Have you ever thought what can you do with 10 Euros? It may seem uninteresting to spend your time analyzing what could you possibly do with that amount of money, but we will give some ideas on what to do if you are in Lisbon and have 10 Euros in your pockets.

If you start your day with only 10 Euros in your pockets and have not even had breakfast, I invite you to stop by the Rossio square, where the Café Nicola is located, (one of the most historic places of the city, because of its Art Deco architecture from the twenties), and order a coffee with eggs and sausage. From the terrace you can watch the comings and goings of people.

If hunger makes your stomach complain, Casanova Pizzeria is the place to direct the steps. This place is very visited by locals, because of its Italian cuisine at reasonable prices. It is quite hard to find, because it has no clear signs, but worth it. Its modern design bar has long tables, where diners share side by side very well prepared food, especially pizza, which has a very thin and crispy dough, cooked in a classic wood oven brought from Naples, here you will spend between 7 and 10 Euros.

At Cervejaria Trindade, you can taste a wide variety of Portuguese beers and drinks, do not ask for a la carte menu, because it will exceed your budget, but enjoy the architectural beauty of this convent converted into a restaurant.

Come to the Antiga Confeitaria, which since 1837 produces the famous Belem cakes, one of the assets of the Lisbon pastry. The story tells that the place had a sugar refinery that was closed after the Liberal Revolution and all its workers were fired, as well as the monks Jeronimos Monastery just beside it. One of the workers started to sell some candy to survive; they were called Pastéis de Belém. Here you can eat cakes accompanied by a coffee.

From the Santa Justa elevator you will see the best scenery of Lisbon while drinking a coffee on the top floor. Architect Raul Mesnier de Ponsard, who was a pupil of Alexandre Gustave Eiffel, built it in 1901. The project, conceived as an urban solution for connecting Baixa with Chiado with, was declared a national monument in 2002, after concluding that this is one of the few buildings in the Industrial era, which continues to provide public service in Lisbon.

A trip that costs very little money is a walking tour through the Alfama district, there you will be able to how the everyday life in Lisbon is with; clothes hanging, many scales, squares, children playing, bohemian taverns, small shops and friendly neighbors talking lazy days at the doors of their homes. I assure you, you will have fun, eat fried sardines, drink beer and come back with moneys.

Nancy Guzman

It is always a good time to spend some days in apartments in Lisbon and experience the magic of a city with history and traditions.

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Translated by: Hans
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There are many dishes that generate endorphins, a natural drug of happiness produced by the body to certain stimulation, among those there are seafood preparations, hence the Portuguese food is so beneficial for our body and mind. For your next trip to Lisbon take advantage of it and recover the physical and mental balance. Here we’ll tell you what dishes to enjoy during your stay.

La Caldeira de Peixe is a typical dish of Lisbon, according to gossiping it has a strong impact on sexual potency. Myth or not, we recommend it, because at the end of the day, you won’t lose anything by trying it and instead you will have the pleasure of tasting one of the most delicious culinary delights of the Atlantic. Caldeira de Peixe gets its name from its way of preparation, since it is a concoction of eel, hake and Badejo in a pot, to which spices, olive oil, peppers, cooked peas, garlic, tomato, onions and potatoes are added. Ideal for a cold day and I assure you, it is to better to taste it in very good company and good a wine.

Another dish that will bring you smiles and laughter of joy is Carneiro na Mostarda. This dish is a little stronger, ideal for winter and is prepared with tender mutton. It is a concoction done by marinating the meat with vinegar and spices; it also has olive oil, garlic and onion. Requires 20 minutes of cooking and the result is tender meat with the best flavors of the Mediterranean.

If you did not find la Caldeira de Peixe aphrodisiac enough, el Bobó de Camarão is your dish. This is a concoction of shrimp and cassava, which is evokes Africa and its sensuality, but it is a Portuguese dish. It is cooked in a large pan where cassava boils on shrimp broth and coconut milk. Tomato pulp is then added, as well as shrimps and chilies in the last 5 minutes of boiling. It is a delicious dish to accompany with a sauvignon wine, bread and a good company.

