Bitter Sweet Egypt - part 1

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Egypt is one of the places in the world that has been in my dreams for the longest time! My friend Carolina from 4th grade had been there on her Easter holidays and I remember, like it was yesterday, the treasures she brought from that trip to share with her friends. She carefully collected water from the Nile river as well as some sand from the desert, which she stored in Kodak film boxes. They were relics from an ancient place, full of stories of mummies and pharaohs. With vast lands spreading from the Nile. The crocodiles, the mythology, the architecture, the amazing stories from those who ruled one of the most illustrious civilizations in the world and all their aesthetics amazed me ever since.

O Egito é um dos sítios deste mundo que sonhava conhecer há mais tempo! Lembro-me perfeitamente da minha amiga Carolina, no 4º ano, trazer e partilhar alguns tesouros recolhidos por si durante a sua visita ao Egipto, nas férias da páscoa. Mostrou-nos a água e a areia que cuidadosamente guardara em caixas de rolos da Kodak. Eram autênticas relíquias de um lugar antiquíssimo, cheio de histórias sobre múmias e faraós. As vastas terras que se estendem a partir do Nilo. Os crocodilos, a mitologia, a arquitetura, as histórias incríveis daqueles que governaram uma das mais notáveis civilizações e toda a sua identidade estética, desde então, me cativaram.

Growing up, every time I went to a museum like the British Museum in London or the Neues Museum in Berlin, I always stayed longer at the Egyptian section, just looking at their amazing jewellery, pottery and other artefacts. So, coming to Egypt was a total dream come true. However, I was also a bit frightened that all the magnificence of such a distant era would have been gone as a consequence of the potential damage that massive tourism can create. 

Durante o meu crescimento, sempre que visitava um museu como o British Museum em Londres ou o Neues Museum em Berlim, a secção que me atraía por mais tempo era a da cultura Egípcia, ficava encantada a observar as suas obras de joalheria, cerâmica e outros artefactos tais. Por consequência, poder viajar até ao Egito foi um sonho tornado realidade. Não obstante, havia em mim uma sombra de medo de que toda a magnificência de uma era tão distante se tivesse extinto, devido aos danos que o turismo em massa pode, potencialmente, criar.

Our first stop was Hurghada. We wanted to recharge our batteries, so we stayed at a resort with a private beach. We were able to relax for a bit, but in our minds we couldn't forget our disappointment, that was startled when we witnessed that all the beauty that Hurghada and the dreamy Red Sea could have had once, is far gone. The over exploration of the coast by hotels left the shore so damaged that I felt my heart breaking into tiny pieces. Maybe more than half of this hotels are abandoned or their construction was never finished. I felt I was in a kind of apocalyptic scene from a movie! It is a real wake up call for me, and I wish nature could have the chance to take back the beauty that mankind once stole from it.

A nossa primeira paragem foi em Hurghada. Queríamos recarregar baterias, por isso ficámos num resort com praia privada. Conseguimos relaxar durante um tempo, no entanto, não conseguíamos varrer da nossa memória o desapontamento que sentimos ao constatar que toda a beleza que Hurghada e o Mar Vermelho um dia possuíram já não existe. A exploração em massa da zona costeira por parte de unidades hoteleiras deixou um extenso rasto de danos e ver isso fez com que o meu coração se partisse em pequenos pedaços. Talvez mais de metade destes hotéis estão abandonados ou são apenas o esqueleto de projetos inacabadas. Senti-me como se estivesse num cena de um filme apocalíptico. O meu desejo é que a natureza tenha a oportunidade, um dia, de restaurar a beleza que lhe foi roubada pela humanidade.

From Hurghada we took a bus to Luxor. We didn’t really check where our B&B was, so we were really surprised to find out that it was on a little village right next to Medinat Habu, Ramses III’s memorial temple, on the west coast of the Nile. So the first thing we did when we got to the city was crossing the amazing river by boat and visit the absolutely amazing and underrated Habu temple. Throughout our trip we crossed the Nile uncountable times but we always felt amazed by its serene beauty.

De autocarro executámos o percurso entre Hurghada e Luxor. Como não tínhamos verificado com atenção a localização do nosso B&B, ficámos surpreendidos ao descobrir que se situava numa numa pequena vila na costa oeste do Nilo, ao lado do Templo Memorial de Ramses III, Medinat Habu. Por isso mesmo, a primeira coisa que fizemos ao chegar à cidade, foi atravessar, de barco, esse maravilhoso rio, e visitar o Templo de Habu, que é bastante subestimado. Durante toda a nossa viagem, foram incontáveis as vezes que atravessámos o Nilo, mas sempre que o fazíamos ficávamos maravilhados com toda a sua serena beleza.

