WELCOME TO Val's Alentejo -I write about my region of Alentejo. My art ,painting, my cottages, Family life, my animals -Travels And my love for Roses- and rural country life.

Wednesday 23 January 2013

North,Central and South

This is a map of Portugal.  Portugal is part of the Iberian peninsula.
Many of my blogger friends have been to Portugal and I am sure are very familiar with the country.
As you can see, its much smaller than her sister country Spain.
Yesterday , I posted about the recent snow that has hit Portugal this year very harshly.
A map of the geography of the provinces..
The North - is where the heavy snow mainly falls.
On some of my comments on yesterdays post.. It was mentioned how good my photos were.!
I would like to correct this and add, that I did not take any of the photos..    They were all taken from newspaper clippings of  yesterday.--  I am sorry if I misleaded any of you.. I omitted to write that all photos were from the net.
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Portugal is divided into various provinces.  It is also divided in two parts, by the Tejo River. North and South
It would take a many posts to explain how the provinces work here in Portugal.  Once you have undersood it, in fact it's a pretty easy and simple way to govern .. as each province has its own district municipality.
This is a map of most of the North of Portugal.  These areas, are where the snow mainly falls .. Some years lighter or heavier than others.
We do not have snow in the South of Portugal.  It has however been known to sometimes snow in the high regions of Alentejo.. but with light snowfall.. once in a while.
These photos are from todays newspaper. People are asked to send in their photos.. 
I thought that I would like to share them with you.   I am hoping soon that this weather will be slowing ending , making way for the new spring of 2013

                                                The northern forests
                                                            Roads cleared for the transit
A Village covered in Snow-

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The 25th of April bridge.  This bridge was the first bridge to built over the river Tejo estuary. Its a toll bridge.. and divides the South from the centre and North of Portugal.
You will see similarities of the bridge to that of the Golden Gate in San Francisco.. that is because it was built by the same engineers.

Here you can see Alentejo on the map.  As I wrote in my last post,
its the largest province in Portugal. The breadbasket of the Nation.
Very large estates and farms. Vast acres of crops -barley,wheat,alf alfa , cork, cattle,sheep
rice paddies, beautiful ceramics typical to the area, to name a few.
Its a very rich province.
You then have central Portugal( the Beiras).. after which comes the North.
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This is the second bridge over the Tejo (Tagus) river .. Its one of the largest estuaries in Europe. " O
Ponte Vasco da Gama" - The Vasco da Gama bridge-
The Vasco da Gama bridge commenced construction in 1995 and finished in 1998 for the celebration of the 500th anniversary of the discovery  of Vasco da Gama of the sea route from Europe to India

All photos are courtesy of the web.  


30 comments:

  1. Hello Val:
    This is all most interesting. But it has to said that we are enthralled with the image of the Vasco da Gama bridge. What elegance, grace and style. This is surely functional architecture at its best. How we should love to see it for ourselves.

    Take great care in the bad weather.

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    1. Thank you Jane and Lance..
      The new bridge Vasco da Gama.. is certainly most elegant and helped take some of the traffic to other areas on the south side from the centre of Lisbon and beyond

      Delete
  2. Thanks for posting the map,Val. I was wondering where you live, I couldn't remember hearing of Alentejo. The snow is beautiful.

    Hope you are having a good day.

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    1. Hello Sylvia,
      how nice to see you again.
      I am happy that you now know where I live.

      Delete
  3. Hi Val,
    Just trying to catch up on some posts. I love learning more about Portugal from you! I never imagined parts of Portugal get snow. I'm glad you are in the warmer part - those northern forests look so cold!
    Sarah x

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    1. Hello Sarah,
      I seem to be behind in commenting.. i just cant keep us sometimes.
      Yes, Portugal gets snow, as does Spain, In the extreme north.
      It is cold in the North.. but yet again, not as cold as other countries higher in the northern hemisphere.
      thank you for passing by Sarah. nice to see you.
      I am sure its a little chilly there by the sea!

      Delete
  4. I am trying to catch up - Portugal is very interesting - I did not know it had that variety of weather there and the landscape or the scenery is beautiful!

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    1. Thank you Sandie..
      Its a very interesting country.. with beautiful scenery.

      Delete
  5. It would be so nice to visit Portugal one day. The northern forests are gorgeous. I used to be a Photographer and one day a Portugese girl came in and wanted pictures taken for her modeling portfolio. The final prints turned out very good, and the Portugese girl was so pretty. All the Portugese people that I know are very attractive. Is this true?
    ~Sheri at Red Rose Alley

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    1. Dear Sheri,
      I think that there are attractive people all over the world. If the Portuguese girl was attractive, its because she was.
      Portugal is like any country, it has its good side and bad side. For me here in the country , I am happy and life is happy. The village people are nice .

