Lisbon Blog

Known as a militant anti-beach rebel among my friends, they conspired to bring me to a beach under false pretences- a friend’s birthday. I bowed to moral pressure imposed and agreed to accompany the beach party crowd to a “pretty beach beside a quaint village” with a snack bar nearby, where I could escape if I felt too hot under the stifling sun of the stunning beach. However, upon arriving at our destination I found myself in an area surrounded by reddish naked bodies, frying in the relentless sun. The Beach party, with a wicked wink, told me the rules of this ominous place, and pointed to a large sign proclaiming: “No clothing in this area.”

Just the thought of going to the beach caused me to shudder, and the idea of going to a nude beach for me was basically unimaginable, representing the worst possible situation. However, I found myself suddenly in enemy territory, and although under much protest, I lay down my weapons and yielded to the strict rules of the beach: I undressed. After a few highly troubling minutes, I began to relax. And suddenly I realized how beautiful and tranquil this place was. Never in my wildest dreams of nudist life could I imagine that it would be so calm and relaxed. In the absence of bars, the atmosphere was not imbued with the annoying din of “Café del Mar”, or stumbling drunkards. Nobody approached us to sell us something. Even the children, usually screaming obnoxiously due to their excitement about being at the beach, built sand castles with the serenity of a Buddha.

While I still don’t consider myself a beach convert, I was truly surprised by that day!
If you really love nude beaches and you can not imagine anything more blessed to be lying on the sand, rent apartments in Lisbon, and journey the Atlantic coast in search of the most beautiful beaches. In your journey you will find breathtaking views and the most pristine beaches, like Playa Martinhal in Sagres and Praia do Zavial in Raposeira, nudism friendly beaches where you can sunbathe exactly as God made you. And of course, do not forget the beaches De Meco, Adraga, Ursa, of Bicas, Sesimbra Sintra …

Summer nears and people, tormented by hard, long winters count the days until they finally feel the first wave of suffocating heat on their skin. I don’t judge them, as it’s more than proven that the lack of light and cold profoundly affect our mood and can even impair memory and other cognitive functions. It’s natural that people are concerned about their mental health, and anxiously await the coming of sunny afternoons on hot beaches.

However, I must confess I do not like the summer. And the idea of being stuck on a beach, bored, for hours, trying to deflect the sun’s rays from my white skin, bearing the annoying tickle of sand on my skin: it terrifies me! It’s a dark secret I’ve held for a long time, as if it were a rare fetish. I knew that before pro-summer beach fans, I had no weapons or arguments. If my secret came out, I knew I would have to confront the punishment of the beachy summer dictatorship.

My first confession occurred a few years back and I remember it as a highly traumatic experience. As in every dictatorship, in the beach dictatorship there is no freedom of opinion and, the officials do not tolerate subversive attitudes that call into question the government doctrine and ideology. After my confession, the incredulous cries and hysterical laughter quickly gave way to frowns, which made clear the group’s doubts about my integrity and social ethics, my mental health. Just because I confessed that I did not like going to the beach.

Subsequently, the pro-beach secret police had tried to guide me towards the “the good” with a highly questionable, moralistic speech about my philosophy of life. Seeing that the brainwashing was going nowhere, the pro-beach secret police took more drastic measures. And that’s how I ended up in at a nude beach. In the second part, I’ll tell you more about my first nudist experience… it’s hot as can be, don’t miss it!

If you are a naturist, or just love to feel a warm breeze on your bare skin, the best destination for you is indeed “A Costa da Caparica” near Lisbon, in particular Bela Vista Beach, officially nudist, where you can also see the hottest surfers. Other beautiful beaches are … Meco, Adraga, Ursa, Bicas, Sesimbra and Sintra … Rent apartments in Lisbon, and explored A Costa de Caparica.

