We
all had an appointment at 6:30 am at the ground floor of our hotel. But the wake up at 6:00 am was so difficult that it remembered us the lyrics
of the old French song “I have shivers and I chatter“ (while some are convinced that we are on holidays !)
Today's program: Visit of the village of Monsaraz with its castle, located in the southern
Alentejo (Indeed, the Alentejo region, which is the largest region of
Portugal, is separated in two parts, the North Alentejo : Atler do Chao, and South Alentejo : Monsaraz). During the two hours by bus, the students
were able to observe what we previously learnt about the colors
on the facades of houses (cf. post of Tuesday).
They also discovered how the trio of DD occupied their nights. Instead of sleeping peacefully, they torture their brain to invent games for the day. They explained to students that today, at any moment they can announce a “you have to speak English, please, for X minutes”. The stress of our friends quickly raised. However, this activity revealed itself rather funny and everyone participated in the spirit of the game. Of course we didn't miss an opportunity to remind the “DD” that they have to speak English, all together we said “In English please”. Concerning Mrs Faille, we must say she is not very gifted in English, but she made enormous progress during the stay, we award her a big potential, she can progress!
They also discovered how the trio of DD occupied their nights. Instead of sleeping peacefully, they torture their brain to invent games for the day. They explained to students that today, at any moment they can announce a “you have to speak English, please, for X minutes”. The stress of our friends quickly raised. However, this activity revealed itself rather funny and everyone participated in the spirit of the game. Of course we didn't miss an opportunity to remind the “DD” that they have to speak English, all together we said “In English please”. Concerning Mrs Faille, we must say she is not very gifted in English, but she made enormous progress during the stay, we award her a big potential, she can progress!
The
village of Monsaraz is located high on a hill in Alentejo, we can't say that this looks like our Savoyard mountains, it is rather the
opposite. In this picturesque village protected by the ramparts of
the medieval castle, we were stupefied by the panaromic view it offers
on the lake d’Alqueva (the biggest artificial lake of
Europe).
"Salut
tout le monde ! Aujourd'hui nous avons visité un magnifique
château. Nous voyons un splendide paysage, regardez !
Hi
everybody ! Today we visited the castle and we have a beautiful
landscape in front of me, look !"
At
the center of the town, there is a baroque church in which there is the
sarcophagus of the
first mayor of the town. We did not expect to see that!
If you walk in the area, you can also enjoy the place in one of the many guest room, and do your shopping in artisanal boutiques. Welcome to the reign of the pottery in terracotta: painted or not, every types of objects (plates, dishes, bowls, cups). Some of us bought souvenirs for families.
In
the bend of tower, we discover the access to an arena. One minute after that, we had already two friends playing to
corrida. “-Hey bull, bull!!!”
Conclusion:
Monsaraz is a quiet village, where you don't meet many people but
which offers magnificent landscape and a quiet walk.
Four
clowns: Roman,
Grégory, Loïc and Damien.
Seems like you people had fun out there and thanks for sharing such informative blog with us. Pictures look beautiful and you have just made me eager to visit the place
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