Here is what my day consists of;

6 am. Get my big Azorean butt outta bed (your read right-Azorean. Nine islands in the middle of the freezing Atlantic Ocean. They are closer to mainland Portugal than the middle actually) and jump in the shower.

6:15. Finish locating some underwear and an outfit. I believe in spontaneity so I don't pick out my clothes the night before.

6:20. I drag my feet to the coffee maker and pour myself a cup of steaming black coffee (I don't like taking it with sugar or milk)

6:21. I plop myself in front of the tube to hear the news-lately none of it good.

6:25. I flip through channels to distract me from the reality of what is going on in the world.

6:40. I get up and get my crap together (this consists of my purse, lunchbag, coat, carkeys & cell)

6:50. Finally get to my car and start "Betsy" up and make my way to the parkway.

7:10ish. I am in my companies parking lot. I dread going in. I really hate working there...People here are "sucky"

7:20. I finally get myself together and slowly make my way to the office in the middle of the plant. Crappy office. I feel like a mushroom.

Well, I would go on second even minutes to what consists of my work day but it sucks and I wouldn't want to subject anyone to any kind of mental anguish.

4:30pm-Yahoo! My workday is over!

5pm. I am back home to enjoy what is left of my life to live other than work.

Visit Porto, Portugal today to celebrate over 251 years of wine making at the Porto Wine Harvest. This grape crushing event is held annually from September to October in Porto and along the Rio Douro River.

Continue reading about the Porto Wine Harvest in Porto, Spain…

There are many affordable Portuguese vacation packages if you’re planning a trip to Portugal. From guided Portuguese tours to setting out on your own via an Independent tour of Portugal, exploring Portugal is easy. When planning your vacation, there are many options for discount packages to Portugal and Spain where visitors can customize their Portuguese vacation to include soaking up the sun while visiting the beaches in Portugal or take a Portuguese wine tour or plan a family getaway to Portugal.

Read complete article here…

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           Localizado no norte do litoral do Estado do Paraná, na entrada da Baia de Paranaguá, a Ilha do Mel vem sendo visitada por pessoas de todo mundo e não fica difícil entender porque. São 2.762 hectares de mata preservada e um perímetro total de 35 kms. formado principalmente por praias e alguns manguezais. Situado entre um complexo de parques estaduais e federais a Ilha do Mel foi transformada em estação ecológica pela UNESCO e atualmente é um Parque Estadual visando a preservação das suas riquezas e belezas naturais únicas.

           Sua paisagem singular  proporciona ao visitante passeios inesquecíveis por suas praias, costões, trilhas, matas, morros, mangues e ilhas próximas. Isso sem falar nos monumentos históricos e nas diversas opções de lazer e esporte sendo o surf, bodyboarding, trekking, canoagem, vela, pesca esportiva e até paragliding bastante praticados. 

Playa de Mosqueiros en San Miguel de Azores. Julio de 2005.

La naturaleza colorea la isla de San Miguel de Azores. FOTO: Rocío Mendoza. JULIO DE 2005

Sete Cidades - São Miguel Island

Através do blog oficial do PlayStation, Arne Meyer, gerente sênior geral de comunicação de marketing da Naughty Dog, divulgou que o sistema de troféus foram acrescentados para "Uncharted: Drake's Fortune". A atualização, de 13 MB, é feita automaticamente e requer uma conexão de internet.

Na verdade, as 47 conquistas do game são feitos da mesma maneira como se ganha as medalhas, mas, mesmo quem já as possui, tem que jogar de novo, pois, para liberar os troféus, é preciso iniciar uma nova partida, sem resgatar o "save" antigo.

Os troféus são liberados, basicamente, ao conseguir os tesouros, matar certo número de oponentes de diversas maneiras - com brutal combos, com um único soco, com tiros da cabeça ou usando cada uma das armas -, ou terminando jogo nos diversos níveis de dificuldade.

Strelitzia reginae - kolibrikukka

Ponta Delgada, Azores 20.2.2008

Strelitzia reginae - kolibrikukka

Ponta Delgada, Azores 25.2.2008

Strelitzia reginae - kolibrikukka

Ponta Delgada, Azores 25.2.2008

Strelitzia reginae - kolibrikukka

Ponta Delgada, Azores 25.2.2008

Strelitzia reginae - kolibrikukka

Ponta Delgada, Azores 25.2.2008

Have no idea of the plant!

Try it yourself! - Ota näistä selvää!