We tried all means of transportation. Sometimes we'd walk, we also rent bikes for one day. We started riding them to come back from the Valley of the Kings, a pretty cool way down with zero effort, then taking the early morning hours to explore the west side crops and shore and at noon we crossed the river, taking them on the ferry to have lunch and visit Karnak. I feel there are no words in the world to describe the magnificence and grandeur of that place! As people from tours would get jammed, starring at a particular detail on a wall, we were able to visit everything without bumping into them, as usually you'll find the most interesting and amazing places far from the crowds. We took time to explore all of the places and details that the guides and their tours don't care about. Apart from observing the whole stunning constructions, the paintings on the walls and the ancient rock carvings, we took some extra time to think, not only about the people who lived there, but also about the people whose names are carved on the rocks, the ones that found those ruins over the centuries, in awe for their discoveries!

Experimentámos todos os tipos de transportes. Por vezes fazíamos longas caminhadas e também alugámos bicicletas por um dia. Começámos a usá-las de manhã, bem cedo, para descer do Vale dos Reis até às terras de cultivo perto da margem Oeste do rio. Perto do meio-dia, levando as bicicletas, atravessámos para o lado Este, de ferry, para fazermos um picnic e visitarmos Karnak. Sinto que não há palavras no mundo que possam descrever a magnificência deste complexo de templos! Enquanto as multidões dos grupos de tours se empurravam e sobrelotavam zonas, onde permaneciam especadas a olhar para um qualquer pormenor numa parede, nós conseguimos visitar tudo sem termos de nos cruzar com elas. Como é já habitual, conseguimos encontrar lugares e coisas interessantíssimas longe das multidões. Explorámos todos os lugares, e são muitos, que as tours não visitam. Para além de observarmos atentamente as fantásticas construções, pinturas e trabalho escultórico nas paredes, pensámos, ainda, não só sobre quem ali viveu mas também sobre aqueles cujos nomes estão gravados na pedra, aqueles que durante os últimos séculos foram descobrindo e explorando estas ruínas.

In Luxor I never felt in danger but I felt verbally harassed everyday by men in the streets, including policemen, with no respect for me or Luis that was always on my side. I would expect them to at least respect the western "husband" figure but I was deeply wrong. We got pretty tired to hear them whistle, make kiss sounds and ultimately tell Luis loudly while looking at me like they would look at a juicy steak "Oooooh! Lucky man!". Apart from that, they pretty much try to sell you everything they can and they always start with "hey! Welcome to Egypt! Wherrr you from? Spain? Italy?...What you looking for? I have it!" at the end, we just pretended we were speaking a weird language so they couldn't guess where we were from and quit on harassing. It gets really tiering and I've never seen a country like this. How come they don't realize that their amazing selling techniques are only driving people away from their businesses? I don't want to generalize as we've met some pretty decent men on our stay in Egypt, but men need to be more respectful ASAP for tourism sake, as tourism is really important for the country's economy! Also, please stop taking sneaky selfies!! Notwithstanding, I've met some pretty fascinating women and girls, always so nice and polite! Young women are full of dreams and hopes. It feels like they belong to a secret kind of sisterhood, which I think is absolutely fascinating and will lead them, hopefully, one day, to come forward to embrace their rights as women from the supremacy of religious rules and the power of sexist traditions.

