As of January 1, 2019, we have closed our forums. This is a decision we did not come to lightly, but it is necessary. The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk. The server software itself must be updated, and it cannot be without removing the forums.
So it is with a heavy heart that we say goodbye to our long-running forums. They came online in 2000 and brought together so many wonderful Disney fans. We had friendships form, careers launch, couples marry, children born ... all because of this amazing community.
Thank you to each of you who were a part of this community. You made it possible.
And a very special thank you to our Guides (moderators), past and present, who kept our forums a happy place to be. You are the glue that held everything together, and we are forever grateful to you. Thank you aliceinwdw, Caldercup, MrsM, WillCAD, Fortissimo, GingerJ, HiddenMickey, CRCrazy, Eeyoresmom, disneyknut, disneydani, Cam22, chezp, WDWfan, Luvsun, KMB733, rescuesk, OhToodles!, Colexis Mom, lfredsbo, HiddenMickey, DrDolphin, DopeyGirl, duck addict, Disneybine, PixieMichele, Sandra Bostwick, Eeyore Tattoo, DyanKJ130, Suzy Q'Disney, LilMarcieMouse, AllisonG, Belle*, Chrissi, Brant, DawnDenise, Crystalloubear, Disneymom9092, FanOfMickey, Goofy4Goofy, GoofyMom, Home4us123, iamgrumpy, ilovedisney247, Jennifer2003, Jenny Pooh, KrisLuvsDisney, Ladyt, Laughaholic88, LauraBelle Hime, Lilianna, LizardCop, Loobyoxlip, lukeandbrooksmom, marisag, michnash, MickeyMAC, OffKilter_Lynn, PamelaK, Poor_Eeyore, ripkensnana, RobDVC, SHEANA1226, Shell of the South, snoozin, Statelady01, Tara O'Hara, tigger22, Tink and Co., Tinkerbelz, WDWJAMBA, wdwlovers, Wendyismyname, whoSEZ, WildforWD, and WvuGrrrl. You made the magic.
We want to personally thank Sara Varney, who coordinated our community for many years (among so many other things she did for us), and Cheryl Pendry, our Message Board Manager who helped train our Guides, and Ginger Jabour, who helped us with the PassPorter-specific forums and Live! Guides. Thank you for your time, energy, and enthusiasm. You made it all happen.
There are other changes as well.
Why? Well, the world has changed. And change with it, we must. The lyrics to "We Go On" for IllumiNations say it best:
We go on to the joy and through the tears
We go on to discover new frontiers
Moving on with the current of the years.
We go on
Moving forward now as one
Moving on with a spirit born to run
Ever on with each rising sun.
To a new day, we go on.
It's time to move on and move forward.
PassPorter is a small business, and for many years it supported our family. But the world changed, print books took a backseat to the Internet, and for a long time now it has been unable to make ends meet. We've had to find new ways to support our family, which means new careers and less and less time available to devote to our first baby, PassPorter.
But eventually, we must move on and move forward. It is the right thing to do.
So we are retiring this newsletter, as we simply cannot keep up with it. Many thanks to Mouse Fan Travel who supported it all these years, to All Ears and MousePlanet who helped us with news, to our many article contributors, and -- most importantly -- to Sara Varney who edited our newsletter so wonderfully for years and years.
And we are no longer charging for the Live Guides. If you have a subscription, it's yours to keep for the lifetime of the Live Guides at no additional cost. The Live Guides will stay online, barring server issues and technical problems, for all of 2019.
That said, PassPorter is not going away. Most of the resources will remain online for as long as we can support them, and after that we will find ways to make whatever we can available. PassPorter means a great deal to us, and to many of you, and we will do our best to keep it alive in whatever way we can. Our server costs are high, and they'll need to come out of our pockets, so in the future you can expect some changes so we can bring those costs down.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for your amazing support over the years. Without you, there's no way us little guys could have made something like this happen and given the "big guys" a run for their money. PassPorter was consistently the #3 guidebook after the Unofficial and Official guides, which was really unheard of for such a small company to do. We ROCKED it thanks to you and your support and love!
If you miss us, you can still find some of us online. Sara started a new blog at DisneyParkPrincess.com -- I strongly urge you to visit and get on her mailing list. She IS the Disney park princess and knows Disney backward and forward. And I am blogging as well at JenniferMaker.com, which is a little craft blog I started a couple of years ago to make ends meet. You can see and hear me in my craft show at https://www.youtube.com/c/jennifermaker . Many PassPorter readers and fans are on Facebook, in groups they formed like the PassPorter Trip Reports and PassPorter Crafting Challenge (if you join, just let them know you read about it in the newsletter). And some of our most devoted community members started a forum of their own at Pixie Dust Lane and all are invited over.
So we encourage you to stay in touch with us and your fellow community members wherever works best for you!
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Wonderful photos from the castles! I love all the color on the outside of the palace, and the stone construction of the Moorish castle is amazing. I can see why you'd want to return here and explore in a more leisurely fashion.
Beautiful photos from your touring days - the land, the market, the castle, and the views!