Beer and rock concerts kind of go hand in hand. So it doesn’t come as a surprise that popular beer brands sponsor and organize various music events. In 1994 the Portuguese beer brand Super Bock has started to organize an event which quickly developed into one of the biggest rock festivals in Portugal. So get ready for yet another important date of the festival summer 2010 because the Portuguese beer brand Super Bock is sponsoring their 16th Super Bock Super Rock which will take place in Meco, Sesimbra from the 16th until the 18th of July.

The line-up in the past has featured bands such as Metallica, Gossip, LCD Soundsystem, Scissor Sisters and this year’s programme won’t fail to excite you: the Pet Shop Boys, Prince, Temper Trap, Vampire Weekend are some of the international acts that will take the stage. There are 3 stages at the event Palco Super Bock, Palco EDP and @Meco. The price for the tickets is fairly decent, a 3-day-pass will cost you 70€ and a daily pass is 40€. For the whole programme and more info on where to get tickets visit the website at www.superbock.pt . In the great tradition of rock festivals there is camping for all and everyone with a 3-day-pass will camp for free!

Super Bock also offers great opportunities for new rock bands with their competition “Super Bock Super Rock Preload Competition” where new bands can enter a contest to capture public attention. Three winners will have the chance to play at the Festival.

Meco is about 40km away from Lisbon, so my suggestion would be to plan a long weekend in Portugal to explore Lisbon and experience the Super Bock Super Rock to its full extent. And if you don’t feel like camping rent comfortable Apartments in Lisbon.

Football fans are already excited: the World Cup in South Africa began on June 11 and will last until July 11. Many women share in the collective fever of the games, but let’s face it, what really fascinates them are the bodies of the athletes … Thanks to famous photographer Annie Leibovitz, women have a chance to see football from another point of view: some major stars of the field, for example Cristiano Ronaldo, have passed before Leibovitz´s lens, clad in only boxers with their team’s colours.

While the male gaze seems are hypnotized by the ball’s path, women often pay more attention to what makes the ball move: the players. The games are an opportunity to develop their powers of imagination, and see beyond the shorts to fantasize about what’s hidden. The good news is that some of them have taken off their shirts along with their socks, shoes … everything! So far we’ve been talking about women but homosexual and bisexual readers of the magazine are probably enjoying these delicious photographs as well…

Body worship
Cristiano Ronaldo, Didier Drogba, Samuel Eto’o, Sulley Muntari, Landon Donovan, Kaka, Pato, Gianluigi Buffon, Dejan Stankovic, Carlton Cole and Michael Ballack are some of the specimens American photographer Annie Leibovitz has had the pleasure of depicting in this exclusive photo shoot, published in the June issue of the magazine “Vanity Fair.” Some commenters don’t mince words, and criticize the supposedly fabulous spread for being a crass marketing manoeuvre.

But really, who cares if it’s a marketing ploy- the photos are a feast for the eyes. In fact, recently, some of the player’s girlfriends also posed, this just evens the scores. Now we’re all happy! We all know that football is a sport with many values, to complain that it is only a business ignores its social power.

Why not escape to Cristiano Ronaldo´s home country for a spell? Lisbon is a charming European destination, ideal for a summer vacation for two. Reserve Apartments in Lisbon and begin to lick your lips…

Every year, summer comes and we start again with crash diets and criticism. The bikini bottoms always seem smaller than the previous year, so we´re condemned to eat celery every day. However, there is an easy way out of this negative thinking trap o: Take off your swimsuit! There is nothing better than to feel a warm breeze on the skin, and not be constantly adjusting your bikini, or worrying about if its flattering.

As generations of painters and common sense tell us, the body without embellishments or disguises is very beautiful. Sometimes its our clothing itself that makes us feel ashamed of our bodies. Naturists talk about the feeling of physical freedom provided by the being naked as well as the mental liberation. Removing the costumes climate and social pressure obligate us wear can allow for a very deep relaxation.

Near Lisbon, there is quite a handful of nude beaches well known for their wild beauty and lovely views, sowe´ve gathered together a few here, some better known than another, but all gorgeous. Don´t think that nude beaches are only for nudists, they allow anyone who wants to enjoy the liberating experience of being outdoors naked, or sunbathe without having tacky tan lines. You´ll find a Noah´s ark of folks, old, young, skinny, fat, families and singles. etc.

