"5th European VT Meeting Portugal 2009 (29-31 May)" Euromeet09Portugal's Profile

WE MADE IT:-))). THANK YOU ALL!!!

Cascais waterfront

Welcome All!

For the attendees PLEASE go to the Meeting points & other important last minute info page where some important info is waiting for you.

Do you have some "free time" before / during / after the meeting? Maybe you can have a look at this "what to do list" - concerts, shows, festivities, and other activities in Lisbon area around the Euromeeting time.
Enjoy your time

As European (and foreign) VTeers have consolidated big events in the last 4 years, it is now time for another one.

Taking into account the logistics for an event like this (broad variety of accommodation, budget transportation availability, etc.) Lisbon area seems more appropriate as offers good facilities to welcome these large events. Moreover, owing to a Mediterranean type microclimate, the coast line around has mild winters and an ideal summer temperature which never gets too hot. The autumn is ideal and is like a second spring. In addition to that, it’s quite central in terms of country in order to allow people also to visit/stay in other places before/after the meeting.

Nevertheless, even Lisbon is too big and people will “disperse” easily. So we discussed with the headquarters and other well known and respected (by their number of stamps in passports and number of comments in VTpages) VTeers and we decided for CASCAIS as the “base camp”.

CASCAIS is a small cosmopolitan suburb of the Portuguese capital (30 km from Lisbon airport) and one of the richest municipalities in Portugal. The former fishing village gained fame as a resort for Portugal's royal family in the late 1800s and early 1900s (and some European princes and kings also lived there). Nowadays it is a popular vacation spot for both Portuguese and foreign tourists. It's a lovely place that offers nice walkings, sea, beach, good restaurants, good shopping and nice all budget accommodation.

>>>>> NEW PAGE : check for SCHEDULE and tentative PRICES<<<<<

The plans for now include:

i) During the “meeting”:

a) sightseeing LISBON , including downtown + main attractions + yummy custard tarts (pasteis de Belém) in BELÉM close to some of Lisbon icons –Jeronimos Monastery and Belém Tower - FRIDAY;

b) a visit to SINTRA (UNESCO heritage) and its palaces + an excursion to the westernmost tip of Europe - CABO DA ROCA - with a possible visit to the famous wines of Colares in between - SATURDAY;

c) walk around to visit CASCAIS - SUNDAY MORNING;

d) a bike tour from Cascais to Guincho beach -SUNDAY AFTERNOON - please subscribe this event on separate meeting page on May 31st

e) Lunches and/or dinners with traditional Portuguese dishes, so that you can taste our delicious food.

ii) 2 post-meeting tours including :

a) ÓBIDOS -a UNESCO heritage town inside a castle + Alcobaça (UNESCO heritage monastery) and Batalha monastery (around 100-120 km north of Lisbon) - MONDAY - please subscribe this event on separate meeting page on June 1st

b) ÉVORA - UNESCO heritage town + megalithic site (150km south of Lisbon) - TUESDAY - please subscribe this event on separate meeting page on June 2st

As some people already suggested some tips ,we will try to see if, within these dates, there are:

a) bullfights in any of the towns around (for those asking, bullfights in Portugal are different from Spain and the bulls are not killed on the arena)
b) any major concerts
c) other special events

Those who want to spend some more time around will have the possibility to:

a) spend more time in Lisbon area (and there are so many things to see);
b) go to the beaches around this area (some are quite famous as they are included in the world surf and windsurf championships);
c) go to the Estoril Casino - the largest casino in Europe (maybe some people will be hosted in hotels in Estoril, as it is next to Cascais);
d) go to Fado houses (we will see if we can fit 1 meal during the meeting in such a Fado house);
e) go to the Lisbon festivities (all month of June, mostly weekends) including the street parades and of course the typical food –sardines, wine, and green cabbage soup (caldo verde);
f) go to Algarve beaches (we will try to give you some tips and provide some deals about Algarve region);
g) pay a visit to Fatima (worship place);
h) stay in the northern part of the country (Porto, the wineries, the mountains)

We will provide some extra information about these places (we do have some local connections also) according to your questions/suggestions.
We will also soon provide advice and tips on accomodation, transportation, everything you need to come to this meeting! And some pictures, of course! You want to know and have an idea of the places you are going to visit!!

We will need and welcome input from VTeers for other topics and little by little we will put information and answer questions here in the page. Just visit this page from time to time, we will keep you updated :-)
And above all if you plan to come go to the meeting page and subscribe.

With our friendship and wishing you all the best until we welcome you in Portugal

The organizers

António (a2lopes) and Teresa (tere1)

The choice of the Euromeet09Portugal logo

the cockerel from Barcelos

If you think of Portugal what comes up to your mind?
Well that’s a good question.

