Olá, bom dia ALEGRIA! Tonight, in a small town in central Portugal, thousands of candles will flicker into the dark. It’s the eve of 13 October, the anniversary of the last apparition at Fátima in 1917, and pilgrims have been walking for days to be there. Today’s E,D&SPT fact sheet, Nº 11: Fátima, is in the classroom, with four phrases for any visit, including two words every pilgrim knows: “Vim a pé” (I came on foot). Portugal’s “três F” are Fado, Futebol and Fátima. We’ve done Futebol with FC Porto, Fátima is today... so Fado can’t be far behind! 🎶 Over to you: have you been to Fátima, or seen the pilgrims walking along the roads? Share your story below.

Olá, bom dia! 765 years ago today, a future king was born in Lisbon. He grew up to write love songs, plant a forest and do something every one of us is grateful for: he made Portuguese, not Latin, the language of royal documents. So today, the most fitting phrase of all: “Eu falo português!” (I speak Portuguese!) Today’s sheet, Nº 9: D. Dinis, the poet-king, is in the classroom. It includes a line from one of his 13th-century love songs, and a reason to visit Óbidos, the town he gave his queen as a wedding present, for a ginjinha in a chocolate cup. 🍒 Over to you: say it out loud today, and tell us who you said it to! Viva o Rei Poeta! (Long live the Poet King!)

Olá, bom dia! On this day in 1998, a former locksmith from a small village in the Ribatejo got the phone call every writer dreams of. José Saramago had won the Nobel Prize in Literature, and he is still the only writer in Portuguese ever to do so. Today’s sheet, Nº 8: José Saramago, is in the classroom, with four phrases for your next trip to the livraria (bookshop). One of them every expat needs: “Tem este livro em inglês?” (Do you have this book in English?) Watch out for “biblioteca”! It means library, not bookshop. Over to you: have you read any Saramago? Which one would you recommend to a beginner? Boas leituras! (Happy reading!) 📖

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Olá, bom dia! Happy Dia Nacional dos Castelos, National Castles Day! Before there was a Portugal, there was a castle on a hill in the Minho. In 1128, a young Afonso Henriques won the Battle of São Mamede just outside its walls, and a nation was born. Nearly 900 years later, the words are still written on the old city wall: "Aqui nasceu Portugal." Today's ED&SPT fact sheet, Nº 7: Castelo de Guimarães, is in the classroom, with four phrases to use at any castle in the country, from the ticket desk to the top of the tower. Now over to you: what's your favourite Portuguese castle? Post a photo below. The best ones could star on a future sheet! Até amanhã! 👑