Meco beach is located about 50 kilometers south of Lisbon, and is one of the best known nudist beaches of Sesimbra, an area noted for its beautiful unspoilt beaches. It is known for its family atmosphere.

Ursa beach is very isolated and mysterious and found in Sintra, about 30 km from Lisbon Airport. It is near the Cabo de Roca, to arrive, follow a charming low and rocky dirt road.

Adraga is a jewel of natural beach in Sintra which is a bit complicated to reach. Comingout of the hamlet of Almoçageme go towards Cabo da Roca in Colares to discover this beautiful beach.

Bicas beach is located below Campimeco (the campsite of Aldeia do Meco) and is a favorite of those who surf because its waves are excellent. Here you can enjoy lots of privacy and tranquility.

The beach “Nus” by Meco, Meco another nudist beach has a large sandy area where you can enjoy nature.

It is important to note that these beaches are natural, that is, you’ll see the beautiful waves, sand and rocks, but you will not see a never-ending passageway of beach bars or hotels. It is best to rent apartments in Lisbon, take the car and loose yourself between the the beaches of Sesimbra and Sintra. You will see that each beach is more charming than the last.

For any of you who have seen the American drama series Big Love, you will know a little about how complicated life can get when there are multiple spouses. Polygamy isn’t only about one guy having more than one wife. There is polyandry, when a woman takes more than one husband, and group marriages, in which multiple men and women are all married to each other.

Confused yet? So were we. So we set out on a quest to unravel some of the confusion around polygamy.
Polygamy has been around for as long as we can track. Every major religion (even some sects of Christianity) has practised polygamy since recorded time began. In most cultures that still do it, it is considered a status symbol–because the thinking is a man can only marry more than one woman if he is rich enough to support them all.

This support for polygamy even carries over into monogamous cultures. In outlying regions of Russia, where men are in short supply and times are hard, polygamy is being called for. It has been called the ideal way to create families in which money is shared and children are ‘legitimated.’

It’s not all fun and games though. Despite the fact that polygamous societies are more numerous than monogamous ones, multiple wives – and their children – are often completely dependent on their husbands and have few life skills with which to run their own lives if they need to.

So what about polyandry, when a woman takes more than one husband? Of the hundreds of cultures that have practised polygamy, only four have practised polyandry. This has largely been fraternal polyandry (when a woman marries two brothers, usually one after another) and seems to be little to do with love or religion, and more about holding on to family inheritance. The only exception to this is in the refreshing case of the Pacific Islands, when a woman of high caste was permitted to basically pick and choose as many husbands as she was able to support.

Woe betide any of the boys who displeased her – she was also able to cast them aside, and even though she was obligated to ensure he was taken care of for the rest of his life, the deep social stigma of not being able to keep his wife happy meant bad news for the ex-husband.

Polygamous relationships most often break down over economics and jealousy (often closely related to economics). When a new spouse arrives, the senior spouse must share resources that were previously only available to him or her. There have been so many jealousy killings among these kinds of extended families, that some polygamous households write up a roster of which wife the husband will sleep with that night.

Sounds like the perfect problem to have until you think about the fact that when women share the same living space, their menstrual cycles synchronise. That’s a whole lot of hormones going on in one week! Renting apartments in Lisbon doesn’t need to mean you take the whole family – just one or two will be fine!

Burning Man is a festival celebrated during 6 days in the city of Black Rock, Nevada, in the US. More than just a festival, it’s also an experimental path to self –expression and self-reliance. Attending doesn’t just imply getting to a “beach” which is really an incredibly desolate dessert in the middle of nowhere. It also means camping in the most eco-friendly way possible while living in conditions that are very tough while making art, music, friends and have crazy life changing experiences.

