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You Pearler… 30 years with the Travel and Strife and time to look back and forward.

Our journey, in truth, started four years earlier in Herself’s Homestead, the Royal County of Berkshire.

With our first pitstop a city which for that reason, and its own, will always be magical to us, Amsterdam.

Off the beaten track

Can I be trusted on a bike? In Amsterdam

Twenty-five years spanned our visits to the pride of the Netherlands and we ditched the ubiquitous bikes along the way.

We had taken the road less travelled on our first trip, going to Edam on its half day.

And then taking the wrong fork on the road back to Amsterdam.

We took a different tack when we were invited out to the Dylan.

And so it was canal boats and the luxury of the hotel George and Amal frequent in theirs, and now our, visits to Holland.

Wear slip-on shoes

We all form attachments to those countries and cities we first go to as children and couples.

And Portugal holds a special place too in our hearts despite another cycling mishap in the Algarve.

But one we got to put right in Portugal Centro years later under the guidance of our own Special One Jose Madomis.

Malta would follow when in an unguarded moment I bent down at dinner to tie up my shoelace and she screamed ‘Yes’.

The Scot in me, I went back years later on my own to see if I could redeem on the bottle of Champagne we didn’t finish…

And so Corfu followed for our honeymoon when the handsome Greek waiter was most attentive to our table.

And my bride was blushing when it transpired he was eyeing me up.

On our Travails

We made the most of those intimate moments then, knowing holidays would never be the same when Him and Her came along.

And waited until we could take off again together, to the Soll slopes in Austria.

That road trip around Portugal Centro.

To George and Amal’s gaffe in Amsterdam.

And up the fjords of Norway and around the Rieperbahn of Hamburg.

Still stumbling along the way and trying to get back on track.

And all the time still following Her lead.

Even when that meant us getting on the bus to Berlin instead of Keil.

The Mother of all Dragons

Or turning up in Monaghan a weekend early and turning that Irish Midlands town upside down.

There have been travails aplenty and pleasures like poppy seeds in Rome and Venice and travels to come.

With an anniversary Loveholidays trip to Dubrovnik to come next month with my very own Mother of Dragons.

Just another marker in 30 years with the Travel and Strife.

Bring on the next 30.

MEET YOU ON THE ROAD

Asia, Countries, Deals, Europe

Here We Goa Cristiano

30th December 202130th December 2021 funtime65

Here We Goa Cristiano. Ronaldo, R7, has been put on a podium in India’s Portuguese outlier.

Yes, we’ve been here before, with statues a bit of a hobby horse of mine.

Funny, because there are too many of these with empirical British generals and not enough of the gee-gees themselves.

Although racecourses are the exception.

And who else would have pride of place at Aintree, Liverpool, home of the Grand National than Red Rum?

Cristiano Ronaldo, of course, is a football thoroughbred who his native Portuguese have had on a podium for years.

All of which our tour guide par excellence Jose Madomis made clear early in our visit to Portugal Centro.

Although The Scary One has never knowingly been told who she should defer to… Signore Ronaldo or Mourinho.

The first statue

The Portuguesers know his value, of course, and closer to God is He.

As I found out when I saw his beach towel for sale among all the Our Lady mini-statues in the Marian site of Fatima.

And while Cristiano is lauded on mainland Portugal he is venerated in Madeira, the island off Africa, where he was born and raised.

And where the first Cristiano statue went up.

Cristiano Goanaldo

And we’re thinking here that this coastline region of India is made for Cristiano.

We don’t know if in fact he owns any of it but needless to say he should be able to afford a good bulk of it.

Vasco da Gama, named after the explorer, is its capital.

And with its Portuguese culture and architecture you’d be forgiven for thinking you were still in Iberia.

For those who like to mark landmarks (guilty!) next May 30 sees the 35th anniversary of Goa becoming India‘s 25th state.

Get us there

All major airlines fly from the UK and Ireland to Madeira, it takes 3 hours and 40 minutes, and our old friends at skyscanner quote £46 with Ryanair.

And we’re advised that TUI provides direct flights from London Gatwick to Goa for a return from £551pp for February.

Here We Goa Cristiano.

Countries, Culture, Europe, Music, UK

Jose Madomis needs no invitation to talk about Portugal’s Three Fs… Football, Fatima and Fado. So to celebrate Portugal‘s elevation to the UK Green list today’s Rainy Days and Songdays celebrates Portuguese Fado.

And its football, with A Selecao, Cristiano Ronaldo et al, in good nick to retain their European Championship crown this summer.

And its Little Shepherds and Our Lady and Fatima.

Not to forget Coimbra which Jose will NEVER do.

Classy Coimbra

Coimbra (pronounced Queembra) is Jose’s hometown.

And it is the centre of everything that has ever happened in Portugal according to Jose.

And the Madomis Tours guide backs it up.

Queen Elizabeth (theirs not ours) is a saint, was a friend to the poor and devoted wife of King Denis, Portugal’s first king.

Royal Portugal

Jose proudly tells us that her earthly remains reside for eternity in Coimbra.

While Coimbra was where the students of one of the oldest universities in Europe were the driving force for the removal of President Salazar in the Seventies.

Portugal celebrates the overthrow of the dictator every April 25 with a public holiday, Freedom Day (see another ‘F’).

And it is our misfortune as Portugalophiles that we weren’t able to get out there to join in the celebrations.

Fado and the Revolucao

Fado, the mournful music born out of the Lisbon slums and Portugal’s seafaring communities, was at the heart of the Portuguese uprising in 1974 .

And its people celebrate that on Freedom Day.

The coup had two secret music signals.

And you have to remember here how important and political Eurovision was back then.

Cliff Richard from winning one year.

Eurovision conductor

Back to Portugal though and the first trigger was Paulo de Carvalho’s E Depois do Adeus (And After Goodbye).

You’ll remember it as the country’s entry in the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest.

And by the by whatever happened to that Swedish band who won that year?

The song was aired on Emissores Associados de Lisboa at 10.55pm on April 24 which alerted rebel captains and soldiers to begin the coup.

The second signal was the next day at 12.20am.

Take that Salazar

Radio Renascenca broadcast the banned Fado singer Zeca Afonso’s Grandola, Vila Morena (Grandola, Brown Town.

Reading the English translation of the song it makes sense.

It references a ‘Land of fraternity, Grandola, brown town, in each face theres equality it is the people who lead.’

And I can see why a dictator like Salazar might take exception.

And why Zeca, real name Jose, will almost certainly be high up on our Jose’s popularity list.

Born in Portugal’s Little Venice Aveido, he studied in Coimbra and even played football for local team Academica.

Apt then that this was the prompt to take over strategic points of power in the country.

Jose our Special One

Our Jose had no time for Salazar but a lot for Coimbra and is a great fan of the offshoot Coimbra Fado.

And we were, and are, great fans of Jose, the Special One, the best host we have had the pleasure to meet on our travels… and there have been many.

Tonight I will play the Fado CD Jose gave us on our last evening there in Portugal Centro.

It was our wedding anniversary night at that.

So I’m happy to dedicate this Rainy Days and Songdays Portuguese Fado to Jose… Muitas Felcidades meu amigo.