2010

Happy new year everyone!
An exuberant and enthusiastic dd was very glad to be back for class at sm.

Cone

DD's persistent and special request to Santa Claus this year for her Xmas present: Green ice cream on a cone =P .

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas!

Home

The start of our 25 hour flight back to Singapore from Lisboa.
Cheerily making monkey faces
Waiting to board the planeArriving back at Madrid - the first of 2 transit destinations for our return journey DD is obsessed with these chupa chups machines . Finally we gave in and gave her a 0.50 euro coin to slot in. Out popped one (expensive) lollipop that made her totally thrilled.
We are grateful to Our Lord Jesus and also for the prayers of our Lady for keeping us safe for the journey home and thru out the holidays. Many european airports had been closed at that time due to the bad winter weather. We are also grateful for the wonderful time together during this precious holiday, bonding as a family.

Impressed

DH catching his breath and warming up at the restaurant after our long trek at the basilicaDD loved the crispy toasted breadShe didn't want any mains- just the bread alone filled her upPart of our meal - bacalhau de natas and bife panadoAfter such a delicious meal - dd was very chirpy My little dollThe proprietress of this shop has been running the shop for the last 27 years. Now her daughter is managing it in her place. Her daughter has a 2 year old boy herself but was very impressed with the things that dd was telling me about. DD happened to be telling me that the things in the shop were made of glass so she had better not touch anything. She was also telling me (correctly) which items were made of plastic and so she could touch those. She also told them "Feliz Natale!" (Merry xmas) happily. She does have her moments =).
I was more impressed by the fact that their command of English must be pretty good to understand clearly what dd was rattling on about.
Singing the "wheels on the bus" happily on our journey back on the bus. I recorded the segment but its a little too long to upload... Holding the camera up and snapping ourselves on board the bus !

Fatima

Our early morning dash to get to Fatima! A metro ride first before hopping on to a bus for the journeyLocated in west central Portugal, in the region of Leiria and approximately 110 kilometers north of Lisbon, the small town of Fatima has one of the most visited Marian shrines in the world today. Freezing coldddddOn our way to the Shrine of Our Lady of the RosaryPuffing away to keep warmHere we are !Behold! The Basilica of Our Lady of Fatima in the background, whilst standing in the vast central plaza. The huge magnitude of the plaza reminded me of St Peter's Basilica in Rome.Some four million people visit Fatima each year, drawn by apparitions of the Virgin Mary reported by three local shepherd children in 1917.On the 13th of each month from May to October 1917, the Virgin Mary is said to have appeared to three shepherd children - Lúcia dos Santos (age 10) and her cousins Jacinta (age 7) and Francisco Marto (age 9) - in the fields outside the village of Aljustrel near Fatima. Postcard perfect

We joined in an ongoing mass and again, I am very thankful for my wonderful camera which allowed me to capture all the above perfect pictures without the use of any flash. In religious places of interest, sometimes flash photography may not be welcome.

DD dozing off in the ergo ...

Outside the Chapel of ApparitionsVisiting the Church of the Most Holy Trinity - Portugal’s biggest church and the fourth largest Catholic church in the world

The church can seat 9000 pilgrims at any one time and was constructed between 2004 and 2007 at a cost of 80 million euros, entirely funded from donations from pilgrims

Castelo

Beautiful scenery near the top of the historic centreSteep road leading up to our next destinationTaking a breather from the steep walkVictory! Standing below the street signs pointing us to the right directionOutside the Castelo de Sao Jorge. Finally!

DD was very excited as she was longing to see 'her' castle because she called herself a 'princess' =P.Admiring the viewPortugal is a beautiful country with lovely people too Big stone steps leading to the castleOutside the moat leading to the castleThe Castelo de São Jorge dates back to the 6th century BC.
But the existence of the castle as it were dates from the 10th – 11th centuries. In 1147, Afonso Henriques, the first king of Portugal, conquered the Castle and captured the city from the Moors.

Situated in the area that is most difficult to reach on the top of the hill, the Castelo stands majestically with its eleven towers backing on to the
ramparts, the most prominent being Torre de Menagem, Torre de Ulisses (Tower of Ulysses), Torre do Paço (Palace Tower), Torres Central, Norte e Noroeste (Central, North and North-eastern Towers), Torre da Cisterna (Cistern Tower) and Torre de São Lourenço (St. Lawrence’s Tower) situated halfway down the hill. Inside can be seen the remains of ancient buildings, a cistern and the small Porta da Traíção (Traitors’ Gate).

Legend has it that the city of Lisbon was founded by Ulysses. The tower – which was named after him and where the Royal Treasury was kept in the old days – houses the Periscope, an optical system invented by Leonardo Da Vinci in the 16th century and the only one in Portugal,
giving a 360º view of the city in real time

Trams

A tram ride !

Driver at work

Passengers on board

Navigating carefully down the road

Look at how narrow the roads are

The corner looked almost too narrow to navigate safely!