Friday November 11th Erasmus Portugal

Thomas's blog entry

At the start of the day, we went to Porto,
where a tour guide greeted us. We then
went to the “majestic café”, where J.K
Rowling apparently wrote the first part of
Harry Potter, although it could also be
that she did teacher stuff in there. We
then went to the main square, in which
the most beautiful McDoanalds is located. 

Roasting chestnuts 

Street shoe polishers

Inside McDonald's 

After that, we went to a library named Leilu,
in which J.K Rowling took insperation
for Dumbledor´s Office. After that we
went to a train station, which had to be
opened 3 times. The first time there
weren´t enougth doors, the second time
there was no ticket office, and the third
time it finally worked. Inside there were
also beutiful mosaics.

Portrayal of Portuguese prince taking the hand of princess of Lancaster in 1500's.

After that we went to the twin bridge which were made by

Gustave Eiffel and his pupil.

Famous library featured in Harry Potter

Teya's blog entry

On Friday, we went on a guided tour of Porto where we saw amazing attraction including the worlds most beautiful McDonalds! We then went for a meal at a really posh 5 star hotel. The food was brilliant and I had an amazing time. We took lots of pictures together to keep forever. I had such an amazing trip! Going to miss you loads Portugal!!! 😘😭❤

Back at school working on collaborative presentations

And that's it! A truly amazing full of adventure and learning. The week was non stop, packed with visits to school, teaching meetings, eating and learning! An unforgettable week in Portugal. 

Thursday November 10th Erasmus +

View from the early "telescope" at the historic church. 

Holly's blog entry:

Today was a really exciting day! First, we went to the Museum on the Rue de Flores. This was a beautiful street with lots of souvenir shops and we each bought something to take back home. In the Museum, we visited an intricately designed church and some galleries with benefactors of the place. It was interesting to find out about their lives and the traditions of Porto. Then, we visited a chocolatier café, and each had a nutella crepe. It tasted amazing, but we were really full afterwards! Soon, we got back on the coach and arrived at a modern shopping centre. In here, we spent some money in well-known shops but also Portugese shops. The Erasmus+ Group also visited a Retail Outlet, where everyone picked up some great bargains! Finally, after spending a lot of our money and feeling very full, we returned home. I really enjoyed seeing new shops today, and exploring the thin streets of Porto, which were all very pretty.

Teya's blog entry:

Toady we went to a famous church at 9:00 am. We were very tired but it was cool. We listened to the history of the church and all the paintings in there. We then went for a wander round the village and went into some of the tourists' shops. Me, Lucy, Holly and Tal went to a Nutella restaurant and I bought some waffle like food that had a Nutella dip and cream. It was absolutely gorgeous. Then we got in the coach for a while and drove to a shopping centre where we spent 3/4 of our time in Primark! 😆 it was great fun, and we thought that was all, however, we then drove to ANOTHER shopping centre and spent another hour and a half in there! It was brilliant fun and I spent most of my money!! I then got home for Érica's birthday and all her family came around and we had some really tasty food! It was really great fun!

Only dignitaries were allowed to sit here in the 15th century! Way to go Teya and Lucy. 😄

Lucy's blog -Thurday:

Today was an an early start because we had lots to do. We went to a church and listened to to the history of the Church as well as walk round the museum of painted portraits. After, we were allowed to look around the historic town of Ferreira da silva. Me, Holly, Teya and Tal went into a Nutella cafe and ate crepes which were so tasty 😋. My favourite part was when we went shopping to Norteshopping centre where I explored new shops and Primark where we spent 3/4 of the time. This was where we spent most of the time buying new clothes and accessories as well as the retail outlet. There were a few well known English shops but I enjoyed the new ones and walking the beautiful thin streets of Porto. It was such an amazing day and everyone enjoyed it.

Churros of Portugal 

Famous for its sardines ! 

Group photo outside of the museum 

Tom's blog entry:

Today we had to arrive at school for 7:15 so we were able to get to Porto on time.  When we got to Porto Timo (German student) and I walked around and visited the shops looking for souvenirs. We then went to a museum that was an old church. We had a tour of the museum looking at all the portraits of people who had contributed financially to the church. After the visit we had a bit of free time for souvenir shopping and then returned to the coach to visit a shopping centre in Porto. Timo, Duarte (my host) and I went into the many shops and had KFC for lunch. We then got back on the coach to go to a shopping outlet where there was a Nike shop! I got two pairs of shoes for under €60 !!! After the Nike shop we went into some great clothing shops. We then got back on the coach back to the school to be picked up and taken back to our host's house. 