Its European counterpart? Perhaps one of the most similar festivals in Boom Festival, a biennial festival in Portugal which began 13 years ago. This year it’s in Idaho-a-Nova, a village near Lisbon, from the 18th until the 26th of August. The festival stands out from others. Like Burning Man, free expression and the formation of a community are main goals. Unlike burning man, Boom takes place beside a beautiful lake, on a gorgeous green expanse of land.
The festival dedicated to free spirits.
Unlike almost all festivals of its size, Boom has no corporate sponsorship, and isn’t marketing platform for any brand. Its goal is to be a place free of visual contamination and publicity pollution, a space apart from the common consumerist culture. In place of this, it seeks to promote arts, music, health, sustainable living and cultural exchange.
When it began, the festival’s principal focus was music, specifically the genre Goa-trance, a type of psychedelic electronic music. Over the years Boom has turned into much more than just a music festival, and has expanded its musical focus to include world music and other genres of electronic music like dub step, break beat and minimal.
Their are galleries of art and sculpture, theatre, fire-dancers, as well as a space apart from the insanity which offers a place to practice yoga, meditate, watch movies and see talks. The idea is to expand the definition of the party, and allow the mysticism inherent in bringing together thousands of creative minds during one summer week beneath the brilliant moonlight.
Hurry up!
There are only 26.000 tickets available to keep the festival ambiance, and as in years past, there are discounts for attendants from developing countries. During this stage of ticket sales, there are only about 8.500 left, and only until the 26th of June. Included in the price are camping, parking, drinking water, and access to showers, kitchens and shared baths. To make your return to the world more comfortable after the big show, why not rent affordable apartments in Lisbon? After a week of communing with the mystic consciousness, it’s good to get back to the real world little by little…

Is your sex life boring? Are you afraid of loosing your partner but tired of looking for things that could help keep things fresh and exciting?Yeah, we all know is not easy and looking for books that could give you ideas on how to improve your sex life is sometimes quite a hassle. So, how about some tips on how to put aside the routine and start to use your creativity in bed?

1. Sex and the rest
Every couple has problems, no relationship is perfect. But most of the time women feel they can’t have sex after a fight or if they have problems with their partner.
You’re right in trying to solve the conflict but don’t let this affect your sex life. Remember! Sometimes sex is the best solution for ending your relationship problems.

2. Surprise, surprise
Try something that you’re sure your partner least expects. If you both feel comfortable with it, how about paying him a visit at his office during lunch hour for a little sex game?

3. Just play!
Say goodbye to old fashioned ideas and don’t be ashamed to introduce sex toys to your life. Sometimes a pair of handcuffs or a dildo can transform your night.

4. New positions
Dare to try even the strangest positions that come to mind. You don’t need books to teach you how to enjoy, imagination will work for you. Think that when monotony leads your life, pleasure is halved.

5. First thing in the morning
Forget about waiting for the sunset in order to have sex. Surprise your partner in the middle of the day after lunch with sex instead of dessert or just wake him up in the morning with some sensual kisses on his neck.

6. Share your thoughts
Admit it! More than once you dreamed about putting in practice with your partner different scenarios: wild sex in the bathroom of you favourite restaurant, sex slave of a teacher, etc.
Don’t be afraid of going too far with your imagination and share your fantasies with your partner.
You might get lucky!

7. Should I make the first move?
Absolutely! Forget about him making always the first step. Feel the desire? Then go for it and you’ll give your partner the opportunity to relax a bit while you take the control.

8. Go on a trip
If you have wild fantasies and you need fresh air, how about going to Lisbon and get inspired by lovely sex shops in Lisbon, rent Apartments in Lisbon and show your partner how good you are at dancing.

Are you familiar with the brands Luxottica or Saffilo? No? But surely, you’ve heard of Ray Ban, Persol or Armani… you can think of thousands of other brands off the top of your head. Sunglasses are a necessary accessory for anyone who wants to look glamorous. Of course you need a new pair every season if you want to look as cool on city streets as you do on the beach.

