Welcome

Hi everyone. Well here we go. As you all know - this has been my dream holiday for a long time now. I hope you enjoy this trip as well. I hope to see the "real" Portugal and share this with you all.

I will try to update you regularly on where I am and what I have seen. I will also give you a brief history of places I see. I am also going to try to speak Portuguese as much as possible. Mas só falo um pouco de português.

I am on a mission to discover the essence of Portugal. Portugal's history - both glorious and sometimes not so glorious - has fascinated me for years. I hope you find this trip informative and fun.

Just a short note to acknowledge that this trip is a result of the passing of my mother, and she will be remembered throughout this adventure.

My first stop is Lisbon (Lisboa).

Thursday, May 15, 2008

Mafra - gold from Brasil

So the story goes that when the Portuguese landed in Brasil, they found the tribesmen juggling little stones of gold. Gold was the commodity back then and even the secret discovery of Australia was because Marco Polo wrote that this mysterious island (Australia) was made of gold.

So when they saw the Brasilians playing with the gold, they produced a mirror and the natives went ohhhhhhh. The rest you can work out for yourself. The Portuguese raped brasil and took everything - all the gold - and then built this castle. Originally when I was researching Portugal's history and came across the palace of Mafra, i was amazed by the monument and its history. But after learning the real history behind it, it really is just another building now. The Brasilians have been so nice to me here and one of my best friends is a Brasilian in Coffs Harbour. I dont like what happened to them. They would probably not be in the economic crisis they are (Brasil) if it were not for one greedy Portuguese King. PS. I took some nice shots eh????
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