In addition to these delicacies, you will find bacalhau (cod) in all preparations, raging from grilled preparations to refined sauces and accompaniments. Everywhere you will find Bacalhau á Minhota, which is breaded and fried dish that can be accompanied with batata e Grão (potatoes and chickpeas). Grilled sardines can be found in any part of Lisbon, it is one of their most popular dishes that you should taste while traveling in the city.

And if you want to try something sweet, Arroz Doce, known in many places as rice pudding is the traditional Portuguese dessert, as well as Belem cakes that come from a 200 years recipe.

Nancy Guzman

Leave you worries behind and start enjoying 2012 at apartments in Lisbon there you will be able to enjoy all these advice and see if a meal has effect on the endorphins generation.

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Translated by: Hans
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But this time, the National Museum of Contemporary Art, mostly known as the Museu do Chiado, will hold a presentation summarizing the last years of Portuguese art. At the exhibition “Other perspectives and new projects” we will see how art has changed from 1850 to present.

The interesting thing about this show is that four renowned artists (Ana Vidigal, Rodrigo Oliveira, António Olai and Xana), all Portuguese, were the curators of each of the works on display. Not being the authors of none of them, the selection was transparent and faithful to reflect the growth and movement of art in Portugal.

It was also part of the centenary anniversary of the museum which organized this exhibition, hence the importance of this cultural event.

The exhibit will be open until April 1st  2012. Given that it already has had six months of exhibition, we can say that it is a presentation of general interest, suitable for all types of visitors.

The museum is open most days of the year, so tourists have no excuses not to go. Tickets also are available.

If you want to read more about the museum, this exhibition and future exhibitions at the Contemporary Art Museum you can visit the official website: http://www.museudochiado-ipmuseus.pt/en/node/1060

d.b

If you rent apartments in Lisbon you can enjoy all the exhibits in the city, especially “Other perspectives and new projects” in the famous Museu do Chiado. Besides visiting museums, theaters, monuments and other tourist attractions.

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Translated by: Marc
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The Latin American House in Lisbon presents until January 29 in the Pavilhao Preto City Museum of the Portuguese capital an equally seductive and disturbing show about the private photos of one of the great American artists of the XX century entitled Frida Kahlo her  pictures (http://www.museudacidade.pt/Esposicoes/Temporarias/Paginas/FRIDA-KHALO—AS-SUAS-FOTOGRAFIAS.aspx).

This is a huge selection of 257 photographs selected by the curator of the exhibition (the prestigious Mexican photographer and historian of photography Pablo Ortiz Monasterio, who wanted to show the enormous importance that photography had on Kahlo’s life) of among the nearly seven thousand photos that are stored in the Blue House / Frida Kahlo Museum of Mexico City and is the first time they are shown in the European continent. Most of them, in fact, are highly unknown and constitute a firsthand document of the private life of a painter whose life has sufficient force and power of attraction to rival her unforgettable work.

The exhibition is divided into six different cores (The Country, William and Matilda, The Blue House, The Injured  body , The Loves of Frida, photography and political struggle) fleeing from the attempt to trace a chronological journey through the life and work of the artist opting instead for a fragmented and multifaceted approach that illuminates various facets of both the public and intimate biography as well as that of a country during an absolutely fascinating time, without sacrificing in the process the discovery of new faces of one of the most iconic, mysterious, complex, fruitful and inspiring artists of all the twentieth-century culture.

Extremely photogenic, Frida Kahlo lived not only surrounded by photographs and tools, following a tradition that began with the very birth of this artistic medium which in the case of Kahlo was particularly useful given her mobility problems since the aggravating polio problem she contracted as a child and that tragic streetcar accident that caused a handrail bar to pierce her belly from side to side causing very serious spinal neck and pelvis injuries and leaving her temporarily bound to bed where through sheer boredom, she ended up painting. Photography also served as mementos of an almost religious value often connected deeply and intimately with death which acted as a fetish to stave off loneliness.