So you still haven’t figured out what the names Luxottica and Saffilo are? Well, I’ll tell you: they are the most important manufacturers of sunglasses and corrective lenses world wide, designing, producing and marketing fashionable sunglasses for such well known brands as Ray Ban, Arnette, Oakley, Armani, Versace, Tiffany or Dolce e Gabbana (and many more!) who maintain the licence to distribute and sell the final product.

Okay, let’s cut the fluff and get down to talking about what’s really important to us, fashion. What are the trendiest, most glamorous shapes, styles and lenses for summer 2010? Fashionable sunglasses are the indispensable summer accessory that defines your style, though they do change over the years. This year, the latest styles are inspired by the typical shapes of the 70´s and 80´s, and huge glasses are still in, despite the fact that medium and small glasses are gradually creeping back into fashion. Visible branding is still hot, and atypically coloured lenses are the newest trend. But watch out; avoid blue or purple lenses because these colours offer much less UV protection than other colours. They have the shortest wavelength of visible colours (closer to that of UV rays) so the UV radiation that passes through them is more dangerous.

Round or square, oversize or elegant, what we should really be paying attention to is the protection our glasses afford us. Sunglasses should be the right size, shape and material to protect the delicate eye area from UVB and UVA rays assuring us a perfect view and healthy eyes. Lenses can be plastic or glass, each material has its advantages and disadvantages. Plastic lenses tend to be thicker, but they are lighter and more resistant.

So make sure not to forget the most important accessory of summer when packing your bags to go on vacation. If you’re still not sure where to go, why not let yourself be dazzled by the splendid light of the Portuguese capital city, Lisbon. For comfortable and budget friendly accommodations, rent apartments in Lisbon, a place where your super stylish and fashionable sunglasses will definitely come in handy!

You’re listening to Ben Harper, staring into the bottom of your wine glass and checking your phone 16 times an hour.

It’s got to be a break-up. You’re pretty sure that you could change their mind, if only you could figure out what they were saying when they ended it. Here’s the ugly truth. There are almost NEVER good reasons to break up. It’s almost always as vague as “I’m just not really into you any more.” And when the reason IS specific, believe me you don’t want to know. It will only hurt you even more.

If you insist on knowing, here are a few behind-the-scenes peeks at what some of those classic breakup lines really mean.

Line: It’s not you, it’s me.
Translation: It’s you.

Line (Version 2): It’s not you, it’s me.
Translation: It’s not you, it’s that hottie from the gym that I’m going out with on Friday

Line: We’re not connecting on an intellectual level.
Translation: You’re boring, and even the hot sex isn’t hot any more because you’re too stupid to think of more than three moves.

Line: We have nothing in common
Translation: Everything you do makes me want to stick a fork in my eye. Or yours.

Line: We’ve grown apart
Translation: I’ve grown up and you’ve grown potatoes in your butt from sitting on the couch

Line: You’re too good for me
Translation: I’m too good for you

Line (Version 1): You’re too good for me
Translation: You’re so uptight and anal that if you were going out with Jesus you’d nag him to shave

Line: I just need some space right now
Translation: And a restraining order, you clingy freak

Line: I think we should just be friends
Translation: We’ll never be friends, I just want you to go away.

Line: I think we should see other people
Translation: I already am

Line: We need to talk
Translation: We need to stop talking. Forever.

Line: I’m not ready for a commitment
Translation: I’ve already slept with you and I’m bored. I also may have slept with your best friend.

Line: I don’t know what I want
Translation: I would still like to keep you hanging on in case I’m bored on a Saturday or my other booty call doesn’t work out.

Line: —
Translation: I am going to be the disappearing kind of person who stops taking your calls until you figure it out for yourself.

And the all-time, killer breakup line award goes to…..

Line: So, how do you think this is going?
Translation: I want this to seem like a mutual breakup so you don’t hate me and try to kill me in my sleep. PS Can I have my key back now?

The best way to break up is to be completely honest, if you have no idea why it’s really over. If your relationship still has a few embers glowing, why not rent Apartments in Lisbon and take your sweetheart somewhere special for a week or two.