Alan Rickman

SNAPE and DIE HARD

Alan Rickman dies at 69

David Bowie, Legendary Rock Artist, Dead at 69

GOING ABROAD, by Beatriz Fonseca, 11º B

I have been to Spain. The reason why it is so memorable has nothing to do with the destination itself but with the feeling of finally going abroad.
It was two years ago. In the Summer holidays, while I was spending some days in the Algarve, my parents decided to travel to Spain and to visit some places near the border. I was in Spain only for one day, and because I didn't spend the night I didn't take anything in particular.
I travelled with my parents and my sister. She wasn't so excited as me because she had already left Portugal once.
It is not what I saw or what  I did there that has stayed with me until these days, because nothing actually amazed me that much. The buildings, the beaches, the traditional shops, although I enjoyed them, I didn't see anything that was more beautiful than what I'd seen before in Portugal. It was simply that moment when I was getting out of the car and my father standing outside filming, so that he would keep that memory forever. And the feeling of stepping on foreign ground was just unexplainable, not for the action itself, but for what it meant to me. I could finally tell my friends and myself that I had left Portugal, and it felt so good to be true.

MY TRIP TO SERRA DA ESTRELA, by Mariana Mota, nº 19, 11º C

Eight years ago I went to Serra da Estrela with my sister, her husband and my niece. I was thrilled because I have always loved the cold and I had never seen snow before!
Before my journey I packed everything I thought it could be useful and that could help me during my time in the snow, like plastic bags, for example, since I had read that putting them on top of my socks would keep my feet warm and dry, and that proved to be really effective.
We travelled by car. It was a long journey but also very funny because we were all singing and giggling on the way there. I had very high expectations and I didn't want to feel disappointed once we got there, and fortunately that didn't happen.

The view was breathtaking, I couldn'y believe how high the mountains were; everything was white and I couldn't stop thinking that I might have entered Narnia, I was completely blown away.
We stayed in a little cottage near the Bread Museum and cooked all our meals at home. Local people were very welcoming and helped us with everything we needed.
We visited all the local attractions and obviously had a lot of fun in the snow, which included snow ball fights that ended up being my favourite activity during our time there.
During those days I had lots of new experiences and gained a few knowledge about living in a place like that.
Unfortunately my niece got ill and we had to come home earlier, but it still was an amazing journey and I have unforgettable memories from that time.

Another MEMORABLE JOURNEY, by Mafalda Pereira, nº 17, 11º C

Three years ago, in the Summer holidays, my best friend, her parents and I went to Sintra to get to the top of Serra de Sintra.
I was very excited, because I had just read a lot of ghost stories that happened in different spots on the hill and I have always been a fanatic and a believer of this parallel spiritual universe.
Even though I was very excited and thrilled for going on this adventure with my best friend, I was also apprehensive since I was never an athletic person at all and I get out of breath very easily.
So, I needed to go well prepared and started filling my backpack with snacks, water, clothes for a hot day as well as a coat in case it rained, a very comfortable pair of sneakers and a camera to film the whole thing.
The day came and we woke up very early and went on our way. In the car ride to the hill, I told my friend all the stories I'd read and quickly we started to see that trip as a ghost hunt, which sounds really stupid now, but we were young and impressionable and we wanted to find out the truth for ourselves.
We got there, parked the car and followed some visible tracks that led to the top. I remember feeling really at peace with myself because of the fact that we were  surrounded by Nature: the fresh smell of the trees, all the green contrasting with the clear blue sky and the only sound remaining was the wind passing through the leafs creating a beautiful scenery that I have never forgotten. I filmed most of the journey and seeing the footage now I can still relive all the happy and funny moments.
It wasn't as hard to reach the top of the hill as I thought it would be, most of all because I had great company that made the way so much fun and effortless. Half way through we even completely forgot about the "ghost hunt", we were just so amazed with the ambience itself, we were just enjoying that time together. And in the end it was all worth it just to see that amazing view at the top joined with a great feeling of completion. I was very proud of myself.