Ai que saudade de Lisboa!

Sempre que Lisboa canta
Não sei se canta
Não sei se reza
A sua voz com carinho
Canta baixinho
Sua tristeza
Aníbal Nazaré/ Carlos Rocha

Fado, pastel de Belém, codfish, the Tagus River, the Age of Discovery, the Portuguese language, Fernando Pessoa and Camões... Portugal has offered these many wonderful things to mankind! There's no better way to thank them than to visit their splendid country, beginning with the very beautiful capital city: Lisbon!

Torre de Belém, built in 1519. One of the most symbolic monuments of the Portuguese nation 

Padrão dos Descobrimentos. Inaugurated in 1960, this monument celebrates the 500 years of the beginning of the Age of Discovery in Portugal. It points towards the Tagus River and ultimately the sea...

Praça do Império, with the Jerônimos Monastery on the background.

Restauradores Square, in central Lisbon.

Cais das Colunas... the Tagus River (Tejo)

Santa Justa Lift, also in central Lisbon, in the district of Baixa.

A wonderful view from the district of Alfama.

Lisbon seen from Saint George's Castle (Castelo de São Jorge)

Saudade... a beautiful and sad word you can only find in the Portuguese language... and that is Saudade Street... oh, how I miss those days back in Portugal!

Another iconical point of the city. The Cathedral of Lisbon. I was careful to take the picture at the very moment the "eléctrico" (the traditional tramways in Lisbon) was coming down.

Bem merecestes ter com amor,

Em vossos braços, o Salvador

The Church of Saint Anthony. It is said that he was born in this place. I was extremely happy to be able to visit it. 

And this is only a bit of this incredibly beautiful city. Por certo, uma das capitais europeias mais giras. 
Visit Lisbon! You shall not regret it!

Hallo Freunde! Heute gehen wir nach Berlin!

Hello everybody!
I know I promised to post these pictures a long time ago, but I had some trouble finding them. Now here they are: Berlin! The capital of the most powerful European country is now a modern city and it shows it is absolutely ready to forget its dark past and to prove it has a lot to offer.

There are so many interesting places to see that I regret being there for only two days. I tried to visit all the essential landmarks, but had to do so in a hurry, which is never a good thing. I reckon I'd need at least five days to do everything I wanted to do. Well, I should be happy it was summertime then and you all know what this means: the sun is with us up until 10 p.m.! Weather was great too and the city wasn't so crowded as other European capitals are in the same period.

Now... the most important part of it all. Meine Damen und Herren, die Bilder:

Der Große Stern: a monument to celebrate victory over France in the Franco-German War of 1870

A closer look at the same monument. The Berlin Victory Column.

And yes, this is really in Berlin, a monument to commemorate Soviet victory over Nazi Germany.

 Okay, it's true. The first three pictures are too military-like. Now let's relax with the Berlin Zoo. It presentes the most comprehensive collection of species in the world!

Awww, isn't he cute??? 

Dem Deutschen Volke. For the German people. The Parliament!

 This is probably the greatest symbol of Berlin. Der Branderburger Tor!

 The Berlin Cathedral (Berliner Dom). Stern, and yet incredibly beautiful.

 The Tv Tower (Fernsehturm)

 "When it comes to truth and justice, there is no difference between small and big problems". Albert Einstein.

Memorial to the victims of the Holocaust. Probably the most striking place. 

Statue in the Gendarmenmarkt. 

 And you can see below two of the many Berlin bears that are everywhere in the city. Yes, and each one has a particular style. They're really cute!

 This is it. I hope you've enjoyed the pictures. Berlin is definitely waiting for me again. I didn't accomplish all the missions I had been assigned and I must yet visit a lot of other interesting places there. Charlottenburg, the Jewish Museum, the Alte Nationalgalerie etc...

Wer möchte mit mir mitkommen? Ich wachte auf euch, Kerle! ;D

The magic of Fez

I have always dreamt of visiting an African country. I had my first opportunity last year and I think I made a very good choice: Morocco!

And now it's a pleasure to share some of the pictures I took there. I admit I was a bit disappointed since I couldn't go to Marrakesh, but I was very glad to be in Fez.
What can I say about it? 
Two words: magical and timeless. It is almost impossible to describe clearly enough how beautiful and enchanting it is. I guess I took nearly one thousand pictures, and it was hard to choose only some of them to upload here. 

Let's just hope I've made the best choices again.

One of the doors to enter the Medina, the ancient district. The Medina is a really huge maze: a lot of small streets, no cars are allowed inside, and that's the oldest part of the city. The Medina of Fez is famous, because it is the biggest one in the world. It is really easy to get lost there!  

The traditional tanneries of Fez. That's where they produce the autentic Moroccan leather.

And a traditional Moroccan restaurant! You cannot leave Morocco without tasting its delicious couscous and the incredible tagines. And with such a beautiful place, any meal can be a pretext to a great feast!

The doors and the shops in the medina.

A picture from outside. Those are the walls that encircle the medina and protected it from invaders.

Wonderful landscapes...

The medina seen from the South Borj. 

The ruins in the North of Fez.

Another sight of the medina. This time taken from the other side, the North Borj.

The minaret of one of the various mosques. But that one is located in the modern part of the city.

Back to the medina. That is the entrance to a medersa, that is, a Quranic school. Its architectural style is strikingly beautiful in my opinion.

Going through the streets of the medina.

This picture has also striken us... it is beyond words...

One of the doors to the Royal Palace. Yes, Morocco is a monarchy, and its King is greatly appreciated throughout the country. 

And that's it. No need to know, we saw a lot of things and learned so much about that country. Anyway I still think there could be no better way to start exploring the African continent. Now it's time to think about our next destination...

Thank you again for your visit! Or better said, this time in Arabic, شكرا! (shu-kran, or that is how we used to pronounce it there! :D)

Una città piena di arte: Firenze!

A perfect city for those who love art in all its aspects. Yes, of course we're talking about Florence. This jewel is the main city in the stunningly beautiful region of Tuscany, and an absolute must see for anyone travelling in Italy.

I'll just upload a few pictures of my first time in Florence. It is really impossible to apprehend the greatness and beauty of the city by only seeing pictures. We're well aware of that. But it might convince those who still hesitate whether they should or not visit the city...

 One side of the enormous Basilica di San Lorenzo.

Il Mercato

Ecco! Il Duomo di Firenze. That is the great symbol of the city. 

Le Porte del Paradiso (Heaven's Doors). This is the entrance to the Baptistery, just in front of the Cathedral.

Neptune's fountain in Piazza della Signoria.

Basilica di Santa Croce. Florence has a lot of churches. Each one has its own original features and art. Santa Croce is where many famous Italians are buried (such as Michelangelo, Galileo, Machiavelli, Rossini... ) 

Machiavelli's tomb.

Piazza della Santa Trinità.

Another great sight: Giotto's Campanile. Just beside the Duomo. 414 steps all the way up to the top. No lifts! But the sight you have once you're there is an excellent reward! 

There it is! From the Campanile, you can see Il Palazzo Vecchio, another famous building of Florence.

Brunelleschi's Dome, in the Duomo. An extraordinary masterpiece. I thought I'd need hours and hours to fully appreciate how beautiful it is! 

Another view of Florece, this time taken from the Duomo.

I was absolutely in love with Florence. Once again I said to myself I didn't reserve enough time to explore all the places that must be seen. I hope I'll go back someday.

Anyway one would need a lifetime to explore Italy with all its magnificence and cultural, historical and artistic richness.

È tutto per oggi, ragazzi! Grazie mille per la visita a questo blog! :D