#also you should go to sintra

[my-burnt-city]

things that the barman in a morte do corvo did tonight

danced, a whole bunch, a LOT

was tall, a whole bunch, a LOT

combed his hair and drank his drink in a manner that dragged me straight back to the burnt city

very politely helped me to my feet when my efforts to get out of the way resulted in me falling over a piece of the set

repeatedly invited me to sit down, as truly no mask can conceal that mine is the visage of a woman in her forties who hiked down a literal fucking cliff this morning

gifted me one (1) single beermat, which i then apparently proceeded to clutch to my silly little lost heart for the entire rest of the evening

SIRS, I CANNOT HELP IT, IF THERE IS A BARMAN CHARACTER IN YOUR IMMERSIVE THEATRE SHOW THEN I *WILL* BE PROPPING UP THE BAR AND I *WILL* BE MAKING HEART EYES AT HIM, IT IS JUST 👏🏻 WHO 👏🏻 I 👏🏻 AM 👏🏻

[dookiecurly]

this is gonna be specific just hear me out okay this came to me in a vision +good for writing motivation or practice or whatever

imagine reader is some famous celebrity singer actor whatever and they go on the ship for whatever reason..maybe they really like space or something idk

how would they all act towards them?? would the way theyre treated get changed from their popularity?? 😳😳😳…?i cant imagine jimmy or curly acting too different towards them but daisuke maybe?? hes a fan idk im just thinking…

I'd imagine reader got on the ship because they wanted to experience space.... And because they paid lots for it.

Both before and after crash hc >∆<

Reader death not specified

Yes there's Jimmy, he's the tw

Curly

Before-Crash:

- Confused why Pony Express gave this.. celebrity.. permission to get on a cargo spaceship.

- Tries to be nice. He doesn't act like those ppl that are super excited to meet a popular person. To him, you're just another human.

- But of course, if you make a mistake on the ship he'll go a little easy on you. He assumes you probably didn't get much.. training.

- You're his responsibility as well now! But he also is probably too busy to give you a tour of the ship, he'll ask one of the others. ( Definitely not Jimmy or Swansea. )

- If he's interested in you..... I guess, small flirts when he's off the clock. He takes responsibility!

- Compliments your work if he's a fan.

After-Crash:

- Curly feels embarrassed, and even more embarrassed if he's interested in you.

- At some point, thinks you'll come back to earth and tell everyone what happened and how bad he is at being a captain. Plus, destroying Pony Express's name that MIGHT land a lawsuit.

- During all the........ Deaths, he felt bad that a person that shouldn't even be connected to all this is paying the untold price of going on the ship with them

- Probably wanted to kill himself when he was brought to the table and saw all those corpses!!

Swansea

Before-Crash:

- Doesn't give a shit

- Probably treats you JUST like Daisuke but is a little less aggressive..

- Actually, I think he thinks you're a liability and dislikes you because you're just a rich piece of shit that thinks they can do wtv they want

- Might MIGHT complain and say that you're a liability when something bad happens

- If he's interested in you, you probably remind him of his wife by appearance LMFAO, I'm just kidding I'm not funny.

- If he's interested in you, he'll treat you a little nicer.

- I don't think he'll be a fan..... Unless you're like, Shelly Duval or Frank Sinatra or something. (RIP SHELLY DUVAL AND FRANK SINTRA I LOVE YALL)

- Won't say he's a fan though.

After-Crash:

- I have a gut feeling that he'll act like those drunk adults that go like, “Isn't this how you teenagers do it? WOO!" But like in a "Aint this how you people do it in Hollywood?”

- Says you should get less food because you dont do work around the ship. Won't say this if... He's interested, or only if he's drunk and mad or mad.

- If you die before him, he'll feel a little guilty like he does with Daisuke. I don't know if it's a lot of guilt, but enough guilt.

Daisuke

Before-Crash:

- FUCKING ECSTATIC.

- Wants a picture, and a signature. Treats you special because you're a celebrity.

- Uses his free time to be your friend. If he's interested in you, hes gonna try to impress you with his intern task (Swansea fucking hates it).

- Brings you to fuck around in the ship because I'll assume that you're about the same age, or you at least have the same age mentality.

- If he's a fan, he's way worse/better. Your decision.

After-Crash:

- Once again, if hes interested in you, he tries to be your big prince charming. When they start rationing the food, he gives you more

- I don't know if he'll prioritise you because you're a celebrity, but he tries.

- Tries to cheer you up when things get bad

- If you die before him, he kinda just............ Guilt. Yeah, thats all. Kinda feels like he didn't help enough.

Jimmy

Before-Crash:

- Thinks you're a liability 2.0

- Doesn't respect you

- Thinks you're a bitch because your life is better than his on Earth

- Probably.... JUST PROBABLY, daydreams about doing things to you so he can 'humble' you. Likes the thought of such a loved and respected person gets humiliated.

- If he's interested in you.... He'll have worse thoughts.

- Probably complains about you, in front of you.

- Not a fan, doesn't like the internet.

After-Crash:

- Now thinks youre... Still the biggest liability of the ship. In fact, you're the worst of the worst.

- Says you should get less food because you don't do any work 2.0

- If you die before him... Awesome! Doesn't care. Won't spare you even if hes interested, but cares.

- Gets married to your corpse, AGAIN I'M KIDDING. Doesn't strike me as a person who'd get married unless it benefits him, actually nevermind, go read Jambalaya Enthusiast's fic about Reader in the film industry in Jambalaya Enthusiast's Masterlist.

Anya

Before-Crash:

- Might be curious?

- She'll be nice >u<

- Yeah, she's probably the one giving you a tour!

- Anya will be a little concerned that a person like you is on the ship. In a way that she's concerned that a person who doesn't have any training is on the ship.

- She'll be glad to help you with anything, like motion sickness.

- If she's interested, she'll try to do little gestures for you. I think her love language is acts of something something, I forgot.

After-Crash:

- Anya doesn't really want you to come into the medbay and look at Curly.

- She gets super nauseous, so she doesn't want you to get super nauseous in an unfamiliar and stressing environment.

- Perhaps will give you a little of her food with you. I feel like Jimmy has engraved into her brain that she's not a good enough nurse, so she thinks she doesn't deserve the food she eats ( because Swansea and Jimmy say you don't deserve the food. )

- Comfort her, she's dying in her thoughts and wants to go to the medicine supply.......

- If you die before her, she will actually start spiralling.

[iasmelaion]

Fun and/or delightful things said by my assorted tour guides during this trip to Lisbon:

After I asked if people study Spanish in school in Portugal: “No, it's too close to Portuguese. Of course, we all think we can speak Spanish, but we can't.”

During our food tour (with Devour btw, highly recommended in any of the cities they do tours in!), our half Italian, half Ethiopian tour guide who’s been living in Lisbon for a decade: “I don’t know why the Portuguese don’t eat vegetables. They have them. And yet on the menus it’s all meat and fish.”

(This dude also gave us the A++++ tips of: enter the Livraria Bertrand via the cafe entrance on the side, much less crowded, and visit the Estufia Fria, which was a truly lovely and surprisingly big botanical garden. A quiet and peaceful respite during the trip!)

(Also, this dude’s tragic backstory: half Italian, and allergic to tomatoes :( Though he did constantly shit talk Italian food for being too boring and set in its ways lol.)

When we got to the big market with fresh fruits and veggies: “See, they have vegetables!”

About all the explorers and colonizers etc: “You know, they say these guys did it all for the glory of Portugal, but come on! They did it for the money!” (Appreciated that this guy also mentioned, hey, we have all these monuments about the Age of Discovery, but none memorializing its evils and horrors.”)

Dueling opinions about the pasteis de nata: food tour guy said Manteigaria has the best (though he allowed that Castro’s were pretty good too), other guide said the originals in Belem are the best. First tour guide said forget about pasteis de nata, Sintra’s pastries are where it’s at.

Coolest sights:

Unfortunately, the major parks and sights in Sintra were closed due to wildfire risk. It was still neat to visit the town though!

Cabo de Roca, the westernmost point of continental Europe was a surprisingly neat stop on one of our tours. Super windy, but neat to say you’ve been there.

The Jeronimos Monastery. Should you ever go, I really recommend booking a tour if only to skip the longest line, because holy shit that line was enormous. Anyway, the Manueline architecture is gorgeous.

Igreja de Sao Domingo. Fascinating story and interior. We stopped in during our food tour, and it’s so interesting to see the building’s history of disaster and reconstruction written on it so plainly.

The enormous Time Out Market that houses curated restaurants in a food court setting one one side and a traditional market on the other is just super neat and it’s worth it just to take in the atmosphere.

The MAAT museum was fine, but tbh, the view of the Tagus River and statue of Christ Redeemer from their cafe was lovely. Worth eating a light meal or having a coffee here and just relaxing!

God I wish we had a culture of nice, big public squares with great architecture and plenty of cafes and benches in the US. I know there are some on the East Coast, but here on the West Coast, we just have the occasional little park :( Every single such square we saw in Lisbon was lovely.

The Estufia Fria, as mentioned above.

The National Tile Museum! Sounds boring, but it was both interesting and super impressive.

Gulbenkian Museum. Now this is how insanely rich dudes should spend their money: collecting massive amounts of art and then putting it all on display in a museum in perpetuity after their deaths. Great collection of Egyptian, Near Eastern, Chinese, Japanese, and European art, plus a stunning though small-ish Lalique collection.

Mostly though we just wandered around, which is honestly my favorite thing to do in a new to me city, and while the hills are punishing, Lisbon is a great city to wander in.

Most delicious things I ate:

Gotta agree with food tour guy, it was the Mantegiaria pasteis de nata for me.

Meat sushi??? It was cooked, but it still felt like a great sushi innovation.

Chocolate cake from Landeau. Life-ruiningly good. All other chocolate cakes will pale in comparison.

Some astonishingly good Indian/Nepalese food, somewhat surprisingly. Some of the best naan I’ve ever had, and their dishes were presented so beautifully. Like, I like Indian food just fine in America! It’s basically always tasty! But this was on another level, and still comparable in price to the nicer Indian restaurants in the States.

Some of the best roasted chicken I’ve ever had in my life. Very simply prepared, but so tender and tasty.

Ate at one (1) fine dining restaurant, and damn, okay, that’s what the prices are about. I had duck breast and the dish as a whole was just exceptional.

Some very good gelato at the packed and bustling Time Out Market. Such a cool spot, I honestly wish every city had a version of this. (I know LA kind of does, but I like that the Time Out Market is curated.)

At the other end of the spectrum, a suspiciously cheap restaurant near our hotel that nonetheless had phenomenal food. Straightforward Portuguese with a twist food, presented beautifully with pretty generous portion sizes. Seriously though, it was so cheap I actually felt kind of guilty about it. Also they were cash only?? And had weird hours?? So maybe it’s a front? But the hotel recommended it and they’ve been in business for 50 years! So whatever, if it is a front, thank you to whatever mob boss is supporting their relative’s culinary dreams. Anyway, best chocolate mousse and sangria I’ve had to date, and the mains were good too. Truly felt like we got away with something eating mains, drinks, and dessert for two for 36 euros.