Her own father, the Hungarian Jewish immigrant Wilhelm Kahlo, was a photographer by profession. He was not, however, the only photographer in her life for she was often close to some of the most creative and interesting artists of the time, from Tina Modotti to Edward Weston through Man Ray and Brassaï, whose work is represented in the exposure.

Paul Oilzum

They say that next year will be marked by the Mayan prophecy. If you rent apartments in Lisbon start it by establishing a bridge with your home country and visit this hypnotic and fascinating exhibition.

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Translated by: Marc
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Lisbon is a city that delights travelers. the air of mystery, as if lost in another time, but with a cultural and diverse  night life make its it as attractive as a virgin pearl in the Mediterranean Sea. Its unique urban landscape in the Tagus estuary and its traditions are beautifully exposed when one delves into them , so we are going to tell you waht to do to have a different tour  than the normal tourist.

Needless to say that lisboets love squares and there are plenty of them. The Plaza do Comercio – Chiado is in the center, on the portico overlooking the Tagus River. where the main shopping streets  of the city are and where some old paved roads maintain the style that gives them an aura of mystery like no other place. Then there is the Praça da Filgueira and the do Rossio train station, the Marques de Pombal Square do that communicates the Avenida Liberdade, Lisbons trade center,

You can start taking your morning coffee at La Brasileira, which is located at Rua Garrett. They do not only serve good quality coffee  but it is an extra attraction for it is coupled with the cultural history of the city, because it was a place frequented by the best local and foreign writers who passed through Lisbon and still has that same air with the aroma of coffee letters .

For lunch you have to go to a traditional Cervejarias to enjoy typical preparations of cod. One is Cervejaria Trindade, a establisment that is 170 years old and is a meeting  point of Bohemians, workers, writers and ordinary people. There you can be can delighted with a cod a la whipped cream  and if you have problems with dairy, order  it grilled and you will not regret it. The prices ​​are affordable

For dinner a typical fado restaurant is advisable, its not a large menu but has very reasonalble prices and charms you with live music. O Faia is a place that is not expensive and you can find good quality food and traditional types of fado. There are also vegetarian meals. The most requested dish is cod with mashed potatoes Faia, worth 29.50 euros.

Kalunga in Villa Nova de Cerveira, is a very good restaurant with traditional fado music and typical food at very affordable prices, which on average can be come to some 20 euros per person. The place is small so you should reserve a table or arrive early. It also caters to small groups, but you must book in advance

The favorite area for night life  both for youth and adults is the Barrio Alto. This is the area of ​​bars and music venues and partying is constant, where all types of fun can be found. Almost all the bar action begins operating late at night and places not to be missed are the Praça Luis de Camões or the Jardim de Sao Pedro de Alcantara.

Nancy Guzman

Travelling to Portugal is always a good project, especially if you rent apartments in Lisbon and transform your stay in a luxury stop during the most stressful month of the year.

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Translated by: Marc
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Christmas has become for many people, a quite unpleasant season. The world’s absolute commercialization, responsible for the transformation of every little aspect of our life into merchandise on sale, has made this time a whirlwind of pressure that forces us to be happy and have what is known as good feelings, even against our own reality and the world itself, which at the same time, the consumer society itself is responsible for presenting as quite impossible, apart from spending excessive, disproportionate amounts of money.

This increases the frustration, depression and dysfunctional feelings of those, who even going into debt can’t follow the prescribed rhythm that the mass media and street signs suggest, nor are fortunate to enjoy an emotional health and / or sentimental up to the highly publicized through all kinds of reified contemporary fiction. We live in a terribly dehumanized society and not because of its high technological development, but because of the sinister use of that technology should be used precisely to liberate the potential of humanity and its relationship to the environment is an inseparable part and however used most often as a tool to control production and alienating and heartless.