You may come up with a postcard photo - a cliffy beach in Algarve, or maybe Belém Tower in Lisbon, or even the Vasco da Gama bridge (longest in Europe).
If you are interested in personalities and history maybe you can think of Henry the Navigator with his large Burgundian hat (at the monument to the Discoverers). Or if you like politics maybe you think of José Barroso, the president of the European Commission.
You may come up with a product -like a glass of Port wine or olive oil- or an artifact made of cork (Portugal produces over 50% of cork worldwide). You may choose a gastronomy item such as a yummy custard tart or a smoked pork meet sausage.
You may even come up with a cliché such as a Lisbon's yellow tram.

We are going to meet in Cascais; well, there are a few monuments or buildings that could be chosen as logo, like the citadel (fortress) or the recently renovated Santa Marta lighthouse, or even the nearby casino.
Now you see. It was tough to choose a logo for the Euromeet and we ended up choosing another cliché.

You may call it kitsch but the cockerel from Barcelos is kind of “unofficial symbol of Portugal”. It was even used as mascot for some big sport events organized in Portugal.

In any souvenir or tourist shop you will find the symbol represented by a colorful ceramic cockerel and the motif is embroidered in towels, aprons, stamped on key chains, paper weights, etc. Because of its lively colors, the cockerel of Barcelos is difficult not to notice wherever it appears. The motif seems to embody the love of life displayed by the Portuguese people. Nevertheless, I saw already cockerels painted in American, French or Swiss flags. And at an international arena this cockerel was the origin of the logo of the famous international food chain company -Nando’s-.

The symbol has its genesis in the history of Barcelos, a town located just east of Braga. The legend of the cockerel is so old that no one knows for sure the real source but it goes like that:

Back in the 14th C. at a banquet given by a rich landowner in Barcelos, a valuable piece of silver was stolen by a guest. The rich man accused a pilgrim on the way to Santiago de Compostela, and let him go to court. The pilgrim protested his innocence, but the judge didn't believe him and the penalty was death. Actually the judge wanted to quickly solve the question as he was hungry and was about to eat a roasted cockerel. Then the pilgrim said: “If I am innocent, may this cockerel get up and crow”. When the pilgrim was about to be hanged, and to everyone’s astonishment (and luckily for the pilgrim) the cockerel did rise and crowed heartily. The judge released the pilgrim and the story ends a few years later when the pilgrim returned and made a pottery statue over the event.

That’s why the cockerel is since then associated with the faith, the justice and the good luck.
We wish you good luck on your way to Cascais and we have faith that you will enjoy this meeting as much as we do.
Cheers

start your virtual tour

With this google functionality you can start your own photo search in Cascais area just to "smell" the ambiance and get used to the "topography"

We will put some more links meanwhile

Enjoy

Participants From All Over The World!

Following the bright idea from our German Karlsruhe Euromeeting friends, we are going to build our Travel Map with all the Vters that are coming to our Euromeeting in Portugal.

We are very happy that we already have so many Vters signed up to the Meeting from all over the world!

Intro Updated Jun 2, 2009
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Comments (96)

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leics May 30, 2012 at 11:24 AM

Agree with DAO. Hope you had a super birthday, but keep away from alcohol! :-)
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DAO May 29, 2012 at 3:44 AM

Happy Birthday !!! You are 3 years old today. No beer for you !
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Balam May 22, 2012 at 8:51 AM

Had a fantastic time, cant belive its 3 years ago! looking forward to Bergamo next week though.
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gubbi1 May 22, 2012 at 8:29 AM

Happy birthday! Euromeet 09, you are getting older and you have nice brothers and sisters. Looking forward to see your youngest. It's called Bergamo... :-)
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toonsarah May 29, 2011 at 1:13 AM

Such happy memories two years on :-)
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OH_DK May 22, 2011 at 12:27 AM

Happy Birthday Euromeet09Portugal - Im still thinking of our good memories ;-)
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ATLC May 22, 2011 at 12:08 AM

Happy 2nd birthday!
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lorrainece May 30, 2010 at 10:13 PM

Happy Birthday Euromeet 09 Portugal, it was a wonderful time and certainly look forward to catching up with everyone again ....somewhere???
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barbskie May 30, 2010 at 8:35 AM

It's a year now but my memories with you are still fresh in my mind. Happy Birthday!
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Ekaterinburg May 26, 2010 at 2:24 PM

Happy Birthday Euromeet 09. I think everyone would go back and do it all again, given the chance :)