Our hotel brought us fresh pastries for breakfast every morning, and the chocolate croissants were especially delicious.

Okay, I know ginjinha is traditional and all here, but. Listen. It tastes like especially alcoholic cough syrup. (The booze-soaked cherry included in the shot glass was good tho) The white wine port I had at the suspiciously cheap restaurant, on the other hand, was absolutely delicious.

[karuuhnia]

Hola! I am back and it was AWESOME!

For those interested, here's the rough route we were taking:

Spain: San Sebastián, Bilbao, Covadonga, Oviedo, Lugo, Santiago de Compostela

Portugal: Braga, Porto, Coimbra, Fatima, Lisboa, Sintra, Cabo da Roca, Lagos, Albufeira and finally Faro where we took a plane back home.

More interesting numbers:

Total distance (bus): 4026 km

Average speed: 67 km/h

Average fuel consumption: 23,7 l on a 17 t bus

Total petrol used: 916 l

916 l petrol / 25 passengers = 36,64 l per passenger

Funny things that happened:

We stopped at a rest stop in Montélimar because our tour guide wanted to buy some of the famous nougat for us. While the rest of us were waiting in the bus, a German camper van pulled into the parking lot with something mounted on the back that looked like a rollator walker. There was a heated discussion about it. When the tour guide came back, we told him about the mystery and he just went over to them, knocked on the camper and asked the people why they have a rollator on the back. (Answer: The elderly lady can walk just fine, but takes the rollator to transport her grocery bags more easily)

At the Spanish border we were stopped by the police at the Spanish border because they had to check if we were smuggling refugees. The policeman glanced inside, saw all the boomers with socks and sandals and a beer in their hands, turned to his colleague and said, "Sí, son Alemanes" ("Yes, they are Germans.") and left. Sometimes it's good that the boomers were walking stereotypes lol

My Spanish is not that good yet, but I managed to make some use of it after all. In one hotel the staff asked if my brother and I had a reservation because we were 30+ years younger than then rest of the group. I wanted to say "We are part of the travel group too", but all I could think of was: "Uh, somos, uh, de los viejos." ("We're with the old people."). The staff lady laughed, but understood.

Photo tiiiiime:

San Sebastián at night, Spain (Basque Country)

Flower "Puppy" monument in front of the Guggenheim museum in Bilbao, Spain (Basque Country)

Covadonga, Spain (Asturias)

Porto, Portugal

Model of the great university in Coimbra, Portugal

Harbour in Lagos, Portugal

Some minor disappointments:

Lisboa actually. After hearing so much great stuff about this place from other people I was pretty let down by how crowded, shabby and dirty it was. Also, there were pickpockets and other shady individuals everywhere. After feeling incredibly safe in all other towns and cities we've visited until that point, I didn't think Lisboa was a place where a woman could go out alone at night. I guess it is just like every other big city after all...

Tap water tasted like swimming pool, but that's to be expected in most foreign countries unfortunately. ;___;

A lot of the hotel staff in France and Spain didn't speak English at all. Even the German boomers I was travelling with on this vacation knew words like "water", "beer", "key" or "breakfast" in English. I really wonder how the staff manages on a daily basis. We were certainly not the first or the last non-French/-Spanish tourists in those hotels. I just hold the firm opinion that you should speak at least one other common language if you work in the tourism or hotel industry, especially in Europe. 🤷‍♀️

Things I absolutely loved:

Especially the Spanish cities we visited were incredibly clean and well-kempt. The local people were all strikingly athletic, attractive and well-dressed, all their dogs were healthy and well-behaved.

I may not be catholic or religious in general, but seeing all the pilgrims reaching Santiago de Compostela from all around the world after their long and exhausting journey really touched me too. I'm now considering doing the Camino de Santiago too, even if only for the hiking experience.

The Spanish and Portuguese people are overall really good drivers! Having seen the absolute batshit insane anarchy on Italian and Greek streets, I was expecting the worst, but no! You are actually safe as a pedestrian! lol

Unlike here in Germany where small businesses slowly die out and are replaced by big chains, in Spain and Portugal there are still many, many really cute and fancy little shops throughout the towns. Also, I saw a TON of nerd- and merch-shops with really cool stuff that you wouldn't get that easily here. I love the Spanish and Portuguese for embracing nerd culture openly lol

The food is great, especially when you love fish! And the ICE CREAM! AAAAAAAAHHH!!!!! So good!!! I gotta admit, and I do not say this lightly, Portuguese ice cream is even better than Italian one.

I really love the Portuguese university traditions. They have really cool uniforms that make them look like Hogwarts students, just much fancier! I also love the Fado music!

The Portuguese speak English very well, some of them even know a bit of German too! I was pleasantly surprised that I could communicate with everyone without problems!

That's all for now! :D

I'm visiting Spain/Portugal for vacation, starting tomorrow! I can't wait! :D It's been years since I travelled abroad.

On the off-chance one of you is from or lives near Lisboa, I'll be there on 9th October. Feel free to shoot me a message if you wanna meet up or have any insider-tipps for a tourist. lol

[queenbirbs]

in plain sight | Ch. 2 | Ethan x MC

Book/Pairing: Open Heart / Ethan Ramsey x female MC

Word count: 3.8k

Rating: T

Category: AU series

Warnings: mention of off-screen su*cide, language, alcohol mention

Start at the beginning or continue on

Read on AO3

Tuesday, January 13, 8:21 p.m.

Sifting through a stack of files on his coffee table, the glaze that settled over his eyes hours ago lifts when his phone trills. It takes a moment to find his phone amongst the detritus, in which time two more dings sound.

McTavish (CNN): No go on the bellhop. He didn’t come to the door.

McTavish (CNN): Too bad this isn’t law and order, where every concerned neighbor number two wants to give you their life story

McTavish (CNN): Along with some groundbreaking clue that helps us nab the bad guys

Swiping to open the message thread, Ethan makes some minor edits before responding: I don’t watch Law and Order.

Sloane M. (CNN): I am wholly unsurprised

Sloane M. (CNN): To be fair, I don’t watch the newsroom. I’m more of a mary tyler moore fan

Sloane M. (CNN): Oh right you hate texting

Yes, he taps back at a moderate pace that Baz routinely makes fun of him for, though I don’t mind talking on the phone.

He stares at the little gray bubble that indicates she’s typing her own response. It drops away and comes back several times -- enough that he should just set the phone down and finish reading the report before him. Instead, he navigates to the browser app and taps the search bar. Skimming through the results, he amends the profile of her in his head. After graduating, she was an intern at the CNN studio in DC, then transferred to a reporting position. For two years, she was a foreign correspondent in Kyiv, where she was awarded the Emery International Prize for her series of articles on the War in Donbass. Her return to Boston prompted several of the stories he’d recognized her for: the Nighthawks scandal; Farrugia’s stint as a less-than-stellar mayor; the office-fire-turned-arson that killed Dolores Hudson and her unborn child, which was set to bail out the company via insurance fraud. Ethan is startled out of the article on an attack in Potemkin, Ukraine when his phone rings.

“You figure you being a federal agent would make you better at subtlety.”

“Hello to you, too,” he greets.

“Hey, have you looked into Leland Bloom?” Sloane asks.

If he’s taken aback by the question, he tries not to let it show. There’s something to be said for cutting to the chase.

“Typical wealthy man over the age of seventy-five. Realty properties all accounted for. He owns two other luxury hotels in Chicago -- that’s his hometown. His major investments are in the tech industry, though. Uses the regular tactics to avoid higher taxes, but that’s run-of-the-mill when it comes to his type. He also was in Sintra with his wife all last month; she’s taking part in an experimental trial for some health issues. He just got back in town yesterday.”

A disappointed grunt sounds over the line, followed by the unmistakable rustle of a chip bag being opened. The noise reminds him that it’s been several hours since his last meal. Nestling the phone between his ear and shoulder, Ethan pushes to his feet and wanders into the kitchen.

“Damn. Well, can’t rule out a hired hand situation. The man did have a double kidney transplant last year.”

“How do you know that?” he asks, curious.

There’s a crunch, then a pause before her muffled reply comes: “His assistant posted a photo to their Pictagram page of some flowers and a get well soon message.”

“Oh.”

“So, I can’t picture him pulling an Eliot Ness and dropping someone off a roof.”

“That isn’t actually how Frank Nitti died--”

“Yeah, yeah, I know,” she interrupts. “It’s still a great movie, despite the inaccuracies.”

“And here I would’ve figured you would be a stickler for getting the facts correct.”

“Then you must have missed our newest slogan: ‘Ratings first, facts second.’”

The flippant response, combined with the industry-standard delivery, catches him off-guard. The breathy chuckle escapes him before he can attempt to reign it in.

“Jokes aside,” Sloane continues, “I couldn’t find any dirt on Bloom either. Other than some antitrust charges back in 1978 and some shady investments when the 2008 recession hit, he’s relatively clean for, you know, a billionaire. Either his hush money is real good, or he’s legit.”

Ethan opens his fridge and scours the shelves, as if a meal will magically appear before his eyes. His last case kept him in Philadelphia for three weeks, so he hasn’t had a chance to restock. The wilted lettuce, pack of deli meat, and extensive collection of oat milk creamers (for Baz and his coffee addiction) refuse to merge into anything edible. Thumbing open the nearest takeout menu, he props a hip against the counter and sighs.

“Any luck garnering more interviews?” he asks.

“Perry is going to be tougher than I thought. He sprang for a lawyer -- Shonda Turner.”

He voices his frustration for that, echoed by her on the other end. “Tell me about it. All my calls are rerouted to some answering machine in the courthouse basement and if I have to read another automatic email response from her assistant I’ll scream. Oh, speaking of emails -- I got one from a J. Horner asking to meet tomorrow. They’re a former Edenbrook employee, but I couldn’t find that name listed on any of the payroll statements.”

“And how would you have access to those?”

“From my BF.”

“Oh.” Then, after an awkward period of silence, he realizes he needs to say more. “Does he work there?”

“What?” she asks, and Ethan can picture her nose wrinkling in confusion. “Oh, no. BF stands for Big Fish.”

At his answering silence, she elaborates. “I’ve been emailing back and forth with a former employee -- they used to be a manager there. I haven’t had any luck with them agreeing to talk. Yet. But I’ve just got to wait them out until they’re ready.”

“Just how long have you been working on this… story of yours?”

“About four months now. That interview with Farrugia was a major victory -- especially since my last piece on him wasn’t exactly a glowing review.” That dry chuckle of hers sounds again. “But it worked out that he’d gotten a new aide between then and now, and Farrugia’s memory is -- er, was -- shit.”

“So, you need to reel in your Big Fish,” he surmises.

“Exactly.”

The conversation having come to a close, he realizes that he needs to hang up and resume his plans for the evening. Plans that consist of him ordering takeout and staring at reports for three more hours. It strikes him, then, that he doesn’t really want the conversation to end. She may laugh at her own jokes and make too many outdated references, but he finds her… interesting. A little too headstrong, maybe, which makes him wary -- but he can’t deny it’s refreshing to work with someone else who’s still on the clock at eight p.m.