Vila Franca do Campo, Azores 20.2.2008

When I think of natural sounds, I think of being at some less-than-satisfying massage place somewhere in the city, where my masseuse of the day has hit play on sounds meant to ‘calm’ and/ or ‘quieten’ my senses.  In these circumstances, being at the ocean’s edge in Big Sur, CA seems comically irrelevant as I lay down for my massage in a small thread-bare room in NYC.  Perhaps, that’s because the music is usually mixed with some god awful wind instrument which probably requires smoking hash to truly appreciate.

On the flip side of awful, wildsanctuary.com delivers 3,500 hours of natural soundscapes including 15,000 species as recorded by Dr. Bernie Krause.  Krause’s mission is to record sound environments from all over the world before they disappear, overburdened by the sounds of man and machinery.  To date, Krause claims that over 40% of the sound environments he has recorded have been destroyed.

Check out the Google XML overlayer (above) to hear sounds from all over the world.  Check out the Azores in Portugal for something particularly hilarious.  Perfect prank?  Set this soundscape off in the living room while a loved one is napping.  And then, send me the photos. . .

One more thing:

For anyone who has visited Big Sur, CA, you are aware of the truly majestic beauty of the area.  I was just in Big Sur in May and cringe when I think of the thousands of acres burned in such a pristine natural preserve.

As of this posting, the wildfires have been raging in Big Sur for about a week and a mandatory evacuation order has been issued.  The above site, Surfire2008.org offers a community for those displaced by the fire.  If you’re in the CA area, there are areas on the site where you can offer housing or volunteer.  For those not in the area, information on donating to the Big Sur Fire Relief Fund is included in the bottom right corner.  Click here or on the image above for the homepage.  Full unofficial reports from those on the ground are available on the blog.

Anywho, the grand push to keep snail mail alive continues. If you want a postcard, just shoot me a note under Postcard Swap!

Zantedeschia aethiopica - calla

Jardim Jose Do Canto, Ponta Delgada, Azores 23.2.2008

I attended a tasting at the Portuguese Embassy not long ago highlighting the top whites of Portugal. The wines were selected by Charles Metcalfe, Sarah Jane Evans MW and David Lopes Ramos, all authorities on Portuguese wine, sponsored by the Independent Winegrowers' Association. There were 61 wines from 51 producers. It's exciting to learn that there are so many new (to me) white wines coming from Portugal.

The lions share of whites came from the Douro but there were also representatives from most of the other wine producing regions of Portugal, even one from the Azores. What I find most interesting is the sheer exoticness of varietals that are used. Grapes like Antao Vaz,Arinto, Terrantez, Roupeiro, Encruzado, Bical, Cercial, Gouveio, Viosinho, Rabigato, Malvasia fina, and my favourite, if only because of it's name, Maria Gomes. All so alluring and romantic, even more so when said in Portuguese, to these ears that are more accustomed to French or even Italian varietal names. And overall, the quality was excellent.

The wines ran the gamut from light and fruity to full bodied and elegant, with plenty of fruit character but still able to go harmoniously with a meal. Of course, there were wines I didn't particularly care for, but in general all were well made and only the samples at the very low end of the price spectrum were disappointing but then again what can you expect for 2 euros?

For some new and exciting white wines, Portugal is definitely worth seeking out.

TONIGHT 2PM, LIVE MUSIC with Peltzer Hirano (Rui Gaio).

Direct Teleport to the island.

Pappa frågade lite om kameran, han har fått låna min digitala systemare. Så han är lite ovan och behöver tips. Inte för att jag kan ge han så många men men, hehe! Han frågade om man kunde använda ett 512 SD-kort till EOS:en för han hade hittat ett sånt i min kameraväska, söt han e :)

(För er som inte är så insatta, som min pappa, så är ett SD-kort ganska litet jämfört med det kortet (CF) som ska va till en EOS.) Frågade om CF:et med 2 Gb inte räckte? Men det gjorde det nog kom vi fram till, hehe! Skulle han mot förmodan knäppa allt för många bilder så vet jag att han kan plocka bort minst 20 bilder med mamma och nån exotisk planta, haha! Min mammas specialitet vid utlandssemestrar, posera framför konstiga palmer eller jättestora buskar "som vi bara har i kruka hemma". Jag och pappa skrattar lika mkt varje gång de kommer hem från semestern och ska visa foton de tagit.

Men jag älskar dom för det! :)  

Här hade de varit idag, blir man lite avundssjuk eller??

In Atlanta I met up with another frequent travel buddy of mine, the Snowman - not of Cannibal! The Musical fame, though he'll take credit when it comes up. We've traveled New Zealand, Australia, Japan and all over the US together. Tonight, we travel to the island of Sao Miguel in the Azores.

Here are highlights of our trip to Boston! Gotta run to dinner and the airport!

~Michael