My home for the autumn 2013 - O Porto

Porto, sweet Porto. I expected it to be pretty, but one has no other option, just to stare with an open mouth, when the sun sets over the river Douro. Damn, they could just make car commercials with this in the background. But I am sure they have.

Ponte Luís I

After four days of travelling and one day spent in Bordeaux, I finally came here. And it just all seems perfect. There is bamboo growing behind the house. Palm trees all around the city and peacocks strolling in the parks. I got cool flatmates—Anna from Germany, Dessislava from Bulgaria and my landlords—Patrícia and Rui—are from Porto. Anna cooks and I had to vehemently insist when I wanted to do it once too and Dessi speaks nice Portuguese, so I can always ask her what some word means. So I just feel like a sucker that is just enjoying life.

My place

Bamboo!

Oh, I did not tell you: My parking place is just next to the appartment. And I already managed to swim in the Atlantic, see the centre with the famous iron bridge and drink three bottles of Portugal wine (those of you who know my relationship to wine know it's a big thing).

Oceano Atlântico

But hey, the language mission. I am going to live here until Christmas and in November/December I will go for the C1 language exam. I can already speak, because I had one semester of Portuguese back in Brno and the whole summer I was studying at home. People have to slow down considerably when speaking and I don't know all the words. But I am already able to enjoy a movie dubbed in portuguese or read a magazine. From now, it can get only better.

And I am going to definitely enjoy this autumn. I already am :)

River Douro with me as a foreground

Promenada close the mouth of Douro

Sunset over the Ponte da Arrábida