Em Luxor nunca me senti em perigo, no entanto, sentia-me verbalmente assediada por homens nas ruas, diariamente, incluindo polícias, sem nenhum respeito por mim ou pelo Luis, que estava sempre do meu lado. Esperava, pelo menos, que eles respeitassem a figura do "marido" ocidental, mas estava enganada. Ficámos bastante cansados de os ouvir assobiar, fazer sons de beijos e dizerem ao Luís, olhando para mim como se eu fosse um bife suculento "Ooooooh! Lucky man!". Para além disso, estão constantemente a tentar vender tudo aquilo que consigam, começando as conversas com "hey! Welcome to Egypt! Wherrr you from? Spain? Italy?...What you looking for? I have it!". Nós já falávamos línguas inventadas para que eles não conseguissem detectar a nossa proveniência e desistissem mais rápido da usual perseguição durante 200m. É extremamente cansativo e eu nunca estive num país que se possa comparar. Como é que não se apercebem que as suas maravilhosas técnicas de vendas apenas afastam as pessoas dos seus negócios? De qualquer forma, não quero generalizar esta ideia, pois conhecemos alguns homens bastante decentes na nossa estadia no Egipto. No entanto, para que o turismo mantenha um crescimento saudável, alguns homens precisam de mudar a sua abordagem, já que o turismo é super importante para a economia deste país! Para além disso, por favor, parem de tirar selfies sorrateiras! É sinistro! Não obstante, conheci mulheres e raparigas fascinantes, sempre queridas e com ótimos modos. As jovens são sonhadoras e cheias de esperança. Pareceu-me que elas pertencem a uma irmandade secreta, onde se protegem umas às outras, o que é absolutamente fascinante, e que, oxalá (que palavra apropriada!), um dia, dêem o primeiro passo na defesa dos seus direitos como mulheres contra a supremacia de leis ditadas pela religião e contra o poder de tradições sexistas.

Part 2 is coming ASAP!

Publicarei a Parte 2 sobre o Egipto o mais rapidamente possível!

<3

Shimmering Athens

Athens has been part of my imaginary since I was pretty young, firstly, because it was the center of a culture that worshiped beautiful and powerful gods whose names and stories always amazed me, and secondly because of their aesthetics. The way they lived and their love for creating beautiful things always impressed and inspired me, and thinking that it all happened about 2500 years ago makes me think about how society forgot that chapter of history and lived in darkness for so long.
So seeing all the treasures that Athens holds was a dream come true.

I was told by some people that visited Athens before that the roads were dirty and that it was way poorer than Portugal. I have to say that I couldn’t disagree more. The roads are full of fragrant orange trees (they’re in bloom at this time of year). The buildings have beautiful faded colors and all balconies have plenty of plants, which gives the streets a very tropical and exuberant vibe! For me, Athens it is a very original mix of Barcelona and Telaviv. We stayed at a cute neighborhood (Negri Fokionos) with lots of cafes and restaurants filled with locals and their dogs.

Monastiraki Square and all the Monastiraki neighbouhood is a lovely place to start exploring the old part of the city, which is bursting with life. From there, you'll be just a few meters away from Melissinos Art - The Poet Sandal Maker, a 3rd generation Greek sandal maker (open since the 1920’s), whose family has been making sandals for celebrities such as Jackie O, The Beatles, Prince Charles and Sarah Jessica Parker to name only a few. The sandals are made there at their workshop and after you select the model you want and the size that fits you best, they give them final adjustings like beveling the edges of all the leather in the sandals or making small adjustments like tightening or making some straps more loose. The natural colored leather comes from tanneries in Crete and is tanned using traditional methods. There are a lot of shops in Athens selling industrially made copies. They’re cheaper but not a lot compared to Melissinos but there you won't have such a genuine experience! I couldn't have left without my own pair - Maria Callas style!

The first sight we visited was Hadrian's Library, apart from the wonderful ruins we met some beings that made it their home: tortoises! Then there is lovely Plaka the most famous zone for chilling in street level or rooftop taverns, some streets that go up the hill have cafes and restaurants that have adapted their terraces to the stairways - perfect postcard scenario. Oh! And there are vases with plants and flowers everywhere, which makes the whole environment more heavenly alive! There we had some lentils with dried tomatoes and mint at Yiasemi while we drank some white wine and cold coffee (everybody was drinking it everywhere!). Near there's a very sweet and charming neighborhood called Anafiotika. Between the houses of the hills inhabitants there are winding and steep alleyways, full of secrets and sights waiting to be found.

Going up to Mount Lycabettus was a perfect choice for the end of the day. The views are totally overwhelming and we stayed there till dusk, absorbing all the beauty around us. Athens is a huge white city that glimmers day and night but the piéce de resistance in the middle of such eye catching shimmer will always be the Parthenon, that golden star, the ancient above modernity.

As it is said, the early bird gets the worm! Waking up early is far from being something I enjoy , but life has rewarded me several times for my efforts and this was one of those days, in Monastiraki you can find amazing views and guess what? We had a rooftop only for ourselves. We were expecting huge crowds up at the Parthenon and down at the Agora, where the Temple of Hephaestus is located (the best well preserved building from those times, made circa 460BC), but instead, the places were quite peaceful early in the morning (most of the sights open at 8am). I can't find the words to describe how wonderful those buildings are. I've already seen them from afar but being so close to them, transmitted me a lot of calmness. They're as ancient as it gets and all the things they've been through, all the people that passed inside or in front of them had their own story. So imagining the 'city' as it was since 5BC is a thought worth having while you're there. I like to think about the people that lived in those times: what they did, how they looked, where they lived.

