the best of them all are the famous Lusitania horses , some arab horses anf a cross breed of lusitano and iberian horses, falcons and others. We had a wonderful day!!
Below is a collage of the photos i took that day at the Coudelaria Real.
Pls click to enlarge photos

Polo Barong or Barong Tagalog

Polo Barong is a less formal version of Filipino national dress called "Barong Tagalog". The Barong Tagalog is used for a more formal ocassion, it is hand embroidered and the fabric is made of "piña" (pineapple) leaves or "jusi" fabric made from abaca or banana silk. It must be worn untucked.

Whereas the Polo Barong is usually worn as office wear or as in any less formal ocassion. Materials used is ramie or cotton fabric and unlike the Barong, this Polo Barong is machine embroidered.

Yesterday, I was busy cleaning and removing summer clothes from the closet to give way for our winter clothes. Now, just thingking about all the clothes that I have to wear on cold winter days made me wishful of our island holidays in Philippines.

Anyway, I started clearing my hubbys clothes by starting with his daily office wear . When I finished folding his Polo shirts and T- shirts, I realized that he was not able to wear all his Polo Barong this summer. Then I started counting , he has 6 pcs of short sleeves polo barong and 5 long sleeves . He enjoys wearing the polo barong ( even if his mom & children dont like to see him wearing it) because he says, he´s comfortable with it. As it is worn untucked , he has more freedom of movement.

Pictures below of hubbys Polo Barong office wear.

For me and even hubby thinks they are nice... Dont you think so?