The number of social and commercial pressures reaches a exorbitant number during this season, increasingly outrageously hypocritical and false, in which the most of the people represent an empty sham and regulated in the which they have to spend time performing the most grotesque activities, even opposing their inclinations, in a whirlpool of unfortunate events of which the reflection and pleasure are conspicuous by their absence. Intensive preparation for the year.

However, even for the greatest of the skeptics, it is not easy to deny that this is by far one of the most magical seasons of the year. As its name suggests, at Christmas we celebrate a birth, and we do it as sort of one way or another all over the world for thousands of years. Because what is the symbolic figure of Christ is nothing else than the Sun, born during the Winter Solstice giving rise to a new cycle where the days are once again getting a little longer inviting the epiphany, life and melting to be announced soon with all its immense possibilities. The cyclic eternal mystery of becoming involved in their own magic.

For all the above, it seems appropriate that the famous Cirque de Soleil comes to Lisbon (http://www.pavilhaoatlantico.pt/vEN/Agenda/Agenda/Pages/evento.aspx?eventoID=1193) from the 21^st of December to the 8^th of January, with its show Alegría, which affirms the joy of living and hope even in the toughest and most ruthless situations in life.

Paul Oilzum

Bitter reflection, sad and dark on abuses of power, and the necessity of freedom. Alegria is one of the signature shows (almost 20 years represented) by this famous and singular circus that presents a show without animals. With a Canadian origin, it is famous, because of the imagination and the special importance given to the most plastics. If you rent apartments in Lisbon maybe you feel like celebrating Christmas with them.

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Translated by: Hans
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His writings are some of the most important of the 20th century, and it’s since the different voices that he created, since his different heteronyms, he built a poetic universe of multiple universes, in which characters such as Alberto Caeiro, Alvaro de Campos, Bernardo Soares and Ricardo Reis handle different writing registers, each with its own characteristics, style and language. Today, they talk daily about Anonymous on the social networks, and they find in the figure of anonymity an answer to political action, the creation of situations of protest and a critique of the current political catastrophe. Anonymity becomes a tool to extend information and community dialogue. In Pessoa’s case, the mark of anonymity also worked to go into coordinates of himself which, under his own name, wouldn’t have been possible.

Anonymity or the manipulation of other names to configure creative works has always been present in the different registers of universal art; be it painting, sculpture, performance, novel, the use of negation of one’s name and the calling to the creation of a new ‘real’ figure which is used as a presentation of artistic work has been used both to promote bigger expressive possibilities and breaking moral and thought barriers, as well as creating fictions inside the fictitious world of artistic creation.

In everyday life, in reality, the effort in highlighting a name which gives value to that in what one takes positions towards the world from art, politics or human relations, doesn’t stop being part of the process to capitalize, from the unity of the name, another social product which the system often strives to construct an identity, in the same way that it classifies and bounds us, giving us a forced freedom with the dilemmas that it involves; having a name, an image, a window to social networks doesn’t necessarily mean that the character of the individuals is authentic, versatile or independent, all the opposite.

We find ourselves in an entanglement of meanings and signifiers, in which identity always competes to make itself a space inside a community, without any clear autonomy. In the work of Pessoa, this becomes intangible in the writing itself, in that the poet, through his heteronyms, gives himself the faculty to divide himself in all the people and personalities that configure his self conscience-intelligence. Like an included operation of uprising against the poetic-literary system always ruled by the interests which surpass the value of the work or the talent of its author, Pessoa and his heteronyms revert this stagnant way, giving a bigger expressive load and universal condition to the writing with its different tones.

Pessoa is the poet of Lisbon par excellence. His universal character is a recommended reading for those who want to understand the character of this city on a much closer level.