We were so lucky to have visited all we wanted before a big downpour! On our way we got ourselves totally soaked in rain but we had some time during lunch to dry up our clothes and hair. As the rain wouldn't stop we decided to visit the Acropolis Museum, which has most of the ancient Athenian artifacts and fragments of buildings and temples that need to be preserved.

Next to the huge columns that are left from the Temple of Olympian Zeus there's the beautiful Panathenaic Stadium and the National Gardens with beautiful blooming flowers. After it all and a walk in the gardens we were starving so we had Loukoumades and luxuriously tasty but humbly made Souvlaki (at Lefteris O Politis).

All the food was so amazing! I’ve always disliked feta cheese but now I’m in love with it! Oh, and the yogurt... We had an amazing one with honey and walnuts at a place pretty near the Souvlaki one called Stani.

Athens was actually a city where we were only going to stop a few hours to catch a plane to Turkey, but I’m glad we stayed long enough to get to know it! I’m absolutely coming back to discover Greece further!

Floridada

In Portugal we've always consumed a lot of culture coming from USA. So we have various preconceptions of what to expect from the country and its people. I have to say that it was sooo much better than what I expected! I've had the most amazing time in the US and I want to show you how good it was and how welcome I felt!We arrived in Miami, Florida, and it was a great beginning for our journey. Our plan was to drive from Florida to California in 17 days. It actually felt more like a year! Miami is bubbling with art and design and it's so much more than what I expected. Our hotel was near Ocean Drive, with all the beautiful art deco buildings, so we walked along the beach and amidst the beautiful neighbourhoods in South Beach. There we stayed at Freehand Hotel and we loved its vibe, though we had to take a look at The Miami Beach EDITION, which is super cool, so we went there in the morning and we wanted to see its amazing bowling room and ice skate ring. Though they were closed at that time of the day, we met the nicest cleaning ladies to whom we spoke in Spanish and they let us check it all for ourselves!We went to Enriqueta's Sandwish Shop to have the best Cubano Sandwich in Miami and sashayed through the Wynwood District's street art scene, which is overflowing with cool graffitis and art galleries. Nearby you can find really curious shops that sell accessories, like huge necklaces full of rhinestones and clothes with vibrant prints and colours.While coming back, as we hopped on the bus we didn't have any quarters to put on the machine to buy the tickets, and a very nice old man, who actually looked quite poor wearing ragged clothes and holding tight to his rucksack, gave us a spare ticket and some money. He actually looked like he was living on the streets and he did it just to be nice. We felt so blessed by his goodness! <3After Miami we drove towards Tampa, making a pause in the "Shell Factory", near Fort Myers, which is a shop known for being the biggest shell shop in the world (or at least in the US 😛).We stopped in Sarasota, where we visited Marie Selby Botanical Gardens, and we had a delicious Amish potato salad that we bought in a very cute market in the curious Amish community of Pinecraft. Going forward, I would definitely suggest the Sunshine Skyway Bridge (I-275) to cross to St. Petersburg. When crossing it, it is possible to see the cutest little islands dominated by vegetation. We took some time to stroll around Ybor City, which is a historical district that once contained plenty of cigar manufactures with workers coming mostly from Cuba, Spain and Italy.The next day we rambled around the Suwannee River, and the swamps  near Salem. With our rental SUV we drove across those quiet lands,  feeling the blissful peace that lies in places unexplored. The swamps and its flora, so characteristic from this area make it all so whimsical and otherworldly, with the Spanish moss floating in the warm breeze.Our quest for alligators and knowing that they're all around this part of the US made us cautious but also super alert, always trying to find them. This way we learnt to be attentive and on the lookout for all kinds of animals during this trip. This time we saw no alligator but a huge black snake crossed our path and it was fascinating to see it rise from the ground like it was dancing to a charmer's pungi music.  Before Alabama we still got to visit St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge, which is so calm and full of birds and has beautiful views over the Apalachee Bay.To conclude this post I have to say that I'm sooooo in love with swamps and the exotic vegetation I found. Next state: Alabama. Stay tuned. <3         