Before he can think of something to say, though, there’s the distinct sound of a doorbell. Sloane mumbles something into the receiver and then he can hear her, muffled now, thanking someone, followed by the tell-tale crinkling of a paper bag. It’s enough of a cue for him to end the call when she comes back on.

It’s probably just his imagination that she sounds disappointed.

“Keep me in the loop on the Horner person.”

“Will do. Well, night then, Agent Ramsey.”

The emphasis she puts on his title isn’t lost on him. He decides to ignore it, more for the sake of teasing her than anything else.

“Goodnight, Sloane.”

Wednesday, January 14, 2:36 p.m.

Juggling two drink trays, keys, and an accordion folder that’s seen better days, Sloane jogs across the floor and over to the elevator bank. Where a crowd of well-dressed, stiff-lipped people block the doors, all waiting their turn to be taken up to the fifteenth floor to be charmed by Roger Calais, the EVP of marketing.

“Fuck,” she mutters.

She curses some more as she climbs the six flights of stairs to reach the newsroom. Darting through the maze of desks and rolling chairs, she makes it to her cubicle in time before the cramp in her arm costs her forty-three dollars in iced coffee. The chorus of praise from her coworkers is cut short by her announcement.

“The advertising execs are here.”

“What?” Bryce gapes.

“That’s so not fair!” Sienna, a global affairs reporter, hisses from around her straw. “We just had some through last week.”

“I don’t wanna play zoo,” Elijah whines from his desk.

“They were being herded up to Calais’s office a few minutes ago. That should buy us some time. And,” Sloane pauses to take a gulp of her coffee, “maybe they’ll bypass us and go straight to the studio. Maybe we’ll get lucky.”

“Maybe we will.”

Sloane twists to glance down at Jackie, their counterterrorism correspondent, and frowns at the lustful look in her eyes. Straw still in her mouth, she turns to spot what grabbed Jackie’s attention. Standing at the steps that lead down into the bullpen, Ramsey sweeps across the throng of journalists. When that gaze of his catches hers, she blames the little shiver on the crappy central heating.

“How’d you get up here?” she asks as he approaches, sans visitor pass.

“Maybe I’m a fan,” he parrots in that standard-issue dry tone of his. She catches the corner of his mouth lift briefly into a smile. “I do have a badge, you know.”

“I’ve yet to see it.”

Ramsey lifts an eyebrow at that, but says nothing.

“Who’s your new friend, Slo?” Elijah calls down from his end with a smirk.

“We’re working together. For a story.”

Sloane hopes that her short tone and steely glare will prevent any further questions. Having grown used to ignoring such signs, Sienna pushes aside the report she was editing and clasps her hands together below her chin.

“Ooh, what’s it about?” she asks.

“Is it classified?” Jackie demands to know.

Bryce snorts and shakes his head. “You should know better than to ask that.”

“I’m not CIA.”

Before Ramsey can frown his way back out of the building, Sloane grips his arm and guides him out of earshot.

“Seriously though, what are you doing here? You didn’t drive all the way from Chelsea, did you?”

“I did when you didn’t answer your phone.”

Digging into her pocket, she retrieves her phone and taps the screen to life. Her notification bar shows three missed calls and four missed texts -- three from Baz and one from Ramsey. A quick glance at the side tells her that the ringer was left on silent from her meeting.

“Shit. Sorry.” With an exaggerated motion, she flips it back on to vibrate. “Bring me up to speed, then. What’s so important?”

“That former employee you were going to meet yesterday, the bellhop -- Garrison? He’s dead.”

The anticipation thrumming through her grinds to a halt. Her shoulders slump down at his words.

“Oh. Yeah, I know.”

“You know?” he repeats, his brows lifting in surprise.

“I have a friend who’s an EMT. He was first on scene and saw my card on the fridge. He said the ME was probably going to rule it a suicide, what with the gunshot wound to the head.” Biting at her lip, Sloane shakes her head. “But the emails I have from Garrison don’t add up to that. He wanted to be free of whatever info he had, so he could move on with his life. He even agreed to testify if it ever became a court case.”

She thought it seemingly impossible, but somehow Ramsey’s frown deepens.

“People often make promises they don’t intend to keep.”

There’s a story -- several, in fact -- behind his words. The journalist in her demands she scratch that itch, but she shoves it aside. That’s for another time. Or another day when the marketing team isn’t going to show them off like artifacts in a museum. “Besides, he’s not the only bad news I came down to report. Mitch Keller, a server who worked at the hotel’s restaurant, was also found dead this morning.”

“Same cause of death?” she asks.

“No. The ME suspects alcohol poisoning. Which is odd, given that Keller had an alcohol intolerance, and never drank more than a single gin and tonic when going out, according to his friends. That’s three deaths within one week that all have ties to the Edenbrook. Baz may believe in the power of coincidences, but that’s too many in too short of time. I’m headed to Keller’s apartment now to check it out.”

Out in the hallway, the roaming crowd of suits are closing in. Ramsey turns to assess what’s caught her attention. The jackass has the nerve to smirk at her as he starts for the exit. “Good luck with that.”

Desperate to get out of buttering-up the top brass of televised marketing -- and annoyed at being left behind -- Sloane streaks back over to her desk. Her friends are all busy packing up, trying to make their own escape. Ignoring their teasing remarks, she grabs her things and chases after Ramsey. Sprinting out of the newsroom, she sputters out an apology when she whacks one of the visitors with the door.

“In a rush to meet a deadline?” Calais calls from his position at the front of the pack.

She has enough wherewithal to laugh at the lame joke, as do most of the suits. This close, she can read the text stamped along their blue-and-white lanyards. Not advertising executives, then. Suspicion and intrigue form a knot in her gut when she spots Declan Nash among the bored faces. It’s really not fair that she’s chasing down one lead and another literally waltzes into her building. Ramsey is gone when she scans the hallway, though, which means she needs to get her ass in gear.

“We won’t keep you from informing the masses,” Nash says with a sneer. He flaps a hand at her in dismissal.

Sloane flashes him a half-assed smile before turning and booking it down the corridor. Ramsey’s already in the elevator when she turns the corner. The doors whine when he slaps his hand out and prevents them from closing.

“Well?” he prompts with a sigh.

As she approaches, she spots a familiar gleam in his eye.

“Thanks.”

“Don’t mention it. And, seriously, no photographs this time.”

Wednesday, January 14, 2:46 p.m.

That bitch.

He straightens his tie as Calais chatters on. Through the glass, people start to turn in their chairs to see what all the fuss is about. The aggravation is plain to see in the set of their jaws, in the browsers and word processors that minimize.

“I brought you all down here so you can see the real beauty of journalism at work. There’s a reason we’re the most trusted name in news, and it’s because of these people right here. It would be wonderful to bring you all inside, to meet the powerhouse behind our coverage.”

Calais is all bravado as he gestures to the pissed-off employees stuck inside their little glass box.

He resists the urge to roll his eyes. “Well, other than Miss McTavish, since she had other places to be.”

Another chuckle rolls through the group. He can’t bring himself to join in this time because fuck that was her, wasn’t it? The ugly beanie she had on and the coffee in her hand that nearly ruined his suit had distracted him. The dossier he has on her only contained a copy of her ID badge, small and pixelated.

Still, her leaving wasn’t all for naught. It makes it that much easier to grab the little book from her desk as they pass it.

Wednesday, January 14, 3:34 p.m.

“You told them I was a rookie agent in training? Really?”

From downstairs comes the tell-tale sound of a camera shutter. After giving them both a set of protective gear, the crime scene techs entertained Ramsey’s fumbling attempt to explain her appearance and waved them through.

Flashing a roguish grin at her over his shoulder, he shrugs.

“Well, I couldn’t introduce you as a colossal pain in my ass, now could I?”

“It would make a hell of a lot more sense, given that we’re five-hundred miles from Quantico.”

The teasing dwindles when they reach the only open bedroom. Piles of textbooks are stacked on the nightstand, a spray of rainbow post-it notes peeking out of the pages. A medical journal lays open on the bed; lines from an article on vaping-induced lung injuries are colored a bright yellow from a highlighter. Fast food cups cover every flat surface, their matching bags crumpled into balls of salt and grease on the bedside floor. Scrubs and button-downs litter the carpet and bed and desk chair. Sneakers and non-skid oxfords are piled near the door, where a lanyard hangs from the doorknob. Keller smiles up at them from the laminated badge, his dimples on prominent display.

“He’s an intern at Mass Kenmore, too.” Sloane gestures towards the badge. “Two jobs would keep him busy. Certainly explains the mess.”

“Three jobs,” Ramsey corrects, plucking a ziplock bag from the mini fridge with a gloved hand. “Unless you consider selling bump to barneys a hobby.”

“How do you know it’s not his personal supply?”

“Because there’s a moleskine beside it with payment amounts that says otherwise.” He hands the journal to her, which she flips through to the most recent entries. It’s all initials and grams and payments; just some basic bookkeeping for a side hustle. “Maybe someone got upset with him. Could be they wanted more than he could supply, or he was charging over the retail price for the area.”

“Are you seriously suggesting that some college kids did this?” Sloane doesn’t bother hiding the skepticism in her voice.

“Why not?”

“Because college kids don’t kill you by making you drink yourself to death.”

“There’s a slew of cheaply-produced television episodes that would disagree.”

“How many of those included a victim who actively avoided getting drunk?”

Ramsey hums in consideration as he continues to rifle through Keller’s desk. Standing over six feet tall and dressed in plastic coveralls and booties, he should look comical. Somehow, he retains his strange air of appeal. Behind the gruff persona he wears, he’s determined and honest and curious -- especially with the way his eyes cut over to her when he thinks she’s not looking. She’s not exactly sure what he’s looking for every time, but she finds that she doesn’t mind.

The crusted stain of a half-digested combo meal on the floor between them keeps her focused on the task at hand, though.

“But, honestly, why do you think it’s some Harvard kid? Why not his supplier?” she questions.

“I’m not sure. If you’re having problems with one of your dealers, you probably have the means to handle him in a way that’s less… messy. But we won’t know his blood alcohol level until we get the toxicology report back. And because he’s not a United States senator,” he cuts a long-suffering gaze over to her and then away again, “that will take some time. There’s something I’m missing, though. If there’s no foul-play involved, then why would he drink himself to death? A guy with his condition doesn’t accidentally consume this much alcohol. Baz checked into his job. There’s been no history of complaints or disciplinary actions taken against him. He was high in the rankings for some internship competition.”

“He’s also working a second job as a server, probably to offload those loans faster. Not to mention the other side business. Means he was probably pretty stressed, overworked,” she adds. “But drinking yourself to death is a punishing way to go. Women usually go for overdoses, men go for firearms. Except in big cities...”

“Where they jump,” he finishes for her.

Despite all she saw during her time abroad, the image of Farrugia’s body atop that car is a difficult one to shake away.