Alexa Ray

Get apartments in Lisbon and get to know a bit more of the life of Fernando Pessoa, the streets that he walked and the worlds that he saw and made possible in his writings. The voyage of poetry isn’t just in the books but also in the streets where, still, poetry runs, makes spaces and new encounters. Lisbon is waiting for you.

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Translated by: aleixgwilliam
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Perhaps traveling, in its literal sense and as a center piece of recurring metaphors in the history of culture, is found at the root of all literature, including naturally religion. Whether it’s the Bible, which recounts the journeys of countless wandering Jewish people, the traditions of the Egyptian and  The Tibetan books of the dead, moving amongst the eerie and ancient Vedic texts (life is a journey that inevitably leads to death no matter what route you take, on the threshold of that trip begins another journey that does not fail to tempt you to take the definitive trip), the no less epic ancient tales of Gilgamesh or Homer’s Odyssey, traveling always occupied a central spot in the fundamentals of the narrative construction of the world.

If difficult to determine precisely where and when a trip begins and ends and seems to be no less difficult to resolve the question of the desirability to go alone or accompanied, Issues of  heated controversy form the eternal matter of ancient times arise… 

Also literature has documented the age-old debate, offering varied examples, validating their path both ways even in the same voyage,. Thus, despite being 4500 years old, the increasingly modern Sumerian Epic of Gilgamesh, Enkidu presents the convenience of a social life, and therefore it is preferable to travel with someone than to do it alone. Odysseus did not travel alone nor did  Don Quixote, though in some passages of their stories they have to go through the process of losing momentarily their companions.

Traveling alone, and remember that life is a journey, in theory opens up a much broader view, which often has virtually endless paths. No need to agree or negotiate the route or activity with anyone and you have the possibility of deploying multi-faceted aspects of your personality (as Pessoa says, “every being is a federation of identities”) that are often alibis or maimed by the expectations of the people we already know and travel with

To travel with means and having to deal with in greater or lesser extent the inevitable friction, negotiation and compromise to stick to the role previously assigned by our friends, it is the inveterate human tendency to mark an identity for each of us in order to relate to your traveling partner, but this apparent limitation at the same time creates an unexpected new field of potential that can be explored in, depth, so rich and fertile, as the often absolute freedom that is equal to the largest of the paralysis, marked by  boundaries which are things where the demarcation of the field and the game rules, which create more lines of development of skills are explored

Paul Oilzum

The best idea is to rent apartments in Lisbon an ideal destination for any journey, it is perhaps the city that offers, amid unspeakable beauty, both intimacy spaciousness and horizons, suitable scenarios for the adventurous traveler whether or not we visit it on our own or not, besides being a unique setting to meet someone if we are alone,

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Translated by: Marc
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The pop does not get tired of re-investing in its oldest representatives. It seems like we live in an era of “comebacks”, constant returns of idols from the past that once again come to enchant us, or to fill their pockets. Maybe both. Thus, in recent years we have seen the return of bands as mythical as Pavement, Pixies, and last year, Pulp. Usually in the alternative environment, bands tend to disappear and become myths, perfect machines of nostalgia in which hundreds of fans fall. Missing the band off the road, seems to increase followers and sounds even more spread around the world.

See the case of a band like Pixies for example, that during the 80′s and early 90′s, revolutionized the sound of rock, without knowing it and knowing it at once. Pixies disappeared from the music scene for many years and return to touring in mid-2004. Much of the alternative sound of the 90′s is owed to the Pixies, of course, bands like Weezer, Radiohead, Nirvana and Franz Ferninand never stopped calling attention to this great band. On the other hand, Pixies still tours and fill their pockets. Do they deserve it? Perhaps, having been so important to a moderate or almost zero recognition, now fill large arenas, may deserve to recover the time spent with dollars and euros extra.