Wednesday November 10th Erasmus +

Today was a very busy day with the students in lessons in the morning and meetings for teachers. Following this we visited two very important museums: the pencil factory, which is a large employer in the region and the hat museum that also was a profitable company supplying Britsh police and western Cowboys hats for many years until it's recent closure. 

We visited another secondary school that was quite modern and had lunch there. We then had a late afternoon of visiting Porto city and took a boat tour on the river passing some beautiful sights and buildings of the city. 

There was also a shoe museum! 

At the hat museum, obviously!

Tom's Blog entry:

Today when we got to school we had to go to another Portuguese lesson . I went into biology with two students from Germany. We learnt about the earth's crust,mantle and core ,which I learnt in geography. After the lesson ended yet again we had another coffee break where I played table football against some Portuguese students. We then got on a coach to drive to a museum centre. When we arrived we had to put on a lab coat and an ear piece which we had to share. I shared mine with Timo, a German student. We then left the centre and went to a factory that had been making pencils for a long time . We got a tour around the factory seeing all the machines running and the history of them. Unfortunately for me the bottom of my shoes are white so when I went in the pencil museum the grafite dust turned the bottom of my shoes black. We then got back on the coach to go to the hat museum. At the start of the tour we got told how that rabbit fur was used to make hats . Apparently a hat needs the fur of six rabbits !!! We got shown a very large hat which is the start of the hat making process because to get the shape of the hat they needed to use hot water which will shrink the hat . We then got told that the men who used to work at factory when getting the hat to its shape they would have to use steam so when the men shaped them they were still was very hot.
We then returned are coats and ear pieces and then got back on the coach to head to Porto. When we arrived we all went a boat tour around Porto , there were many amazing sights . When we got off the boat we went to Porto Cruz which is a wine museum which the teachers enjoyed very much because thay got tasters. Me and Timo went to the top of the building to the 360 louge where the view was astonishing. Finally we got the coach back to school and then headed back to are host house.

Lots of fun today too! 

Holly's Blog entry:

This morning, we sat in lessons at school. I sat in a music lesson, where all the children were singing African songs and practising the clarinet. It was nice to see how enthusiastic they all were. After break, we headed to the pencil museum. Inside this factory, you could see the whole production process, and it was strangely exciting! We were all looking forward to going to the shop after. We also toured the hat museum, and tried on silly hats, whilst learning the history behind the manufacturing, then drove to Porto. The Erasmus+ Group took a tour on the Rio Douro and the views were stunning. Our group then went to a nearby café, where we sat, had drinks and bought souvenirs. My favourite part of today was the boat trip because it was so beautiful- I can't wait to go back tomorrow. 

Coloured pencils ready for sharpening. We all have a new appreciation for pencils! Very interesting factory. They take orders from museums and cities such as MOMA in New York and Barcelona Gugenheim. They supply many universities and various businesses around the globe!  

The beautiful Douro river! 

Talja's Blog entry -- On Wednesday we went to school and had a lesson with the other pupils. It was a physics lesson and it was with the 7th grade. We then went to the hat and pencil museum. I bought quite a few souvenirs. I then went to another school to have lunch and then went on a cruise boat in Porto. It was beautiful! After we came home and had tea. In the evening we went shopping for clothes. It was a good day!!

Teacher selfie! 

Lucy's blog for Wednesday:

Today we joined the students in their lessons. I went into a Portuguese class and we learnt all the languages of the exchange students. Everyone was fascinated by us and I really  enjoyed the class. We then had break and played table football before heading off to the pencil factory and hat museum. At the pencil factory, we listened to how they were made and it takes 7 weeks for 1 pencil to me made. We drove to the hat museum afterwards and then went to the gift shop and bought pencils😂 For lunch we went to a school followed by a boat trip along Porto's river. I really enjoyed it and how beautiful the city was. When the day was nearly over the host family took us shopping. Today has been one of my favourite days as I got to communicate with other countries more🇵🇹

Tom's photos of Porto and the museums.