Ramsey moves over to the closet and sweeps a hand across the top shelf. Retrieving a shoe box, he flips it open -- only to make a disappointed noise at the concert tickets and trinkets from a graduation trip to Belize. Sloane takes a step back and goes over the room once more. According to the police, all of Keller’s roommates were out partying the night before, and didn’t come home until late this morning to find him. No signs of forced entry, no signs of a robbery. They didn’t even take the drugs he was hiding in his sock drawer. Aside from a few empty bottles of Seagrams, there’s nothing much else to go on.

“Wait.”

Ramsey looks up from the group photo to see her scrutinizing the ring of vomit. “Do you smell that?” she asks.

“It’s hard not to,” he says with a grimace.

“No, I mean-- I know it’s been a while since your college days, but -- does it smell like a fifth of vodka in here to you?”

He drags in a deep breath. Other than the unpleasant scent clogging the room, there’s only the smell of dust burn-off from the furnace.

“No, it doesn’t.”

On a hunch, Sloane ducks into the bathroom across the hall and lifts the toilet seat cover. The water in the bowl is blue. But underneath the chemical perfume of dollar store cleaner is the even more potent smell of liquor.

“He could’ve made it to the toilet and cleaned up after himself,” Ramsey points out from where he’s standing in the doorway.

Taking a page from his book, Sloane scoffs.

“In a drunken stupor? With a room that looks like it was hit by a tornado? I don’t think so. I don’t think he ever made it out of that room.”

He squats down to open the cabinet under the sink and hums with interest. It’s probably mean of her to enjoy the way his breath hitches as she crowds close to have a peek. Amongst the general debris of multiple young adults, there isn’t a bottle of cleaner to be found. A quick glance into the trash can shows the same. Ramsey rises to his feet.

“I’ll make sure the techs do a sweep in here. But I agree with you. One bottle of vodka would have done the trick, too. So, why so many bottles, then? And why dump them out?”

“The killer probably didn’t know about his intolerance,” she figures. “But how did they force him to drink anything at all? Why did he not try to get help?”

From the tiny window next to the sink, they watch the ME load Keller’s body into the van outside. Ramsey exhales with a frustrated sigh.

“I’m not sure. But we’ll find out.”

Taglist:

@togetherwearerapture @maurine07 @lsvdw-blog @writinghereandthere @openheartfanfics

Author's notes and what-have-yous:

The movie that Ethan and Sloane talk about at the beginning is The Untouchables. Also standard disclaimer that, similar to other crime procedurals, timelines on evidence and forensics will be hastened for the sake of the story.

[aces-drew]

a christmas rini hc bc the hsmtmts special revived me <3

just a cute lil christmas rini fim my bros, just some mushy christmas love shit for y’all hehehhe (not proofread sorry, it was just a braindump lmao)

ricky loved mistletoe growing up.

no seriously, he loved it. 

ever since he was little, year after year, mistletoe was associated with everything that made him the happiest - the holidays, winter, ugly sweaters, being snug with someone you love, his parents happy and in love, and the best kind of warmth to overwhelm all the cold

his earliest memory of his parents truly in love was when he held some mistletoe up to their knees and they kissed above him with smiles on their faces and teeth clashing.

it seemed to evolve as sort of a tradition. every year since ricky was 5 years old, he held up the mistletoe for his mom and dad while the entire house smelled of nutmeg while the cinnamon rolls and chocolate chip cookies baked in the oven;

eventually his dad nagging him to do it once he hit double digits while he visibly (fake) gagged at how endearing his parents were for kissing under the mistletoe 

until this year, there was nothing that could ruin the innocence of a kiss under the mistletoe 

but here he was, winter break of junior year, with half a christmas tree up, his parent’s divorce finalised, his mom celebrating christmas with ted in chicago, his dad drunk on his days off work, and him eating microwaved thanksgiving turkey lunches (that are somehow still a thing) alone 

if he wasn’t so fucking angry at all the exhaustion and sadness he was feeling, he might’ve has the emotional availability to cry about it (hint: he didn’t)

so he just resorted to the monotony of waking up every day, doing his homework (yeah it surprised him too dw), facetiming nini, and gaming to keep himself as distracted as he could, actively avoiding the holidays all together

and obviously nini knew the extent to which this all sucked for ricky :( 

in addition to the guilt she was feeling leaving for denver in a few weeks, she hated the way ricky’s festive spirit was non-existent this year 

she remembered them every year growing up, ricky resembling a puppy getting ready for a walk in the park with each day they got closer to christmas

ricky, even before them dating, having 4 christmas movie marathons planned for every saturday of the month for them to watch on nini’s couch

(die hard of course being one of them because YES, it is a christmas movie, and no, he didn’t take criticism) 

her excitedly looking forward to cuddling with him underneath the only non-christmas coloured blanket he didn’t complain about nini keeping on the couch because he knew that it was her favourite blanket that they would inevitably end up cuddled under together

her moms obviously found them passed out on the couch snuggling, nini resting almost on top of ricky, them soundly sleeping with their stomachs full of hot cocoa and their hearts filled with love for each other (and yes the cheesiest and warmest christmas cheer)

god, they fucking loved each before they even knew what love was; if nini wasn’t already the hopelessly hopeless romantic she was, she could scream into a pillow about it

she was so thankful for ricky and the holidays, and ricky during the holidays. she always thought her favourite season was spring but seeing how much ricky loved winter, it was hard for it not to slowly become her’s too

so now as she sat facetiming him and he looked the saddest he’s ever looked, it was impossible for her not to scheme

after a few searches on pinterest and a re-watch of all the new girl christmas and thanksgiving episodes, she got her plan together

===========================================================

two days later, while ej, kourtney and big red took ricky out for a movie and some pizza, unbeknown to ricky, she used the hidden spare key to get in (break in) to his house

she knew that his dad had been working pretty late everyday this winter so she bet that some quality time with ricky was highly likely 

after raiding ricky’s gummy worm stash from the second last drawer beside his kitchen counter, she got everything ready 

===========================================================

‘this really is so nice of you guys, really’ 

ricky was incredibly thankful for his friends. he didn’t even know what he would do without them, but it was hard not to feel the sting of nini foregoing the movies for a workshop that her denver school was hosting

and of course he tried not to be bitter about it, he was so incredibly happy for her, she was the most talented person he knew, but it also sucked that he would have to do the rest of high school without his girlfriend, the person he loved most in the entire world

‘dude, don’t even sweat it... we know it’s been a rough winter’

and again, if two months ago you were going to tell ricky that ej was more an acquaintance to him, let alone a friend, he’d think something was perpetually wrong with the universe

but here he was, even empathetic

they had eaten, watched an overplayed zombie movie at the theatre and spend some good time together. and even though he was incredibly grateful for the quality time he’d spent with his friends, his social battery was low and his tiredness unrelenting.

so within twenty minutes, he was back on his driveway, taking a deep breath before bracing the Utah snow

===========================================================

once he walked through the door, he didn’t really even realise the entire living room re-arranged until the smell of his mom’s cinnamon rolls hit him

and then he processed all of it at once; a fort was set up in the middle of the room, the fully decorated christmas tree gleaming in its designated corner and christmas decor uplifting the entire space. fairy lights hung around the fort and the tv had been moved to level with it as muffled christmas sintra rung through the air

the entire gesture winded ricky. 

‘hi’ nini’s voice piped shyly from the kitchen

‘hi’ 

it was safe to say that rick was indeed short-circuiting right now

‘oh my-’ ‘ricky i-’

he didn’t really wait, ‘no me first. what the actual fuck nini? what the actual he-? oh my- i don’t eve- oh my-’

luckily, nini wasn’t as winded, ‘i know christmas sucks this year, i know that everything seems wrong. but i love you and gina, ej, big red and kourtney love you, we’re here. i’m here. i wanted to something for the holidays, ya know? take some agency and plan the festivities for once.’

ricky was still pretty starstruck, ‘by the looks of it, i should definitely do this more.’

her soft giggles were only matched with tears pooling in ricky’s eyes. tears he was desperately trying to control from sliding down his cheeks. nothing had managed to lift this unnerving pressure he had pressed up on his chest till now. and now? now, he was elated. he felt like a fucking cloud. he was so relieved, and so so fucking thankful.

‘this-nini this? this is everything.’ and he meant it. the earnestness in his voice seemed to surprise nini, her eyes suddenly matching his glossy ones. 

‘i love you.’ was all he managed to say as he rested his forehead on hers after hugging her, breathing in more of the nutmeg candles she’d lit. 

‘one more thing.’

‘what?’

‘look up!’

and surely enough, mistletoe stared right back at ricky, ‘i know this is hard. i know it is,’ she said almost reading his mind, ‘so we make our own traditions y’know, new ones. happy ones. so i thought i’d start with this.’

and that was enough for him to kiss her; he tried to convey all the love and great-fullness and integrity and warmth and honesty he felt, how much she made him feel like he had a home in her, how comfortable she was, how indispensable. most of all, he wanted her to know how lucky he was to be loved by her.

when they finally broke apart, nini raced to the kitchen counter, and when she returned with her favourite non-christmas sunshine yellow blanket and a copy of the die hard dvd, he knew that this winter break was something he could survive. 

[fpinterviews]

Alex Prager

FP: Your career began at a very early age, and you’ve achieved much success in such a short time. How did you get involved in photography?

AP: Actually, I didn't get my first camera until I was 20. Before that, the thought of photography hadn't even crossed my mind past taking below-average snapshots on trips I took. I came back to Los Angeles after living in Florida and Switzerland off and on for 4 years, and when I finally settled in with a job and an apartment, I realized that I had no idea what I was doing with my future, and that kind of excited me. I was at a point where I had to make up my mind about what I was going to focus on as an adult. It was exciting because I was starting from nothing, therefore every career in the world was an option. All I had to do was get the education for whatever I decided I wanted to be. I started going to a lot of art shows. I already knew I wanted to be some kind of an artist, I just didn't know what medium I wanted to work in. I went to these shows alone because I didn't want anyone around swaying my opinion. Anyway, a couple weeks went by of going to museum and gallery shows, and then one day I ended up at the Getty where William Eggleston happened to have a show up. The moment I saw his work I knew that I wanted to be a photographer. I looked at every picture over and over for hours and when I was finished I bought his book. A week later, I had everything I needed to become a professional photographer. After that, I read every book I could find that had anything to do with photography. I made a little darkroom in my bathroom and I was in there every night till 3 in the morning processing my film and enlarging the pictures I had taken. After I got home from work, I used to go around my apartment building photographing still objects like a washing machine or a door, and then I'd go right into my darkroom and make an enlargement of the picture. When it was dry I'd go back to the thing I had taken a picture of and I'd tape my picture right on top of it. It would look kind of surreal. I guess those were my first art shows. Sometimes, when I'd go back to look at it, the picture would be gone and I'd imagine that someone had seen it taped up there and liked it enough to take it home with them.

FP: You’ve published an amazing book called "The Book Of Disquiet: The Seven Deadly Sins,” a collaborative piece with artist Mercedes Helenwein. In it, your work has a surreal through-the-looking-glass quality, reflecting both the glamorous and the perverse. How did the book come to be?

