Showing posts with label Portugal. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Portugal. Show all posts
Spain and Portugal Beaches
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
There is no better escape from the hassle and stress of life in the city than taking a vacation on one of the stunning beaches in the world. The luxury of feeling the warmth of the sun shining on your body, giving you that tanned and sun kissed look. More than perfecting a tan is the feeling of serenity, calming fresh air and the soothing and relaxing water hitting your feet. These simple pleasures are enough reasons to plan a vacation to one of the most popular beaches in the world. Aside from this, you can also feel the fresh breeze coming off the ocean, a great way to combat the heat. Walking on the sand is one of the many things I enjoy while "beaching". We are fortunate to have access to some of the most breathtaking beaches known to mankind. You can find some really beautiful beaches in our world to fascinate you. In this article, I will share with you some of the famous beaches you can visit in Spain and Portugal.
Spain oh Spain! How I love your journey of beaches! Spain is surrounded by water on three sides and therefore the country has many beautiful beaches, which are known to be the best in the world. Since there are so many beaches to choose from, visitors are often confused on where to go. Below describes some of the most popular picks of Spain's beaches.
Playa Concha in San Sebastian - La Concha beach is considered as one of the best beaches of the European beach cities. It is located in the city of San Sebastian, which is a popular tourist destination in Spain. The city is credited with originating tapas or appetizers, which you will find served in abundance here of the hot and cold variety. The La Concha beach is known for providing visitors with a lot of water sports such as kayaking, canoeing and windsurfing.
Playa de Estorde - This beach is located about 80 km southwest of La Coruna, in Galicia. Playa de Estorde is a very long beach, which stretches of about 500 km, and is pure white sand and amazing aquamarine water. A truly amazing way to spend a romantic vacation, honeymoon or adventure!
Playa de Estorde - This beach is located about 80 km southwest of La Coruna, in Galicia. Playa de Estorde is a very long beach, which stretches of about 500 km, and is pure white sand and amazing aquamarine water. A truly amazing way to spend a romantic vacation, honeymoon or adventure!
Costa del Sol - Consider the most popular series of beaches in Spain, Costa del Sol is particularly well-known for being the venues of the party-going crowd. Located on the southern coast of Spain, these beaches tend to be very crowded. Brits and Germans regularly spend holidays in Costa del Sol and many own vacation homes here. But if you want, you can go off track to find some calm beaches.
Second would be the country of Portugal which claims as its main attraction their famous and beautiful beaches. Portugal beaches are certified by FEE as blue flag beaches making it ideal for families. Safe for all and environmentally aware, Portugal's 800 kilometers of coastline is a great way to spend your vacation any time of the year!
Algarve - One of the most famous beaches in this area is the 6 km long Praia de Falesia or "beach town". Especially popular with German and British tourists are the resorts of Albufeira and Vilamoura. Praia de Falesia is a paradise for lovers of sun and is located in a quiet setting along the southern coast of Portugal. Other popular beaches in the Algarve region are: Praia da Gale, Albufeira and Meia Praia in Lagos. Meia Praia would be the choice for families and those seeking calmer waters, as it is protected by a large bay near Alvor Praia Praia da Rocha / Portimao.
Alentejo - Stretching from the Algarve to the Sado Estuary this rugged coastline is also graced with many 16px beaches. Most of them are secluded in coves along the coast which require transportation by car from the airport or inland area. Vila Nova de Milfontes is an exception since it can be accessed by bus from Lisbon. Other beaches that should not be missed are Gale Melides, Santo André, Porto Covo, and Almograve Zambujeira do Mar. Alentejo is becoming a retreat for Northern Europeans looking to escape their overcrowded countries.
Lisbon or Sintra Coast - The popular resort of Lisbon is mainly occupied by Costa da Caparica a large sandy beach which is very busy and very popular especially during the summer in Portugal. It is popular for sunbathing, enjoying the cafes and bars and surfing as well. The Sintra-Cascais Natural Park is one of the 13 Natural Parks of Portugal. Other beaches to visit along the coastal region are the beaches of Sesimbra and Portinho da Arrábida beach. These beautiful beaches are relatively quiet and extremely popular among divers.
Looking for more details about beach carts? Visit Sally's site on how to choose the best beach gear for your days at the beach.
Portugal feeling Spanish slight
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Immediately after it qualified by winning its group, the team favoured to win this World Cup said it was happy it finished first so it could avoid playing Brazil.
That didn't sit very well with the team Spain will play . . . Portugal.
Portugal was made to feel like a second-class citizen and while most people would like to avoid Brazil, Portugal believes it can cause Spain the same problems as the Brazilians.
It will get that chance Tuesday when the two play the last knockout game before the quarter-finals in Cape Town.
Both Brazil and Portugal are skilled teams with skilled players. Both move the ball with speed and precision and can control play for long periods of time.
Even though the first-round game between Portugal and Brazil didn't mean much and ended 0-0, Portugal did enough to show that it is far more in form than when it struggled to qualify for this tournament.
The Portuguese also put together the most dominating performance in this tournament, a 7-0 win over North Korea.
More importantly, Portugal believes it can play with anyone.
It caused Spanish coach Vincente Del Bosque to avoid upsetting Portugal again.
"We've seen how they controlled the game against Brazil, hitting them on the counter-attack," he said. "Portugal is going to be a very tough side. I take no satisfaction from the fact we're up against Portugal instead of Brazil. They are both great national teams."
Portuguese player Simao believes other teams that can win the World Cup have been forgotten because so much focus has been on Spain and Brazil.
"Everybody is talking about Spain all the time," he said. "Sure, we have a lot of respect for them as well and they are the European champions.
"But that does not rule out what we've done over the last couple of years."
Portugal finished fourth at the 2006 World Cup in Germany, reached the semifinals of the 2000 European championship and made the final of the same competition four years later.
But Spain is confident for good reason.
After a loss to Switzerland, it came back to win two big games.
That's not the kind of response the Spanish would have had before they won their European title. A catastrophe like a loss to Switzerland would have caused Spain to go into a death spiral.
Instead, the Spanish confidence is on the rise and they believe they have La Furia Roja express back on track.
It helps that striker David Villa has been one of the top three forwards in the tournament, joining Lionel Messi of Argentina and Diego Forlan of Uruguay.
Portugal will need to continue to play the kind of defensive soccer that has allowed it to shut down the opposition completely in 22 of its last 26 internationals.
If the Portugese can do that, they may not have to worry about getting the same respect as teams like Spain and Brazil.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)