      Delete
  6. Hi Val: I didn't realize your province was so large. I was thinking that the bridge did resemble the Golden Gate when I read what you said. I hope you can visit San Diego some day. I really didn't show the 1/2 or what it has to offer. I certainly hope that I can visit your country some day also. We are very proud of Jake. His folks signed for a loan but he is paying for it. Things are so expensive now adays that I hope it's not too much of a burden on him, but we all have to learn..Thanks for your kind words and Happy Wednesday..Judy

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    1. Hello Judy,
      Yes.. Alentejo is the largest province of this country.
      Thank you for your comments..
      Hope Jake enjoys his car.

      Delete
  7. thank you for providing the maps. i have a better understanding of where you're located now. quite a difference in weather from north to south. :)

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    1. Hi Tex.
      Yes, its sometimes great to know where our blogger friends live.
      The South where I am is very different from the North. The people are different , with different customs and traditions. The food is different.

      Delete
  8. I'm so glad you posted the map and more photos. I'm learning a lot! Thanks for taking time to share all of this with us. I was especially interested in the description of Alentejo. I'm sure the ceramics are gorgeous!

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    1. Thank you Lavender Dreamer.
      It sometimes helps to understand a little more about our friends, when we know the regions they live in. We get a better understanding.
      yes the ceramics are gorgeous here.. I have written a post about our pottery.
      maybe again at a later date.

      Delete
  9. Interesting post, the Vasco de Gama Bridge is very impressive. I've been to Portugal twice but always to the coast not the inland areas.

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    1. Hi Rowan.
      Yes, many Britain's come to the Algarve for their holidays. A very nice destination.
      I am in the central south. Very different.

      Delete
  10. Hallo Val! Very interesting post!I have'nt been in Portugal,i would like to!And i like the bridge Vasco da Gama!!Beautiful pictures!Thank you for sharing!Wishing you a lovely day!
    Dimi..

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    1. Thank you Dimi.
      The bridge is really incredible and long.

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  11. Hi Val, I've never been to Portugal other than a day in Lisbon when on a cruise about 40 years ago. The map is so useful as its nice to visualise where our blogging friends live. We've seen your cottage and all the grounds and olive trees but this puts your home into perspective. Thank you. When are you coming over to the UK?
    Patricia x

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    1. Hi Patricia.
      thank you for your comments.. Yes, it gives a little more perspective to where I live.
      I will be arriving London 12th..

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  12. Hello Val, Wow, when I think of Portugal I think of sunshine, and I guess I thought that you might get a lot of rain, having so much coastal land, but I never thought about snow. This was a surprise. There is a bridge in Tampa, Floria, USA that goes over the Tampa Bay and it looks very much like your bridge. I wonderful if they may have had the same designer.
    I have been strolling through some of your earlier posts and enjoying your watercolors, you are a gal of many talents. You're also a gal that enjoys life and lives it fully . . . sailing adventures, horseback adventures and an artist, too. I'm am so impressed.
    I count you a blessing in my life and appreciate your sweet friendship.
    Your blogging sister, Connie :)

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    1. Dear Connie.. thank you for your kind comments.
      I do enjoy filling my life with doing the things I like.
      I seem to slow down in winter.
      Thank you too for your blogging friendship.

      Delete
  13. HI Val,
    i was in lisbon once several years back but didn't get to visit much of Portugal. maybe again one day. you are absolutely right. it is such a wonderful opportunity when we get to learn more about where our blogging friends are from. it seems to me that this help to get us closer despite the distance.
    wow, what a sight of Portugal under a coverlet of snow.
    i'm not a snow lover and must confess that i literally hate it when it snows here. so glad it hardly ever does.
    wishing you a great weekend ahead of you
    rita

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    1. Thanks for your comments Rita.
      The north is under cover, but i think it will be clearing soon.
      I myself dont like snow.. I like to see a new fall.. but to live in a snowy area.
      Alentejo is much milder.
      nice you passed by on a cruise.

      Delete
  14. I would love to drive across the Vasco de Gama bridge - what a beautiful structure.
    I think we may have similar weather to yours - perhaps yours is a touch warmer. I'd love to visit Portugal some day - we never made it that far on our several trips to Spain.

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  15. Dear Val, This is a wonderful post. You explained Portugal's geography so well and included great photographs. While driving through Portugal we don't pay enough attention to borders and regions. Tell me, are there still Estalagems to stay in? They were always our favorite overnight stops.

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  16. I followed you from another blog
    I read
    What an interesting life you have
    and I will be reading more
    soon....

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  17. It must be very a pretty under the snow but it’s not easy if it stays a long time. I thought at first that you had posted a photo of the Golden Gate, but being the same engineers who built it, it explains why the bridges look so much alike.
    We went to Lisbon for a week only and I hope we can go back to Portugal some day.

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