AP: Well, Mercedes and I had just finished a show called 'America Motel' that involved us taking 2 trips across the country. She wrote, I took pictures and our friend Beth Riesgraf documented the trips with her Super 8. The show was great. With the help of our friend, Jason Lee, we rented out an entire motel in downtown Los Angeles and basically turned it into an installation. My photographs were hung on the walls of each room like motel art, Mercedes' book was on the night stands in place of the Bible, and Beth's film was being played on each television. It was awesome. After this, Mercedes and I decided we wanted to do another project together, but this time she was going to do drawings. We had both been really affected by the people we met while driving through Middle America, and coming back to Los Angeles was such a dramatic shift in culture that we both, in our own ways, came to conclusion that our next show should be based on The Seven Deadly Sins. It just seemed like the obvious choice. I thought it would be really cool to do a book of our pictures in the style of a cardboard children's book because The Seven Deadly Sins theme was already really dark I thought it would lighten things up a little by adding some humor.

FP: Diane Arbus once remarked that “a photograph is a secret about a secret. The more it tells you, the less you know.” That seems to be fitting for your work. Do you have an intention in mind before you shoot and then stage things or is it more of an organic process once you start?

AP: I guess it's a little bit of both. Although I don't entirely agree with Diane Arbus. On their own photographs are more like incomplete stories, and the missing chapters are filled in differently by each person who looks at it. In other words, a piece of art is only done once it has an audience to communicate to. Everyone has their own experiences, their own story, and when they look at a picture, they're probably going to somehow relate it to something they've already seen or experienced. Since we all have different pasts, I like to think that no two people can see a picture the same way. As far as how I make the photograph, I always have some kind of idea of what I'm going to shoot beforehand. How general or specific it is doesn't really matter because once I start, I try not to think at all.

FP: Who are your primary influences?

AP: William Eggleston, Stephen Shore, Loretta Lux, Philip-Lorca Dicorcia, Diane Arbus, Helmut Newton, Brassai, Annie Leibovitz, Guy Bourdin. Painters are John Currin, Egon Schiele, Toulouse-Lautrec, Bruegel, Gustav Klimt, Lucian Freud, Balthus. Filmmakers include Alfred Hitchcock, David Lynch, Peter Greenaway, Federico Fellini, Victor Fleming. Musicians include Bob Dylan, Joy Division, The Beatles, The Pixies,  Spoon, The Kinks, Bjork, David Bowie, Elvis Costello, Elliott Smith, The Smiths, etc.

FP: Can you talk a bit about your technique and how you use high-gloss plexiglass?

AP: I like the saturation that you get by face-mounting color photographs to plexi-glas, but I don't always use this process. For my next series, I'm mounting the pictures to Sintra Board from behind so nothing will touch the front of them.

FP: Where do you find your models? Are they friends?

AP: It depends. Sometimes a friend will work out perfectly for a shot I had in mind, other times I'll see someone on the street or in a magazine and I'll get in touch with them and ask if they'll pose for me. Another place that can be good for finding models is modeling agencies! What!? I know, weird...

FP: Since your sister is featured in this issue as well (painter Vanessa Prager), I assume you come from a very creative family…

AP: Hmm.. 'Creative family' implies that they we grew up in a family of artists, which we did not, but our parents, and grandmother (who helped raise us), are definitely the opposite of Middle Class in the way of thinking. They're creative in the sense of the freedom they gave us. They always left it up to us to decide what our goals were going to be, and no matter how far-fetched they were they'd back us up 100%. One day when I was 15, I told my parents I wanted to learn how to play the guitar, and literally the next day they had bought me a guitar and had lessons lined up for me whenever I was ready to start taking them. When I was 14 I had the opportunity to work at a knife shop in Switzerland for 4 months with my best friend who was also 14, and they let me go not only that year, but every year after that until I didn't feel like going anymore. I don't think many parents would let their kids have this much self-determinism at such a young age. I'm sure this influenced my sister and I to becoming artists.

FP: What advice would you give for anyone young trying to break into the business?

AP: Some of the best advice I ever got when I first started was from a painter friend of mine, Bryten Goss, he told me not to talk to any photographers for 1 full year and during that year to always have my camera on me, take as many pictures as possible and find other photographers and artists I like and study their work. That first year is really important because you're so new at it that you can be misguided and influenced really easily, so trusting yourself to be able to learn what you need to know on your own enough to start getting pictures you can be proud of is important.

FP: In what direction do you see your work heading currently? And where can we next see your work?

AP: For the past year or so, I've been working on a series of pictures called 'POLYESTER' and I'll be exhibiting these in my first ever solo show in April at the Robert Berman Gallery at Bergamot Station in Santa Monica. With this show, I wanted there to be a staged, retro quality to the images while keeping them modern. Almost like the people in my pictures are kind of bad actors dressed up and playing roles from movies in the 60's.

[yourlocaldepressedfemboy]

Hey, saw your post in the Mando tag. Most people do Mando armor out of PVC (Sintra) board and then heat-bend it. It just has more weight and rigidity than EVA, so it looks better. Also, if you have *any* desire to try to get Mandalorian Mercs approval, EVA is not allowed, so something to keep in mind.

Even if you decide to stick with EVA and not go for Mandalorian Mercs approval, you should still check out their website/forums. They have lots of free advice and videos and templates and stuff. Super helpful. They even have a full costume description for Boba (since anyone one who wants to get their approval with a Boba costume would have to make it screen accurate, so the CRL is super descriptive).

First of all, thank you very much! Second of all, I am absolutely new to any kind of cosplay (or handywork except sewing) so I'm not really looking for anything for the first time.

[c-atm]

Shopping

"So what is it that we need to get again?”

“Some craft foam, some silk cloth, some latex, and thread.” Patricia huffed a breath before looking behind her as Daniel pushed the cart, dressed in sleeveless red hoodie with the text 'All Black Lives Matter' with the A's in rainbow text, black cargo shorts, white socks and black hightop sneakers with rainbow laces and slouching as he did with a slightly bored and sleepy look on his face.

“Danny, we went over this last night. When we decided to do a Victor Pirates cosplay, for Empire-con.”

Daniel yawned as he pulled his hood over his head. “I don’t recall such a conversation.”

“It was your Idea!”

“No.” He retorted “Steven and I said you and Connie would make a sweet Kasey and Vera, ..Never said anything about getting up at the crack of dawn to get materials.”

“Crack of?” Patrica froze mid-step giving him an incredulous look. “It’s ten in the morning.” She chuckled, “That’s way from crack-of-dawn.”

“Says you.” He grumbled. “Who gets up at nine in the morning on a Saturday?”

“People with drive, ambition, gusto!” She exclaimed, before standing on the bottom seat of the cart and leaning over the front of the cart, pulling his hood up and purring close to his ear. “People who want to see their girl in a silk ruffle pirate skirt and leotard.”

Daniel smirked, a bit more awake at Patricia's flirty tone. “I did say you would be hot Kasey.“

“Yes, you did.” She smirked before giving him a kiss on the forehead, before poking  his cheeks. “But for that to happen, we need to get our stuff,” She chuckled at his sleepy grin before kissing him lightly once.

“Sooo..” twice

“Wake..” thrice

“Up.” four times, the last one lingered a bit longer as it was deeper than the other three.

Daniel hummed pleasantly as they broke the kiss “Ok Tricia, I’m up.” Sleepiness still in his voice as he shook his head and rubbed his eyes

“You’re so cute, Danny. Now,” Patricia turned around and hopped into the cart, folding her hands over her lilac blouse as she crossed her tan short pants legs, and let her heeled black sandaled feet hang out.  “To the fabric aisle, beloved.” She laid back, adjusting her white headband in her blackish brown nape length hair as she grinned as his annoyed and pursed lipped face.

He shook his head as he pushed forward, stealing a giggle evoking kiss before he did. "So where's the fabric aisle, anyway?"

Patricia had the pride to shrug her shoulder, looking abashed. "Babe, I have never been to this warehouse...I am as lost as you, but I trust your instincts and street smarts." She gasped, excitedly. "We can make an adventure out of it."

"Or..or..and this is just a suggestion" He offered. “We can ask someone.”

“Hmmph!”

“Hey look, it’s too early for adventure, and I haven't had nothing but sugar.” Daniel responded, getting a curious look from Patricia.

“Sugar?”

Daniel answered her with a kiss.

The hazel eyes woman sighed through the affection and greeted him with a  pleasant simper, exhaling through her nose as the lingering feeling coursed through her form. “Sugar..” she purred.

“Yes, but sweet as it is, I need sustenance for my body as well as my heart.” His stomach grumbled as to prove his point.

‘Ok fair enough. We’ll get assistance and try to make this a quicker trip, ok?” She patted his cheek, looking a bit guilty. “Lunch on me as well, ok Danny.”

Danny dramatically gasped as he placed his left palm on his chest. “Lunch? Is Penny-pinching Patricia gonna pay for another patrons' provisions.”

Patricia gave an irked titter “She was until said patrons mouth plundered Patricia’s pity.”

“Wait,” Daniel eyes widened as he moved up close to her, his lips slightly brushing against hers.  “This patron apologizes profusely for his playful poking.”

“Patricia requires penance for being poked at, Patron.” She ran her palm over his faded hair cut while giving him a coquettish leer “has the parton prepare something?

“Parted lips?”

She rolled her eyes before looking at his deep brown ones “..Proceed.”

His deep chuckle resounded in her ear as they met once again in a lip lock. Quicker than the last, but much more passionate and exotic as  it was an upside down kiss. Still the feeling of  their mouths interlocking thorough twisting tongues and lacing lips filled them both with a loving desire for each other.

“We should get to work, beloved.” Patrica whispered gently, as they broke the kiss and he rested his head on top of hers.

“You're right, Precious.”  He snickered. “Before Ni’ call to check on us.”

“Right though?” Impeccable timing that one.” Her joking tone followed with a small giggle.

“Ok then first stop, fabrics.”

“Which we still don’t know where to go… and there are no floor associates close by to help.” She gave him a toothy grin. “You know what that means.”

“It means we should call Connie for help?”

“It means,..”

Daniel shocked his head in amusement as Patricia shook her fist and inhaled exaggeratedly.

“Adventure."

"You know, I'm gonna have to limit your  rides with Connie and Lion." He announced while pushing forward. "You're getting to become an addict for adrenaline."

"And adventure and you."

"Aww, aren't we sweet." He teased.

"I have given you sugar today." She stated slyly.

"The best sugar." Daniel joked with a smile  before looking up to the hanging warehouse directory. "So...Were in aisle 4 and fabrics are on aisle 26…"

"Yup..26.."Patricia straightened her glasses as she leaned up. "So hold up, we're going up upstairs..Then down stairs?"

"Looks like it…"

"So we can't just walk straight to aisle 26 despite both 4 and 26 are both on the same floor?"

Daniel walked by the confused girl and to the end of the aisle. He looked down the large hall  like intersection, counting the aisles. "So yeah, this  is the west wing and it only goes to 14 before a wall with no door."

"Looks like there's supposed to be a single elevator on both ends of 14 too." Patricia added with annoyance. "Dumb design. Really, who thought this was a helpful and acceptable outline for a warehouse?"

