Weekend in pictures

Regardless the rain on Saturday, the Bristol Harbour Festival did not disappoint. Awesome music concerts spread around the waterfront, amazing dog and jet-skiing displays on the water, interesting dance performances and beautifully decorated stalls around the city. We are already looking forward to the festival next year! Meanwhile, I hope you enjoy a set of pictures I took along this weekend. ...

Harbour Festival: Bristol's maritime heritage

26th - 28th July 2013 Bristol's biggest free festival is approaching. The 42nd edition of Bristol Harbour Festival will take place this following weekend around the waterfront. The  city celebrates its maritime heritage with a festival since 1971 with over 250,000 visitors coming to enjoy live music, street performance and other kind of live entertainments happening in Bristol. The waterfront becomes the focal...

One hell of a thunderstorm

The sound of the rain against the windowpane woke me up last night. It has been long since it didn't rain as heavily in Bristol and the massive thunderstorm last night was quite scary. I found myself hidding below the duvet and counting between lightning and thunder, as I used to do when I was younger. 1, 2, 3, 4... 5! One mile away! Relief. One of them, however, striked very close as we heard a huge "booom" right after the thunder, followed by...

Angry Birds: Seagulls!

Noisy, violent, filthy, aggresive... Our new neighbours damage buildings, wake you up untimely, defecate on you and steal your food from your own plate, if they have the opportunity. Our lovely friends the Herring gulls (commonly known as seagulls) are enormous four-and-a-half feet birds who can fly 60mph. The cry of the bird is usually associated with seaside locations but not any more. They are everywhere, and any time.  Apparently,...

Wolf! Wolf! Wolf!

Who has never heard the story of a shepherd boy repeatedly tricking nearby villagers into thinking a wolf is coming to attack his flock, and when a wolf actually does appear, villagers do not trust the boy's cries for help, and the flock gets destroyed? It doesn't mean that I was a liar when I was a child, but I've heard that story coming from my parents more than once. Perhaps, that is what avoided me from being a liar. And old portuguese...

Gert Lush!

Someone once told me Bristolians are the only people living in a city that talk like countryside farmers. I don't personally know many Bristolians, maybe two or three at work, but I have to admit their English is  peculiar. So, I did some online research on the Bristolian accent. There are so many dialects in the English language, and Bristolian is part of the West Country dialects. Academically, the region encompasses the city of Bristol...

All lizards love to lie in the sun

All lizards love to lie in the sun. As if they were lizards, Bristolians have been lying in the sun with their legs hanging down the harbourside whole week. A perfect plan: finish the working day and grab some beers to enjoy them until the sun hides behind the buildings in Clifton. For the past few weeks, we have been able to enjoy a very summery weather, with temperatures reaching 25ºC and apparently summer came to stay at least for another...

The Arts House

I love coffee, I love chill-out music and I love reading. The Arts House is a place that provides all of that: good coffee, relaxing atmosphere and comfortable couches to feel as if you were at your own place. It is located in Stokes Croft and  it is a very beautifully decorated coffee-shop in the corner with Ashley Road. It offers a platform for local artists to show their work in the ground floor and every Monday and Tuesday evening, the...

Bristol Pride 2013

I have to confess: I don't love chocolate. It is surprising, I know. People react the same way when I say it: "Why not?!". Basically, the amount of sugar it has is just too much for me.  Not everybody loves chocolate (or pies, or sweets...). Not everybody loves what are "supposed to" love. Even in modern countries, accepting that fact has been a challenge for certain people yet. As far as I am concerned, "variety is the spice of life". Some...

Well done, Murray!

Millenium Square has been the meeting spot for around 3000 people to watch in a big screen the Wimbledon final between the Scottish Andy Murray and Serbian Novak Djokovic this afternoon. After 77 years without any Briton winning the title, Murray beat Djokovic with straight-sets victory in the 2013 Wimbledon Men's Singles Final. And for me, the first time to watch an entire tennis match! :)The Big Screen in Bristol is part of the UK's largest network...

Property on Sale: Clifton Observatory

TO BE SOLD Exciting property! Consider benefits of owning a historic building right in Clifton Down.  Investment and leisure opportunity. Freehold for one of the top five tourist attraction in major city. The property includes: historic observatory building, caves and camera obscura. Purchase also includes permission for a licensed restaurant with terrace. The historic building of Clifton Observatory which is located in Clifton...

Where is Gromit?

Today, 1st July, is the official kick-off day for the Gromit Unleashed public art exhibition. Even though some of the sculptures were already in place during the weekend, all 80 Gromits will be guarding Bristol for ten weeks, until the 8th September.  The giant fibreglass sculptures of Gromit are 5 feet tall, and have been individually designed and created by invited artists, creating a train of unique pieces of art.    If...