No Vampires in Transylvania

Usually my boyfriend's mom organizes an annual trip to get her three sons and their girlfriends/wives together. Oh, and there's also grandchildren that she can't live without! So this year we decided to go to Romania, more precisely to Transylvania. It's getting really hard to choose a place where none of us had ever been!Half of us arrived in Bucharest really early in the morning so we decided to meet in the center of the city for breakfast. We drove around to get to know the city and it is a real beauty: decadent and charming. After a very complete meal we went to Brașov, where we had a birthday lunch for Paulo, my brother-in-law, at La Ceaun. There we ate the most amazing romanian slowly cooked dishes and if you like polenta, you'll love theirs. It's a place for family and friends and the decor is really sweet!We traveled the whole afternoon and bought some groceries for later. The place we stayed at is very secluded and so incredible. We booked it through Airbnb and it's called Cabana Sapte. It was so incredibly cozy and in touch with nature, the huge window in the living room and the sheepskin all around made it just perfect!It was quiet rainy on the following day, so we drove around the hills and had lunch at this very quirky place, which we found by chance, called Albota Turistic Complex. It is actually a trout farm, so none of the things on the menu are very good besides the fried trout, which is indeed super tasty. The place was really peculiar, with places for foot treatment on the trout tanks and some other activities like fishing, which I figure mustn't be that hard, given the circumstances.At the end of the day the boys prepared a lovely barbecue for the family and we got to enjoy our last evening in our Cabana.On our third day we traveled around and got to visit the beautiful Mănăstirea Brâncoveanu, an orthodox monastery.Later that day we drove towards one of Romania's most turistic spots - the Bran Castle. After reading Bram Stoker's Dracula aloud to Luis last Summer, we still had a very present image of the writer's descriptions in our minds. Sure we thought it would be bigger and way more creepy but it's still worth visiting. It has very cool interiors and is oddly cute. Back in the street we ate some street food: Kürtőskalács, a sweet, crispy and huge roll, perfect for sharing, and Lángos, a fried bread with cheese (which made me think of Pizza Hut, my favourite fast food restaurant).The place where we stayed - The Cottage in the Carpathians -  that night and the following was absolutely amazing! It is located in Râu Alb de Sus and consists of a main house and two other little ones, which were formerly used as stables, and endless gardens with animals. It is decorated with a lot of typical  romanian embroideries and objects that were used many decades ago. The heating system is absolutely amazing, so old but still so efficient, the wood with which the houses were made is preserved as old as it gets, but so full of life! And, last but not least, the dogs that hang around saluting you with their amiable energy make you feel like you belong to this idyllic place.On our last day we went for a walk on the woods, that started on a little village. We walked for about two hours, breathing in the nature that surrounded us. It's all so beautiful and the weather was perfect. We ended up having lunch at Potcoava Mountain Hideaway, where we were so kindly received. We came back, this time not trying to shorten our way, through one of the main roads (I think we saw 3 cars in our 2 or 3 hour walk). We had our last barbecue and enjoyed our last evening together.I can't wait for our next trip together! And, as Joana, my sister-in-law said: "Thanks everyone for working so much (like driving and cooking and taking care of the kids), letting me and Teresa rest"! 😅<3

New Girl in Old Places Extremadura Part 2

Having arrived in Trujillo after sunset we kept the sightseeing for the next morning and had dinner at Los Hermanos Marcelo. There we had migas extremeñas, a dish that consists of crumbled fried and really crunchy bread mixed with chorizo, bacon and blended with a pepper - Pimentón de la Vera - that is typical in this zone of Spain (my mouth is watering already). We got up early to explore all the little streets with the sunbeams cast on the ancient city and castle walls.After Trujillo we hit the road towards Los Barruecos Natural Monument. On our way we stopped a few times: there was an abandoned farm with an aqueduct and a little brook and later on we found the intriguing entrance of something like a nun's monastery. As I said on a few posts before, we mainly drive on secondary roads because you never know what you'll find. It makes our trips more eventful and exciting. At Los Barruecos I felt so mesmerised. I guess I've never been in a place like that. It is full of rounded granite huge rocks that seemingly appeared from nowhere. It's like they fell from the sky.At Los Barruecos you can find serene lakes and places to chill or meditate. The view is endless, no wonder why the producers of Game of Thrones chose the place as a set for their footage. There is also a museum dedicated to the works of Wolf Vostell, a pioneer of video and installation art (follow this link to know more about this striking place).At around 4 pm we arrived at Cáceres. Its historical center was considered a world heritage site as it is one of the most complete examples of middle age and renaissance architecture . I've got to be totally honest: the city is certainly beautiful but it was really crowded with tourists and as you may have noticed that's not really my thing. We've had so many lovely moments alone and with locals during this trip that we felt a bit misplaced with so many people all around. Everything is so clean and polished that it seems a bit fake. Of course I agree that these kinds of historical complexes must be protected and preserved but I don't think that should mean that the places must be stripped out of their own character, which is granted by the passing of time.At the end of the day we drove back to Portugal and hanged around the beautiful Puente de Alcántara, a beautiful roman bridge made in the second century AD. We slept near Fundão and came across with Minas da Panasqueira, a mine that has been open for more than 120 years with workings uninterrupted. It is extremely rich in wolfram and in between there can be found almost all silicates that are known up to this day. I've always needed my glitter dose so I got to buy some mind blowing quartz mixed with pyrite, calcite, fluorite, dolomite and apatite from their really full shop. I can't stop starring at them.<3