"Maybe when you become a professional  architect, you can update the layout."

"Don't tempt me." Patricia huffed as something caught her eye. " Aisle 2, got crafts materials."

"Then let's get our Worbia ."Daniel announced as he began to push the cart around the left corner..

" Worbia? You mean Terraflex , right?" She countered.

"Wooorbbbia."

"How about Sintra?" Patricia persuaded.

"The hell your problem with Worbia, Tricia?" He teased

"The price."

"Penny-pincher." He raspberried her cheeks, making her giggle and squeal.

"Maybe" Kissing his cheek, "But also both are cheaper and better to work with...Especially Sintra ."

"Harder to work with too." Daniel turned into the large aisle.

"But so much more possibilities, Danny." Patricia teasingly whined as they looked around. "Ah, there it is." She pointed to the left corner of the aisle three shelves up at a large stack of white cardboard like foam.

Daniel nodded. "Ok, so how are we going to do this, cause like you said. Sales associates don't seem to exist here." He embellished his statement  by waving his arms around the empty aisle, when  something caught his eye. "Nevermind. Got an Idea."

"What are you doing Danny?" Patricia watched as Daniel left her sight. A few seconds later she heard the squeaking of wheels coming closer from behind her. "Danny?" She turned to see her partner, pushing a ten foot, forest green step ladder.

"Told you, I had an Idea." Giving her a smug smile, before climbing the steps to the third shelf. "So what size we need anyway?"

"Get some thick pieces, 48 by 48." Patricia tried climbed out of the car with a bit of a struggle before falling back. She looked up to see Daniel smirking at her.

"Heh-Heh."

" heh-heh "  She mocked his chuckle before stretching her hand out ," Help please."

"Hold on, Precious." Daniel stated as he tossed four foam boards to the floor, having some of them tumble and fall over, before leaping over the front rail and down to the floor, landing safely on bending knees. He playfully popped himself up to a stand and walked over to her, before slipping his arms under her lap and the mid of her back and lifting her up in princess carry getting a pleasant hum from Patricia as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders.

"Such a strong guy.." She nuzzled close to his neck giving him a kiss of appreciation on his cheek.

"I did get on that 'Crystal gem ' work out plan. Plus used to be a tumbler on the cheer team…So you know." He tossed up just a little getting an excited shriek from her as he caught her.

"You little trouble-making…" She growled with a smile, cupping his cheeks. "Come on.You gotta put me down."

"Say it, first." He grinned devilishly.

She arched her head to the side, a sly smirk on her reddening face. "Say what?"  

"You know what."  He nipped her ear.

"I swear." she exhaled in a slight arousal at the feel of his lips on her ear lobe.

"You." 'Chu !' "Swear." 'Chu !' "What?" 'Chu !'

She tottered at each of his  kisses behind her ear, leaning in to to him, before turning to him. tracing his lip with her thumb. She gave him a gentle kiss, before whispering. " I love you, Danny."

"I love you too, Tricia."

Just as they were about to share yet another kiss. Patricia phone rang, a very familiar, very ominous tone.

"Connie's calling you Precious."

Patricia glared at her man  before sighing. "Is it eleven already? We were supposed to meet with her and Steven for lunch...Think she'd believe we're online"

"Not when I can see you two, clearly."

The couple turned around to see Connie and Steven, The former smirking smugly at them. "Hey you found time to get the first item... Somewhat."

"I don't wanna hear that from you, Maheswaran." Patricia said as she snuggled closer to Daniel. "Still, now that all three of you here. I can just stay in Danny's arms for the trip." She joked.

"That's cute." Steven teased.

"Except that she would, if you let her." Connie added.

"They're firm, comfy and warm." Patricia argued before she climbed down. sand faced the two still keeping his arms around her waist. Her head on his chest sharing a glance with him.

"So schmaltzy." Connie teased only to be rendered to giggles as Steven nipped neck from behind.

"You was saying, Nini?" Danny  commented with a smirk.

"Hey, we got our list done .Can you say that?" She counted through giggles.  She breathed out as Steven released her throat.

"We came to help, Since Connie though you two would be distracted with each other. " Steven announced "And she forgot to tell you exactly where everything was. " He poked fun at his Berry, making her blush in embarrassment.

"Yeah, that's my bad." She admitted caressing Steven chin beside her. "This place's layout.."

"Is stupid!" Patricia finished.

"Yes!"

Steven and Daniel greeted  each other with a light fist bump and a nod of silence as they watched in adoration of their partners as they gathered the materials into the cart as they commented on the store.

Stopping them before they could push both it and the step ladder, opting to do it themselves, as they followed their idealistic partners.

[pudding-head-kenma]

Like frr the only time I got a "taste" of the Portuguese culture is with my ex bf family since they're Portuguese and all Like whenever I would go to his house his mom would cook some traditional dishes and it was SO good!!! I would love to go to portugal and see part of my origins but the Portuguese part of my fam is so obsessed on erasing their immigrant status that it won't happen any time soon ... Crush anon 💕 Ps: feel closer to you knowing you're Portuguese lmaooo

i’m glad you got to try some traditional dishes though!!! if you know the name of what you tried you should tell me hehe. I’m sad your family wants to erase this part of their life but I hope when you’re older or have the money to come visit, you choose to do so and meet your heritage properly! if you’re ever in Sintra (where im from) try our Travesseiros de Sintra it’s literally the best thing in the world... chefs kiss. BUT LIKE YEAH TOTALLY I ALSO FEEL CLOSER TO YOU KNOWING YOU’RE PART PORTUGUESE

[viajaanna]

34 Days, 14 Cities, 6 Countries, 1 Continent

Leia em Português abaixo.

In 88 days I'm headed off to do an Europe trip like I've never done before.

Years ago I had the opportunity of visiting Portugal two different times with my family. I was born in Brazil but my grandfather is Portuguese so we've always been connected with those roots. We made plans to head there again so I can get my citizenship in Portugal (which all children and grandchildren of Portuguese borns have the right to have, even if they were born abroad). But we've decided to take on a journey through six different counties as well--by train, car and plane.

We're departing from Brasília, Brazil, on December 5th and returning January 7th. We start off with twelve hours flight to Lisbon where we're staying until the 9th when we depart to the city of Seia, where my grandfather was born, so we can do the not fun paperwork things. Next up is Sintra, still in Portugal. Sintra has one of the best sweet bakes I've tried in my life. It's a thousand layer pastry, or as the French call it, mille-feuille with a creamy and sweet almond and egg yolk filling. It's called travesseiros da piriquita from the Pastelaria Piriquita. Honestly, Sintra is a small city with an enormous cultural baggage and amazing castles, but I've seen it two times and my parents four so we're admittedly only going for the food--which is freaking awesome!

You must know I didn't always use to but as I grew up I've become quite the organized person and that includes when I travel. Packing is a thought through process and my usual for this trip would be to make myself a large suitcase ready for the strong winter we're bound to endure. But given the speed we're going to be going through each country and the fact many trains can't really take the 32 inches suitcases, my family, who's going with me, and I decided that we should go with camping backpacks. 70L is all I get, which I've tested it's plenty, but hell I'm struggling with organizing it.

I got the backpack below in a Brazilian website and it's pretty sturdy. But I'm still looking for the best "Marie Kondo" methods to organize and keep this backpack neat for thirty-two days.

The return from Sintra to Lisbon takes us basically straight to Paris as we're only going there to take the plane. Weighting on the plane versus train felt better for us because we're skipping Spain this time. I never been to Paris and when we laid down the options I said I preferred France better. Although we're not leaving Paris, it's number two on the countries I'm looking forward the most--we'll get to number one soon.

From Paris we head to Dusseldorf in Germany, also by plane. I know by now you must be thinking: why is she taking a backpack if there's only planes involved. We're not taking any cars (except to drive to Sintra/Seia) and no transfers. All the transportation we're doing is by train, metro or walk. So the backpack seemed more fitting.

Dusseldorf we head to Berlim by train, stopping at a few Christmas Fairs that are popular there this time of the year. By now, in our planning, is December 18th. We wanted to spend Christmas in Germany as it's a country none of us had been before and we heard a lot about the fairs happening there. We do a quick stop out of Germany to visit Prague in the Czech Republic. None of use never been there either and we keep hearing how amazing the city is and that we'll want to be there more days. On the 23rd we head to Munique though, for Christmas.

Following stop is, at last but not least, my most expected country to visit: Italy. There's something about the food, the people that is all too familiar to me. I have all my roots in Portugal but I always found myself more connected to Italy. Our flight is to Venice first, then Florence, Colle, Pisa, Rome, then Vatican. The Vatican I was unsure about counting it as a country? I hear all different opinions about it being a city or a country, part of Italy or not. I separated it, country and city wise. What is your opinion?

It's the final destination as after it we head back to Paris and follow to Lisbon for a night so we can go back to Brasília. We've got a lot in hand to get planning--though most of it is done. So if you have any suggestions of places to sight or eat, I'll be happy to hear them out.

Next post, I'll talk more about the sightings we'll be doing in each city, stay tune!

—

Em 88 dias, estou indo fazer uma viagem à Europa como nunca fiz antes.

Anos atrás, tive a oportunidade de visitar Portugal duas vezes diferentes com minha família. Nasci no Brasil, mas meu avô é português, então sempre estivemos conectados com nossas raízes. Planejamos voltar para lá para que eu possa obter minha cidadania em Portugal (que todos os filhos e netos de nascidos portugueses têm o direito de ter, mesmo que tenham nascido no exterior). Mas decidimos fazer uma viagem por seis países diferentes–de trem, carro e avião.

Partimos de Brasília, Brasil, no dia 5 de dezembro e voltamos no dia 8 de janeiro. Começamos com doze horas de vôo para Lisboa, onde ficaremos até o dia 9, quando partirmos para a cidade de Seia, onde meu avô nasceu, para que possamos finalizar as coisas divertidas de papelada. A próxima é Sintra, ainda em Portugal. Sintra tem um dos melhores doces que eu já experimentei na minha vida. É uma massa folheada, ou, como os franceses chamam, mille-feuille com recheio cremoso e doce de amêndoa e gema de ovo. Chama-se travesseiros da piriquita da Pastelaria Piriquita. Honestamente, Sintra é uma cidade pequena, com uma enorme bagagem cultural e castelos incríveis, mas eu já fui duas vezes e meus pais quatro, por isso vamos admitir que só vamos pra comer mesmo agora–o que é incrível!

Eu tenho que contar que eu nem sempre fui assim, mas quando cresci me tornei uma pessoa bem organizada e isso inclui quando viajo. Fazer mala é um processo de longo e reflexivo e para esta viagem o meu normal seria fazer uma mala grande e pronta para o inverno rigoroso que vamos passar. Mas, dada a velocidade que percorreremos em cada país e o fato de muitos trens não poderem levar as malas de 80 cm, minha família, que vai comigo, e eu decidimos que deveríamos ir com mochilas de acampamento. 70L é tudo que terei, o que testei e é bastante, mas caramba estou lutando para organizar na mochila.

