Notes from Portugal: Hanging Santa

by Iva Skoch on

I discovered that Portugal has the finest collection of hanging Santas in the world. It is always interesting to see how other nations celebrate holidays and how they decorate their homes. If only one could make psychological profiles based on people’s Christmas decorations!

After a few days in Portugal, I have noticed that there is only one Christmas decoration here: the hanging Santa. Unlike in the Czech Republic, they seem to really like Santa here. I just took this photo today in the picturesque town of Alte, about 20 miles northwest of Faro.

Santa hangs from everywhere in Portugal – window sills, restaurant signs, rooftops…There must be some sort of association that manufactures the demand for hanging Santas, otherwise I have no idea why the Portuguese–arguably, people with very good taste–would want to decorate the beautiful facades of their homes with them.

Notes from Portugal: Jumbo Shopping Mess

by Iva Skoch on

Visiting southern Portugal and stuck in a traffic jam? It’s probably just your local JUMBO shopping mart.

I´m in Faro, Portugal, finishing off the year, seeking a little warmth. Faro is a small town at the southern-most tip of Portugal. Here, it’s in the 60s(F), sunny, and beautiful, but you can’t escape traffic or the end-of-the-year shopping hoards even here.

The most annoying thing in the whole region? On the sole major roadway to this old fishing village with the pretty old walled center town, at the first roundabout, is a shopping center called JUMBO. It lives up to its name. It blocks traffic in a mile in either direction. Seriously, there’s no way around it. And, from the looks of it last night and tonight, everyone in this town, and maybe even the whole region, is there. Shopping.

What’s going on? It’s low season, relatively, here. All the tourists have gone. And yet, it is an all-consuming black hole of noise, traffic, and shopping carts, you’ll find this monstrosity. What happened to all the local markets?

Happy New Year! Eat well. Don’t Jumbo.

Notes from Portugal: West Coast of Europe, Dude!

by Iva Skoch on

Greetings from Portugal. I am spending this week with friends in Faro, in the Algarve region of Portugal, and will undoubtedly post a few notes from here. If I can handle this internet cafe or find a new one, that is. To give you an idea, I am surrounded by about 10 men, age 20-25, talking to friends on Skype really loud in some angry-sounding foreign language. One of them is watching old people engaging in kinky sexual acts at the same time. Why, oh why, didn’t I bring my laptop instead?

Yes, I agree that going to southern Portugal just barely counts as adventure travel but it is a good place to warm up one’s bones. It is if you live in Prague or New York, at least.

I don’t have much to report just yet. I have noticed that the climate and landscape here is remarkably similar to that of Southern California. I can see why Portugal is trying to brand itself to Americans as the “West Coast of Europe.” They claim they are very environmentally-savvy, although the house where we are staying recycles just glass. It is not too hot in the summer and pretty warm in the winter. Not nearly as many blonds though. And a lot more sardines!

Even with the weak dollar, Portugal is pretty affordable. A cup of coffee will cost you about one euro [$1.40]. You might have noticed that I typically go by the “coffee price index” when traveling abroad. Gotta keep my priorities straight!

Stay tuned for more on Portugal.

Photo of the Day (12/19/07)

by Jamie Rhein on

This photo by t3mujin whose photos seem to always follow the tips offered up by Jeff Nolan, is so vivid it almost makes my eyes hurt. I love shots like these were only part of a building is shown so that the composition is artwork as well. The blue tile feature, the texture of the wall and the blue of the background are wonderful together. This shot, according to the tags, was taken in Portugal.

Do you have your own photos that work as art? Interesting angles. Images that make your heart beat? Send them our way to Gadling’s Flickr Photo Pool to be considered for Photo of the Day.

Independence days and elephants

by Jamie Rhein on

I’ve whipped out my International Calendar to see what might be left to tell about November before it slips away from Eastern Standard Time in a few hours. What I see is a whole lot of independence days and a slew of other politically geared occasions.

  • Nov. 1–Antigua-Barbuda gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1980.
  • Nov. 3–Dominica gained independence from the UK in 1978. Panama gained Independence from Colombia in 1903 and Micronesia gained independence from the U.S. in 1980.
  • Nov. 9–Cambodia gained independence from France in 1953.
  • Nov. 11–Poland gained independence in 1918; Angola gained independence from Portugal in 1975.
  • Nov. 18–Latvia gained independence from Russia in 1918; Morocco from France in 1956.
  • Nov. 25–Suriname gained independence
  • Nov. 28–Mauritania gained Independence from France in 1968 and Albania gained Independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1912, Panama gained independence from Spain in 1821 and East Timor gained independence from Portugal in 1975.
  • Nov. 30-Barbados gained independence from the U.K. in 1966

Other than these, Tonga has had Constitution Day (Nov. 4); Russia, Revolution Day (Nov. 7); Brazil, Republic Day (Nov. 15); and Vanuatu has had National Unity Day, (Nov. 29)

My favorite happening of the bunch of events that occurred this month, though, is the Surin Elephant Round-Up in Thailand.