In the case of pop, the return factor is hardly perceived. Ie a pop artist is condemned to constant reinvention to stay afloat. Their exposure to media, radio and the internet, simply make their transience much shorter, and have no choice but to mutate in order to stay afloat. Pop singers, can’t afford to disappear. Their personal myth is in the scandal, photo, image building. Lady Gaga has taken advantage of the best of these matters, completely influenced by the chameleons David Bowie and Madonna. It is very difficult for Lady Gaga to go away or take a break. There are other times and the machinery of the information must be supplied in any way for artists to keep afloat.

The handsome Canadian pop rocker Bryan Adams returns, the one that rattled you, made you cry and declare your love with the classic “Everything I do”, which was focus of a popular version of Robin Hood, played by the unfriendly Kevin Costner. Bryan Adams will offer a concert on the 15^th of December in Lisbon with the best of his repertoire and you cannot miss it. Hits like “Cuts Like a Knife”, “Heaven” and “Please forgive me” will fill the fans’ hears. If your style is pop rock, and want to be part of the 80′s and 90′s with this pop-rocker, you cannot miss this concert. For more information about the concert, as well as inputs and the current tour of Bryan Adams, visit his official website just by clicking here: http://www.bryanadams.com/

Alexa Ray

Rent apartments in Lisbon and live a rich cultural and musical experience. This concert by Bryan Adams is just one of the many attractions and events that this fabulous city has to offer. Lisbon is waiting with open arms.

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Translated by: Hans
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On the next 4th of December, the city of Lisbon will host its 26th marathon race (http://www.lisbon-marathon.com/es/lis_01_es.htm), an event which takes place every year with plenty of enthusiasm. It’s understandable, because few places are nicer to run in than the beautiful and melancholic Portuguese capital, a privileged stage of one of the most emotional types of modern athletics. All of those who manage to finish it after the standard distance of 42km, reflection of the city and its fascinating baroque, a meandering and circular race entering the magnificent 1st of May Stadium (also the location of the start of the race), will somehow participate in something more than an unforgettable experience, because they’ll be paying tribute, 2500 years after, to one of the most decisive moments of Western history.

In the same way that Lisbon seems to stare perpetually and seductively to the end of the world, the citizens of Athens had the impression of facing the end of their incipient and blossoming civilization (the term democracy, despite the decisive changes of Cleisthenes, had not yet even been invented) when they decided to stand against, in September of 490BC, the formidable and extraordinarily stronger in numbers Persian Army in the legendary, since then, plain of Marathon (located precisely 42km from Athens, the near-exact distance as the race), thus written the first episode of the no less legendary Greco-Persian Wars, an episode which against all odds changed the destiny of Europe forever. Marathon didn’t just mean the first defeat of the Persians against the Greeks, incrementing Athens’ pride, who had recently got rid of its tyrants, or the astute words of Aristotle giving the citizens of Athens the necessary security and confidence in new political institutions and forms of government which had started to develop in the city of Piraeus, it was also to create the stage of bloody rivalry between Athens and Sparta (who for religious reasons just sent the requested backup when the battle had finished) which would end up confronting all the Greeks – alienated in their favour of one or the other – during most of the century.

Despite that the surprising and spectacular victory (then thousand Athenians faced an immensely bigger army in terms of numbers and reputation with only 192 casualties for the Greeks and over 6000 for the Persians in combat) was due exclusively to Athens and the military talent of its military generals Callimachus and Militiades, Sparta itself was encourage by the result, which came to ratify the undeniable military superiority of the army of hoplites over any other known army.

This factor, the confirmation of Greek military superiority was maybe, together with the aforementioned development of an invincible force in the rise of forms of government other than tyranny, one of the most important results from the battle of Marathon. Another one was probably the birth of a double feeling of hostility and superiority towards the foreigner.

Paul Oilzum

None of this will happen if you rent apartments in Lisbon for your Marathon. You’ll just find a joyous atmosphere of international camaraderie which contributes to make the race such a special and highly awaited event.

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Translated by: aleixgwilliam
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