Eu comprei a mochila abaixo no mercado livre e é bem resistente. Mas ainda estou procurando os melhores métodos “Marie Kondo” para organizar e manter essa mochila por trinta e dois dias.

O retorno de Sintra a Lisboa nos leva basicamente direto a Paris, pois só vamos a Lisboa para pegar o avião. Pesando entre o avião e o trem foi melhor para nós, porque desta vez estamos pulando a Espanha. Nunca estive em Paris e, quando definimos as opções, disse que preferia a França. Apesar de que não iremos sair de Paris, é o número dois nos países que mais quero conhecer (chegaremos ao número um em breve).

De Paris, seguimos para Dusseldorf na Alemanha, também de avião. Eu sei que agora você deve estar pensando: por que ela está pegando uma mochila se há apenas aviões envolvidos? Não estamos alugando carros (exceto para dirigir para Sintra/Seia) e sem transfers. Todo o transporte que fazemos é de trem, metrô ou a pé. Então a mochila parecia mais adequada, pelas pesquisas que fizemos online sobre viagens a Europa.

Em Dusseldorf, seguimos de trem para Berlim, parando em algumas feiras de Natal que são populares por lá nesta época do ano. Até agora, no nosso planejamento, já é dia 18 de dezembro. Queríamos passar o Natal na Alemanha, pois é um país que nenhum de nós havia ido antes e ouvimos muito sobre as feiras que acontecem por lá. Fazemos uma rápida parada fora na Alemanha para visitar Praga na República Tcheca. Também não conhecemos e todos amigos que já foram ficaram repetindo o quão incrível é a cidade e que vamos querer ficar lá mais dias. No dia 23, seguimos para Munique, para o Natal.

A parada seguinte é, finalmente, mas não menos importante, o meu país mais esperado para visitar: a Itália. Há algo sobre a comida, as pessoas que são familiares demais para mim. Tenho todas as minhas raízes em Portugal, mas sempre me vi mais conectada à Itália. Nosso vôo é para Veneza primeiro, depois de trem para Florença, Colle, Pisa, Roma e depois o Vaticano. O Vaticano eu não tinha certeza de contá-lo como um país? Eu ouço muitas opiniões diferentes sobre ser uma cidade ou um país, parte da Itália ou não. Separei, país e cidade. Qual é sua opinião?

É o destino final, pois depois voltamos para Paris e seguimos para Lisboa por uma noite para podermos voltar para Brasília. Temos muito em mãos para planejar - embora a maior parte esteja pronta. Portanto, se você tiver alguma sugestão de lugares para ver ou comer, ficarei feliz em ouvi-los.

No próximo post, falarei mais sobre os lugares que vamos visitar em cada cidade, fique de olho!

[timeoutotour]

Scattered Clouds, 20°C

R. Visc. Olivais 1, 2750-800 Cascais, Portugal

Friday 12th April 2019

Sadly it was time to move on from the very nice little private aire where we had been staying for the past two nights. The Wifi was the best that we have yet encountered on out travels. Quite often sites may advertise that they have free wifi but in all honesty you will find your own phone data connection faster. Quite the contrary in this case, and indeed many hours of TV, Netflix etc have been downloaded at a rate similar to our own high speed connection at home , and all for one Euro per day! We had a bit of a lazy morning , making use of the facilities at the site and then set off for our next destination i.e. Sintra , which we had read was well worth a visit due to its palaces and castles. What we had not read was that dogs were not allowed and despite a very pleasant if steep 1.5 mile walk we were not allowed entry on our arrival at the park gates. This was not entirely unexpected as a driver of one of the many tuk tuk type three wheeled vehicles travelling up and down with paying passengers had advised us of the same about ten minutes previously. I had thought that perhaps we might be permitted into the grounds or somewhere with a good view but alas this was not the case . Annie was once again in 'go slow' mode and we decided that once again I would leave Rhian and Annie and go collect the van , pick them up and move to pastures new. After meeting up with the ladies we pressed on to my next chosen destination , Cascais, about twenty minutes away . Whilst travelling we passed a tourist sign for Lagua Azule (Blue Lagoon) and I thought is sounded like a potential overnighter. I couldnt have been more wrong and neither could the description. In fact it should have been called Lagua Marrom (Brown Lagoon) see picture ! After that disappointment we continued to our original destination in Cascais. A roadside parking but in a very plush part of town. See photo of multi million Euro house almost directly behind our overnighter spot ! I had also inadvertently parked next to a local tourist attaraction namely Boca do Inferno (Hells Mouth)which is a natural phenomina whereby the power of the sea has , over millennia , worn a passage from the ocean through porous volcanic rock to produce this amazing basin of furious waters. As a slight sideshow to the main event we walked down to the sea to find many people gathered around a gash in the rock about 2 metres in height and maybe 10 metres wide . Patiently they waited , and waited and then finally when a big wave hit, the gash in the rocks spewed out a spray of water accompanied by a most fabulous soundtrack similar to a lion's roar.

Boa noite

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[jeonqkooks]

in lisbon, during the day you can visit belém and one of the many viewpoints of the city. i visited the santa luzia viewpoint, near to the panteão nacional and são jorge castle (you can visit the castle too, it's amazing, but you have to pay depending on the day you're going to visit). belem it's on the other side of the city but it's still a good walk with an amazing view of the 25th of April bridge (i had lunch there but I can't remember the restaurant, but the price is very similar if you're not opting for mc donald's). there's also parque das nações, where there's a cable car, an aquarium, a bunch of restaurants (i think there's korean restaurants there too); it's a good walk through the shore.

during the night, you can go to bairro alto if you like to see people and go to crowded bars (not my scene but there are still the rooftops, a much calmer option, and the view is amazing). i usually eat at "hamburgueria do bairro" (it has delicious french fries). there's a 50's themed diner at parque das nações too (the strawberry milkshake is delicious).

nana thank you thank you thank you! 🥰 i’m only staying in lisbon for 4 days (including 1 day for sintra and 1 day for cascais) but i met someone from portugal a few weeks ago and she said that should still give me enough time to see most of lisbon if i’m efficient enough so fingers crossed! oooh did you go on the 28th tram?

[nudisth]

Hey! I'm going to Portugal in May for 9 days. I'll mostly be in Lisbon but I'm also going to Sentra, Cascais, and Porto. Do you have any recommendations of what I should do and see?

hi!! i’m so glad you are coming here! i’m sure you’ll love it! in lisbon you should totally check:

terreiro do paço 

santa justa lift 

baixa chiado 

alfama (where you can listen to fado - an amazing portuguese music style!)

são jorge castle

marquês de pombal square

avenida da liberdade

Calouste Gulbenkian Museum 

Oriente Musueum

skybar

matt museum (this is super recent but the design is amazing!)

belém (where you can visit jerónimos monastery, padrão dos descobrimentos, belém tower (for this three there’s a pack you can buy and it’s a lot cheaper than bought separately and coleção berardo museuam - all of these places are super close but i advise you to spend one day just in belém there’s so much you can see there and you should also try pastéis de belém it’s a traditional portuguese confection)

if you have time check also lisbon oceanarium and go on a cable lift

hippotrip is also an amazing idea to explore lisbon. it’s a tourist bus but it’s also a boat who goes into the tejo river (go to their site and check them out)

for places to eat, you can visit pop cereal (i love this restaurant is super cosy and where you can eat any type of cereal you can imagine! it’s mostly for breakfast but it definitely worths to try out) and nicolau lisboa (this for brunch but also super nice!). i don’t know many place inside lisbon to eat because it’s mainly expensive but if you look around you’ll find a great spot with some traditional food. 

in sintra you should check out: (in this day use comfortable shoes like tennis if you really want to explore because you need to walk a bunch)

quinta da regaleira

sintra palace

castelo dos mouros

palácio nacional de sintra

go to vila de sintra and explore that amazing village! i really like it there even tho it’s super crowded. also don’t forget to go to piriquita (which is confectionery) and try travesseiros!

if you have time, visit queluz palace and its gardens!

in cascais check out: 

boca do inferno 

carcavelos beach

forte de são jorge oitavos

guia lighthouse

in porto go visit: 

sé do porto

são bento station

aliados square

Luís I bridge

lello bookshop

palácio da bolsa

palácio de cristal

celérigos chruch

serralves museum and its garden

cidade do porto park (and check out pavilhão da água which is also there!)

ribeira

capela de santa catarina

you can also explore douro river and go on a journey to know more about the 6 bridges in porto or go into one whole day trip!

to eat: you need to try francesinhas (the people from porto say the best francesinhas are in café santiago), porto wine (there are several wine cellars you can visit) and café majestic (it’s really expensive one coffee is like 2 euros which is like $3 i think) 

i think this is it!! i put a lot of stuff here and this are some of my favourite places to go, but it’s also full of people (portugal has grown a lot in terms of tourism) but feel free to message me if you have any questions at all about your trip or if you don’t know where to go or where to eat (my father knows lots of places to eat there so i can ask him!) feel free to message me!

[gavin-manerowski]

Several Cities in Portugal to Visit

The stunning southern European nation lies on the Atlantic Ocean whilst it has the fabulous temperature climate with exceptionally long hot summers experienced in the Algarve region and in the interior of the nation, it has the fabulous and the dramatic coastline which has been crafted by the sea and the dramatic winter winds.  If you want to visit a truly beautiful European nation with an abundance of history, culture, and charm, you should travel with Gavin Manerowski in Portugal. The nation is thrilling cities to explore such as Faro, Lisbon, and Porto. It has miles and miles of untouched coastline, it has the Algarve, which is a tourism center and which is home to some incredible tourist attraction. It is an area of conservation and wildlife as well as playing host to some of the finest beaches in Europe and stunning coastal scenery. Largely a protected area, Algarve is a paradise for nature lovers and a range of amazing landscape. The sheer biodiversity and range of flora and fauna in the area make this part of Algarve excellent for outdoor holidays.

 Portugal is a friendly, low key place; much of its fringed by golden sands and endless dunes. Its rolling interior is perfect for rolling on foot by kayak, by bike or even on horseback- through a large part of the country charm comes from a languorous day on the beach. Yet its capital Lisbon superbly sited on the Tajo river estuary is popular for Manueline monuments and medieval alleyways. Porto the second city of Portugal is famous for UNESCO world heritage site is the best place to sample some of the many varieties of Portugal other notable contribution to the world. Mountain makes up the bulk of the frontier with Spain, with a large number of rivers of Minho in the north and the guardian in the south adding to the natural divide. Beaches and high mountain aside the rest of Portugal is a diverse and Vedant country of deep hills and rolling hills dotted with the stone built village, There are various other beautiful sites that you cannot miss: Going to Sintra that is only a half hour train ride from Lisbon and the perfect destination for a day trip. Literally steps into fairytale as you explore the castle and garden fit for kings and queen. The other wonderful sites are Douro River, when you are in Portugal this is an important destination to visit. It is known for its beautiful scenery, it has wonderful sites and an adventurous. Go for Lisbon’s Oceanarium, it is the largest indoor aquarium in Europe with 450 marine species. The tanks are so expansive that they put off a feeling of snorkeling without being physically under the water. Kayak in Lagos is also another wonderful site, these are the best-kept beaches in Europe, and Lagos is a piece of paradise that cannot be missed. You will also explore the caves of the Algarve coast. The one experience that will be memorable to you is to swim with the blue shark; this is extremely unique and specific. Head west right off the coast of Portugal and you will find the Azores, nine largely uniquely uninhabited volcanic islands. Of these islands, visitors have the rare opportunity to dive with the sharks, few places in the world access to this beautiful but largely harmless sea creature. Lastly, you will get amazed how eco-conscious the country was. You will see the greenery everywhere; Portugal is a world leader when it comes to renewable energy. Wind, solar and hydropower supplies more than the half of the country power.

