Helena Out and About

Há várias maneiras de viajar, até, sem sair do lugar, quer seja através da literatura, do cinema ou mesmo da gastronomia. Por estes dias, com tempo de sobra e com as minhas viagens ao Médio Oriente canceladas,  lembrei-me de fazer uma das minhas sobremesas preferidas: Mahalabia (pudim de leite). Este doce pode ser encontrada por todo o Médio Oriente, com ligeiras diferenças no nome e nos ingredientes, mas delicioso em todas as suas variantes. Esta sobremesa lembra-me as papas de maizena, mas na verdade tem um sabor completamente diferente. Em Portugal usamos casca de limão e pau de canela para aromatizar o leite, enquanto no Médio Oriente, dependendo da zona, se utilizam ingredientes como cardamomo, água de flor de laranjeira, água de rosas e goma de Mástique (uma goma extraída da árvore com o mesmo nome), e que lhe dá um sabor único. O sabor lembra-me o cheiro dos pinheiros, se é que isto faz algum sentido. A receita saiu da minha coleção de livros de gastronomia do mundo. In...

If you are in Orkney, one of the programs available is to take a flight to enjoy the views from the skies of one of the most beautiful places in the world. This tiny aeroplanes are not touristic aeroplanes, their main duty is to transport passengers between  islands because some of the routs cannot be done by boat. After four days waking up really early to try to get two seats to do the sightseeing, I had decided that I didn’t want to go on a flight because it was pouring rain on that day.I had agreed with Richard that wasn’t a good idea even though he decided to call the company at 6 or 7am. Obviously with that whether there were free seats for the crazy people who wanted to go on a sightseeing flight. Before I had time to woke up properly, flights were booked and paid. We flew from Kirkwall to North Ronaldsay and Westray & Papay. Altogether the flight took around 30 minutes and it was a great program. We could enjoy the beautiful views and fly the shortest commercial fligh...

What to expect from a holiday in Morocco? Riads, Beaches, souks, Beautiful colours orange blossom and other friggin since warm weather sunshine mountains exotic spices culture art welcoming people deserts the shade of citrus and palm trees the freshest fish tasty vegetables Sunripe sweet fruits delicious freshly baked bread and much more wonderful adventures waiting for you in Morocco.

ANIMA - The most beautiful and magical garden that I have ever seen in my life. Only 27 km away from Marrakesh, located in the Ourika Valley. It is a very comfortable journey on a shuttle, that departs from the city centre (behind the Koutoubia mosque), and is included in the price of the ticket (120MAD for adults). I wish my words could express all the beautiful magical sensations that this place brings to me. It’s very calm and peaceful, and inspires contemplation and  exploring all your senses. A new surprise around each corner, the smell of blossom flowers, beautiful sculptures hidden among the vegetation… The   Garden was imagined by Austrian artist  André Heller and combines nature and art, and seems straight out of a dream. It is a dream world to enjoy.If I have to choose a word to relate to my experience I would say "SURPRISE". As mentioned in the website” Universal artist André Heller’s opulent, two- hectare botanical staging is a magical place os sensuality, o...

Right in the centre of Venice, at San Marco Piazza, is one of the most iconic cafes in Venice.The price might put some people off from going there, but if you can afford, I really recommend that you go and enjoy it, because when you pay for a coffee,  a Campari, a Negroni  or whatever you are drinking, or eating, you’re not only paying for that. You are paying for the view, for the atmosphere, for the music, for the history, for the energy of the place, not the mention that all products have great quality. I will remember forever being sitting there, in front of the band, in a warm Summer day, having my Campari, celebrating my 40th birthday with Richard, and being serenade, by the lovely band with the music “falling in love with you” by Elvis Presley. The service, the food, the view, the band, everything was wonderful, but there was something else, that I don’t know what it is, that created some sort of magic in that afternoon, that forever will bring a smile to my face. ...

13th of September 2019. This was the day that a long time dream started becoming a reality. Since I first had contact with Arabic writing, I was fascinated by the beauty of it.I was quite a young girl and I remember thinking how is this possible that someone can understand all these scribbles It looked so flawless and so exotic. Living in Portugal, didn’t make it easy for me to learn Arabic, specially because things like Internet were not an option when I was younger. With the time I start travelling and visited lots of Arabic countries, and my passion for understanding not only the writing but the spoken language just grew. But then you know, you need to find the time, the resources, the place to study and time goes bye. By mid 2019, when I was looking at the list of resolutions that I had created for 2019, I realised that only two goals were missing, and one of them was to learn a new language.I decided that was the time to go for it, and luckily the Anglo-Omani are Society, that I...

When I think about my trip with Iceland with my sister, my heart is full of happiness. I decided to book this trip right after the new year`s resolution. I had included on my list a trip with my sister to somewhere amazing, just the two of us, having fun as just good sisters can have. I decided to book the trip before telling her (SURPRISE)  and after having had half a bottle of red wine(NOT WISE). So first I started by getting tickets from London to Reykjavík.Part one was DONE!.And then second part: get a ticket from Portugal to London for  my sister. DONE!Part three:inform my sister that she needs to find the time to come on holiday with me. DONE, but with a PROBLEM!I think the wine didn’t help me to remember that, in fact, my sister´s surname is not the same as mine as she is married. PANIC.Contact the airline to change the name and, of course, the price to change the name is  the same as getting a new ticket.I got new tickets. Then time to start looking for accommo...

Family recipes have the superpower of taking us back to places that don’t exist anymore and make us feel like we are close to the ones we love. I am having a lot of fun collecting, testing and organising family recipes. Today I have made my granny’s Nogados, and, OMG, It’s just like being back in Alentejo, o,r opening the big cardboard pack, full of sweets, that she used to send to our home in Lisbon before Christmas. Granny Linda had a very temperamental personally but we all loved her so much and no doubt that her grandchildren were the most important thing in the world. She didn’t enjoy cooking savoury but she absolutely loved to produce beautiful sweets for all her grandchildren. Before Christmas or Easter she would take a big cardboard box lined it with the most white sheet you can possibly imagine, and she would put her dedicate sweets inside and wrap it carefully. Sweets usually involved a lot of sugar or honey, so they kept for a long time. Then my grandfather Manuel would car...

By the title of this post you can easily understand that I absolutely love Essaouira. Actually, it’s not a secret that I absolutely love Morocco. I have visited the country quite a few times, but every visit is just like the first one: the same excitement, the same curiosity, the same felling if discovering new things!My latest trip was quite special because Richard went with me. He had a completely different idea about Morocco when he arrived and he left  surrendered to the country and it’s people. This trip was also special because is the first time that I visited an Arab speaking country, after having started my Arabic classes,  and it was amazing to have the chance to practice. Anyway about Essaouira, what not to like? A city by the sea not too far from Marrakesh with blue skies and a small Medina. The perfect place for a weekend break. You can enjoy the best of Morocco: Delicious food, shop local and artesanal products, eat delicious fish, enjoy some tea and read a book...