Extremadura Blossoms

Spain has always been my favourite destination for small holidays. For us it's easy to get there by car and because the language is different we start feeling we're really on holidays from the moment we cross the border. This time we decided to explore a province called Extremadura, which is located next to the border with Portugal and is on the north of Andalucia.All the secondary roads are filled with amazing views. There's so much nature blooming all around at this time of year! The meadows are bursting with vibrant colours and there are animals wandering around, living their blissful lives. For me, as you may have noticed, it's not enough to enjoy the view from afar, I have to feel it and embrace it as close as I can, I have to explore. I like to get off the main road, jump a few fences, if needed, and absorve all the textures and the colours, all the feelings.We visited Merida, which is a lovely city with a lot of history. It has so many roman buildings. My favourite is the roman theatre, with all the columns, the statues and that warm terracota tone that is ever so ancient and mystical. There's also an aqueduct, which is very impressive too. The city itself is lovely and there are so many little shops with all the typical Spanish products. All villages in Spain (just like in Portugal) have their own fort or castle, so there's always a fairytale vibe all around.Every time I've been in Spain, since I was a little baby (and my family went to Spain at least once a year) I've seen these billboards but never had I ever taken a photograph next to them! These bulls are deeply routed in the Spanish culture since the 1950's. The brand Osborne created them to advertise their 'Brandy de Jerez'. In 1994 the EU decided upon the removal of all alcoholic beverage advertisement on roadsides but the 14m tall bulls already belonged to Spain's landscape and to the aesthetic and culture of the country and hence they were turned into public domain.At the end of this day we headed towards Trujillo. I'm not able to express how much fulfilling  it is to be in Spain during springtime. The weather is so warm and the days are huge in this part of the country because they have Spain's timezone but they are in the western side of the country, so the sun sets super late (like at 9:30pm).Next stop: Trujillo. <3

The German Wedding

Back in 2013, as an intern at Ann iDemeulemeester I was blessed to meet a lot of amazing people. One of them was my dear Katharina. She and her boyfriend Daniel came to Portugal twice since then and on the last time they were here, which was last Summer, he proposed! Of course we wouldn't miss their wedding for the world!Luis, Tim and Andreia came along and we spent the time that we weren't with the wedding party getting to know the countryside in the south of Frankfurt.As we were not going back to the hotel to change, we dressed up for the wedding in the morning though the party would only happen in the afternoon. I have to say that Portuguese people are not that used to attend to Winter weddings. But we got lucky with the weather.We met Katharina and Daniel's friends the day before the party and we had a blast. We were also so glad to see Ingo again (a friend of them who also stayed in Portugal before), and we were able to meet his lovely wife and baby! We couldn't be happier and we danced all night and laughed at german jokes even though we couldn't understand everything. I have to say that it's a shame that we never take pictures together, so this time, we took a lot but still weren't able to take one with the groom.There was a lot of dancing to 90's tunes and there was even a concert by Daniel and his friend Maurice! I was so touched when they played the song that Daniel wrote with my name on it! Daniel actually wrote it when they were in Portugal for the first time and the song title is pretty badass: Bitten by a Rottweiler! I just loved everything! On our last day, we came to Katharina's parents house to say goodbye and we spent the day visiting Heidelberg and then Frankfurt.Here are some photos that I found from our time in Antwerp, taken with my polaroid camera.On this last one I was crying because I was leaving on the the next day. Little did I know, back then, that we would keep on being friends and that we would share so many moment together. Hope that there are still a lot more to come! Love you guys! <3