 There is not a better way to immerse you in the culture of Portugal then to dive into their delicious food, the wide range of the delicacies in Portugal to make the mouth water. Being a coastal country, seafood is an obvious must to dine on as there is a complete and fresh selection. Cod is the most popular fish. The Francesinha popular sandwich that filled up with the pork and meat topped with the melted cheese. The famous Pasteis de Belem in Lisbon with a Pastel de Nata (This custard tart is the perfect amount of the buttery, flaky and the taste of sweetness). Garlic, paprika, wine and bay leaves are almost present in all scenes. Other key ingredients are fresh fish, seafood, snails, and rice. A popular soup is Caldo Verde with shredded kale, potato, and chorizo sausage. This country has a well-developed fishing industry, which is reflected in the wide variety of seafood and fish dishes eaten.

 So Portugal is the face of Europe, which will leave you mesmerized by its exotic and beautiful scenic beauty. This is the country that has the oldest borders in Europe. With an exceptional range of different landscape, just a short distance away, amazing landscape, lot of leisure, activity and a unique cultural heritage, where tradition and modernity blend together in perfect harmony. Its superb cuisine, fine wine, and hospitable people make this place a tourist paradise of the highest quality. Come and discover the charm of this country. A Gavin Manerowski is the best guide for the Portugal traveling; he is a very interesting person that you can’t bore with him.

Source By: Gavin Manerowski

[milesgotomoon]

Portugal- Places to Visit While You Are There

KNOW MORE ABOUT LISBON, ALGARVE & LAGOS - PORTUGAL

In the northwestern tip of continental Europe, Portugal is an old college region. In the following informative article, we now take a look at Lisbon, Lagos, and the Algarve.

Lisbon

Lisbon may be the largest city in Portugal and is found on the Atlantic coast in the middle of the country. I have been around Lisbon for 3 days, but only for a day or two each moment. Every time that I come away with the impression of sophistication.

Inspired by train, your very first preference of Lisbon will be when you walk out of the rail channel right onto the shore of the harbor. Since you visit the ocean, the title"bay area" immediately springs to mind. Mountains rise up on both sides of the mouth area of the harbor and then there is the bridge. Running across the mouth of the bay can be a bridge that looks for all intensive functions including the Golden Gate Bridge at San Francisco. I've never really had a chance to research it, however, there has to be an associate.

As you head into Lisbon, what's clean and relaxed. You will find walking just roads with cafes and garden areas. Needing to mind San Francisco back, there are cable cars running through the guts of the town. I can not tell you, however, Lisbon can be just a rather low-stress town on both your head and your wallet. Yep, it is cheap and also a superior destination for funding travelers.

Algarve

The Algarve is your northwestern tip of Portugal and borders on either Atlantic and Mediterranean oceans. This is definitely an interpretation in my area because a few believe the region just addresses the beaches to the Mediterranean Ocean. Regardless, the Algarve is still an assortment of beach cities that remind me of Southern California from the 1940s. No, I'm not that outdated. I'm just counting on family members' tales and graphics. Jeez, give me some credit! One of the many highlights of the Algarve is Lagos.

Lagos

I grew up in North Park, California. It is really a remarkable place for always a young child and an adult. The single gripe I have is a lot of individuals appear to feel the same. The people have exploded beyond view, freeways are busy on weekends and housing prices moderate roughly $500,000 to get a deluxe cupboard without a push. It's nice, but I've started to think about shifting. Should I actually do, Lagos can be my vacation spot.

Lagos is just a tired beach group with only about what you could want in paradise. White shores, private beaches, grottos, wine climbing, a playful nightlife, contemporary comforts and just about the best people you have at any time met in life.

You can stay in a hotel while in Lagos, however, this is a mistake in my opinion. As an alternative, head towards the rail station and book a room with a family. Chemicals in towns all over the world achieve so, but Lagos is different. The family you stay with less or more adopts you personally as one of the own. They'll pull you over town, introduce you to other sailors and normally give you a genuine taste of Portugal. For veteran vacationers, almost nothing could possibly be even better.

Rating

For a total evaluation, I offer Portugal and Lagos that the maximum rating of"bar." I loved it much, I wanted to stay and almost bought a bar by blackmailing, bribing and begging that a buddy in California on the phone. Alas, his spouse did not think it had been such a superior idea.

Hey, What about you personally? We might probably still receive a good deal!

No, seriously.

MOST TOP EMERSION IN LISBON PORTUGAL

In the event you really go holiday and also do the standard tourism around the city, then you are going to see lots about Lisbon history, then listen to the interesting narrative of this earthquake at 1755 and start to see that the effects with the disastrous occasions much though lots of amazing and intriguing monuments still continue being. However, also for somebody that has achieved similar holiday with this town along with many others round it such as Porto, Fatima, Faro, and Albufeira, there's just another significant part Lisbon Portugal at which you might also know its own history, present, and past. Why don't we dip into the hot realm of wine along with its particular foundation?

Lisbon Portugal along with its particular wines

About the outskirts of all Lisbon, you can find just four grape developing places. On the west, only a tiny northwest of Estoril could be your place named Carcavelos. The wine, such as lots of different wines from Lisbon, gained its very good standing because of the alliance with the English. It's just a wine using a flavor that is striped using the following flavor of nuts, in fairly to semi-sweet. 

Colares, moving in direction of the northeast, which makes a few of their absolute most unusual perfumes round. The metropolis is situated involving your mountains of Sintra into the west and also west Atlantic shores to the west coast. The number of this grape utilized, a tiny dark blue, has increased from the plantations of the Atlantic Ocean. Since you are able to picture, the procedure is just a rather tough one as the origins need to have been implanted inside the Mesozoic coating of clay. As a result of the mild and thick kind of property, the grape-vines which can be used now endured the plague that struck Europe from 1870. Hence, the wines and plants are only since these were just 100 decades in the past. Notice just how many records you may find! All these perfumes are both half-bodied and then depart from orally with a flavor that is concentrated. 

For an even longer nicer and floral odor, a cleanser and dryer flavor even using a small marked acidity, then proceed to get a Bucelas wine. These wineries are approximately 25 km north of Lisbon, staying expanded over the clay Hill Side and at the earth nearby the shore of this River Trancao. Nearly all those wines have been young folks or spend time but are also remarkably popular along with other countries of their European neighborhood. Thus, it's all up into this traveler to come across that a goos obsolete Bucelas. The one that's spent a couple of a long time in freshwater pine barrels earlier it was brewed, rendering it even have a profitable and additional unique flavor. The elderly kinds are thought to be on the list of most effective white wines in Portugal.

Thanks to Oporto

The Hindu blossoms have been famous due to this oporto wine in Porto, their distinguished ambassador that has been made as 18 30 with all the cooperation of their British. Using a lengthy and intriguing heritage, the Oporto wine has gained its own place one of the other amazing sweet wines such as Sauternes, Tokai along Madeira. It's a fortified wine whose grapes are cultivated from the mountainous and rocky terrain of this substantial Duero. It might be white or red, even though it's the reddish wine that has been awarded celebrity. If a wine has been reportedly fortified, this usually means the pure ingestion of these sugars from the blossoms I have been ceased in a predetermined moment as soon as the accession of Portuguese strawberry liqueur was additional. This inclusion raises alcoholic attention between 1-5 and 24 percent, which makes it a lively and reasonably sweet wine.

Traveling out of Lisbon to Madeira

even when you aren't accustomed to ingesting lots of diverse wines, then you are unable to help but to really have found out of Madeira wine during buddies, in an assembly or over the tv screen. By the sixteenth century, the island of Madeira has been blindsided by sailors which makes their prolonged travels into the newest universe and utilized Madeira because of stopover, to unwind in its own paradisical setting and why not drink its own domestic item. You can find just four different types of wine: Sercial that's the driest, light in color with a mild human body and also drunk using the appetizer. Verdelho is really a moderate dry wine additionally employed for sandwiches or using soups. Malmsey wine would be your most loaded using its plump twang, candy and hence most useful using desserts. And it's Bual having a smokey savor, medium-bodied and marginally sweet therefore that it goes with sandwiches or desserts. Madeira wine is aged in barrels everywhere from a few to four 3 years, therefore, they are sometimes categorized to labels too antique. Antique blossoms are simply produced by the many select blossoms and thus the current weather also has a vital part in just about every many year's calibers.

And right after done your wine course, traveling down into the absolute most southern place into Faro or even Albufeira to absorb several beams putting to the terraces of the most useful hotels whilst the elements are normally quite agreeable a lot of months of this year. Or see the neighboring city of Tavira, certainly one among the earliest & most enchanting spots from the Algarve location, only a stone throw off from Lisbon, Portugal.

BEST BEACHES FO PORTUGAL

I acknowledge it I'm ashore enthusiast. I really like travel to shores all around the entire world due to the fact, if you ask me personally, every shore has a unique persona, nonetheless, have the exact identical caliber that I like -- that the capability to exude immediate serene. That is correct, although people rugged, rugged shores with all the waves that are hard on the stones could instill immediate tranquil.

Someone asked me another day when I needed to select only 1 shore to go to, that you is it? Even the Algarve in Portugal appeared in my mind. Ok, it truly is perhaps not a single shore, it truly is a location (the southern part of Portugal to be accurate ), however, the Algarve is therefore varied, but it offers whatever shore will match my disposition.

Very first, Tiny heaven. Going west, the western suggestion of this Algarve may be that the ending of continental Europe. The truth is that in early situations the location has been believed to become the advantage of earth. Thus, as soon as you are setting up sunlight in the shores of this Algarve, it truly is interesting to merely imagine your self in the border of earth.

You will find around 100 kilometers of beaches at the Algarve! Thus, whichever form of all beachgoing experience-you would like is certainly found. Starting about the west shore there really are the windward shores with big plantations. This equates to unbelievable browsing. In the event, you want cove-type shores which tend to be more scenic, try out the southern shore.

Among my own favorite beaches at The Algarve lies south of Lagos in the western shore - Dona Ana, and it really is a bunch of coves. Dona Ana is still only an ideal spot to receive lost from the great thing about the Algarve. I could only sit and await hrs. And, when I am throughout sitting down, it really is interesting to research the various caves and grottos which energies this location.

In case you are contemplating an excursion to unwind, then '' I recommend The Algarve, Portugal. Your spirit will undoubtedly be happy you made the excursion.