Paldies, Gracias, Hvala, Obrigada, Thank you.

With the 2013th on the doorstep, i have to say that  blogging and S. won`t go together anymore. I had a lot of fun creating...proud and happy...now the time for new challenges.

Sending BIG thank you, muito obrigada, hvala lepše, milzumlielais paldies...for being part of this last year and a bit more and making me to enjoy sharing the adventures and stories with you.

Create your own adventures, enjoy life and take most of it, its one and only, and your key on shaping life the way you want.
Be courageous and adventurous,

Ate la,

S.

cold is different cold here in Portugal.

as some time I was thought that the time in Portugal runs differently, and it really does in a way, once you are looking on the things and how they work here...then based on that I want to say, that not only time runs differently, but also the meaning of the cold weather and getting cold outside has completely other perspective, its just completely different than on the coast of Baltics. And so far, anything than everything else, i think this is the biggest challenge for my life in Portugal.

These last couple of weeks having the average temperature of around 10 - 15C outside, first it may seem, wow, thats warm, right? Especially if you are coming from Latvia, the very northern country, where the weather the same time is around 0 degrees or getting under it, and snow appearing.

my portuguese family weekend @ Porto

At one of the miradouros in center of Porto.

while this weekend stuck in home, because of the trains strikes and because of the autumn virus which have somehow found me, now is the space and time to share my last weeks great story of how I was thrown into the awesome portuguese family weekend.

It all started with my will to spend the last weekend in Porto, as just traveling for my friday event with the Business Angels would be no fun at all. As with no certain plans, nor certain place to stay at, nor any other agenda for the weekend, at some point I was already considering to skip the weekend there and stay around Lisbon...but then out of nowhere just some days before the other friday to come an old friend writes me telling that he`s coming home from Germany for the weekend to visit his family in Porto and if i want to spend some fun times in Porto for the weekend. A big coincidence or maybe a sign, that i did need to travel for Porto the last weekend.

S. meets the portuguese business angels.

like couple of weeks ago i came across an opportunity to know more of the Business Angels society of Portugal, as they were having a week long events all over the country. being an explorer, and curious of how the angels support works here, i signed up for the two of their events, first one in Lisbon and the second in Porto.

I have to say that the Lisbon event came too fast and too early in the morning the last week, the weather was  so unwelcoming to want to move or travel somewhere, so in the end I did not attend their presentation hours in Lisbon. And as the Porto event was the peak of the week, with many great topics and program for all afternoon long, then being there should to be enough of getting to know better the angels system and how it works.

so the last friday, i took my holiday, the one i did not have in monday the last week and went again for Porto. As more than once my inbox reached the message saying, that we should not be late for the business angels congress, as they will start sharply on time, i planned my trip well and arrived in Porto just in time. Perfect to pass by to drop bag at friends and make the lovely walk from St. Bento up the hill for the central building of University of Porto aka Reitoria da Universidade do Porto. It was a nice and pleasant to really indeed start on time, thank you.

the Latvian independence day in Lisbon - Check.

S. spotted before the start of the concert.

Being not in Latvia for the National Independence day aka the birthday of Latvia this year was the second time for me. If last year I celebrated it in Ljubljana, then this time it was Lisbon. Completely different, still amazing.

If thinking of the celebrations, then last friday, i already saw some photos of the reception of the Latvian embassy in China...the actual and the true "birthday day" or to be more precise the Proclamation day came this last sunday. Yes, 18th of November is the date. As since couple of years, then if the date goes into weekend, we latvians are getting one extra holiday, the following working day, so the 19th of November was an extra holiday, also here for our embassy, and as i`m very lucky, then also for me. Well, it will be this friday, as i spent this monday at the office after all  The day to celebrate the cause and the birthday here in Lisbon happen to be on 20th of November. And today is the perfect day to tell you of how it went.

my legendary 12.11.12 day.

weeks pass and nothing change, then now at one day so many things happen, i was missing this for a very very long time. thank you my legendary 12.11.12 day.

after a three months and some days of my portuguese life, with no official tax payer registration number, neither bank account, finally came a day to change this. Nor that we really need this, but more than its useful. And the registration number is needed both, for our new portuguese classes, the same time to open an account or if you want to do any other process that involves the public institutions.

so yeah, in the morning we gave a visit to Finanças office,

São Martinho day at Alfama with "foot water" and chestnuts.

this year the November 11th brought me new perspective, as till now I used to know it as the Latvian Lacplesis day, that marks a turning point in our history, with the newly formed national army, and help of civilian volunteers, we won a decisive victory in 1919 over enemy troops driving them from Riga, and developing our way to independence. Today while of my Portuguese days, I learnt about their old´n´old traditions of São Martinho day, which asides all other legends of the St. Martin, know as the day with celebration of the harvest, more over Dia de São Martinho has become a day to celebrate the maturation of the year’s wine production.