The downside of having a second home is there is always maintenance to do when you visit, but it sounds like your DH is very handy. I imagine the Tios love it when you visit. I smiled about your comment about the food at the castle being on the expensive side for them - my parents would have felt the same way.
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Wonderful photos from the castles! I love all the color on the outside of the palace, and the stone construction of the Moorish castle is amazing. I can see why you'd want to return here and explore in a more leisurely fashion.
Quote:
Originally Posted by shazza
Beautiful photos from your touring days - the land, the market, the castle, and the views!
The downside of having a second home is there is always maintenance to do when you visit, but it sounds like your DH is very handy. I imagine the Tios love it when you visit. I smiled about your comment about the food at the castle being on the expensive side for them - my parents would have felt the same way.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Colexis Mom
Great pictures of the palace!
Quote:
Originally Posted by dutchdisneyfamily
I love all the castle pics!
Quote:
Originally Posted by chezp
The palace is just stunning and Sintra looks like a beautiful place.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cam22
The castles at Sintra are so beautiful! Great pictures!
Thanks everyone, the castle sure is beautiful, and so many styles of architecture in one spot.
Woke up and the first thing I did was start a load of laundry.
I had heard about a Roman ruins that was just outside of Torres Novas. None of the relatives had heard about it, so DH and I decided to go check it out.
The Roman Ruins Villa of Cardilio, is a relatively recent find. Excavation of the site was between 1963 and 1964, the following was found in the first excavations: a clay statue, amphora, coins dated between 145 A.D. and 408 A.D., and a statue of Eros in Carrara marble. “The "curigum" collected water during the summer months, permitting not just irrigation, but cooling of the spaces. Over the pavement of many of the dependencies were encountered imbrex tiles, and studs that connected them within the structure.” This is the information I was able to find on the Ruins as the caretaker spoke only Portuguese, and my DH does not retain and pass on this kind of information very well.
The ruins were fairly small and there was no fee to enter. We wandered the site and took pictures. It always amazes me when I am walking in places like this to think how long ago other people lived here and the things that they made, for example the curigum - it looked so simple, yet complex at the same time, and to think it was built in the 1st century!
We concluded our tour (we were the only ones there), and then went into town to develop some pictures and buy a picture frame for the Tios.
We stopped to wash the car and then went to McDonalds for lunch. Not many people in this area speak English, so I left the ordering up to DH, let’s just say we ended up with three lunches for the two of us. We headed back to the house and started the packing up and tidying of the house, as we would soon be leaving for Lisbon.
The electrician came and changed out the electrical panel. He does this work on the side as he works full time at the paper factory but does not make much money. I can’t remember exactly what he made per month, but I do know I was shocked and that I make more in a week than he made in a month. The cost to fix was € 60.00. I did not include this in the costs for today as DH’s father paid for it. We did give the electrician a tip to thank him for the quick work.
For dinner we had fajitas, we then headed next door to the Tios and watched the video of our trip so far.
Costs today
Car wash: € 3.00
Pictures: € 5.00
Lunch: € 16.20
Frames: € 8.60
Tip for electrician: € 10.00
Up next: a lunch with the other side of the family
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Very interesting excavation, with beautiful mosaic work. Glad you were able to get the electrical work done. It's always nice to give work to hard workers!
Love seeing the Roman ruins! Always interesting seeing the McDonalds in other countries.
Yes and to see that they sell beer is nice
Quote:
Originally Posted by lauriep
Very interesting excavation, with beautiful mosaic work. Glad you were able to get the electrical work done. It's always nice to give work to hard workers!
The mosaic work was beautiful, and I thought the price to fix the electrical was fantastic.
Quote:
Originally Posted by chezp
The ruins were beautiful. I'm like you - I'm always in awe of things like that, walking around places that people lived in thousands of years ago.
Yes it amazes me the detail and artistry and to think how many hundreds of years ago things were built and alot of them are still standing.
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Woke up and did some ironing, we then headed out to DH’s other side of the family for lunch. There were lots of aunts, uncles, cousins, and their children.
Tios House
We had a stew (beef, chorizo, chickpeas and macaroni), salad, bread, pudding flan, fruit salad, and a pineapple dessert. We ate, laughed, played games and enjoyed the company. A few of DH’s cousins speak English, but they are not that comfortable with it and tend to speak mostly Portuguese.
Look closely that is a car in the garage, half is garage half is a big room with a kitchen and bathroom.
The yellow dessert is a pineapple dessert not sure how to describe it but sort of a cross between a cake and a soufflé.
The family.
We headed back to the house around 5 pm and DH went to the mall to charge up the Internet stick. I stayed home as I was not feeling too well. I think it was that our trip was nearing the end and I really did not want to leave all these wonderful people, as I was not sure when we would be able to come back. For dinner we had soup and just relaxed for the night.
Cost today
Internet: € 20.00
Foam for Tio: € 3.49
Day 24: May 27th
I was still not feeling that well today. We packed everything up and then cleaned the house. We went to Tios for a final lunch and then I took a nap. We sat outside until dinnertime and then went back to Tios for dinner; I only ate soup and bread.
We spent our final evening with them, of course with Tia and I both taking our turns crying as we were both so sad.
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