The story of 4th meeting
The 4th meeting of Erasmus+ Project ‘Connect,Share and Get Enlighted’ was held in Portugal from 9th to 15th October 2016. The member partners (from Turkey, Portugal, Poland, Italy,Bulgaria and Slovakia) met together and joined different activities, held discussions, visited historical sights and, certainly, communicated a lot in English and other languages.
In the afternoon, a guided tour of Arcos de Valdevez was held, among the most famous monuments of the town, like the Museum and the historical Library of Arcos.
The first day of the transnational meeting took place at Epralima school in Arcos de Valdevez. The headmaster gave the welcome to the partners, explaining the characteristics of Epralima school and its European projects.
At 10:30 the opening session of the short term joint staff training event began with the the project coordinator speech about the evaluation of the first year's works and about the planning of the activities for the second year.
Our school coordinator showed the works of the Italian school, made in a multimedia way, appreciated by the other partners.
At 13:30 all the partners had a lunch in the school, cooked and served by the students of Epralima school.
On the second day we visited Guimaraes and Braga. Guimaraes is a city situated in northern Portugal in the district of Braga, settled in the 9th century. Guimaraes has a significant historical importance due to the role it played in the foundation of Portugal. It is considered the birthplace of the Portuguese nationality because its first King Alfonso Henriques was born and lived there and also because the Battle of Sᾶo Mamede was fought there.
In 2001 Guimaraes was recognized as World Cultural Heritage by UNESCO, for its exceptionally well preserved and authentic medieval settlement. It was also European Capital of Culture 2012 and European City of Sports in 2013.
We visited the medieval Castle , which is an example of late Romanesque period and built in the early 14th century to defend the population from the attacks by Moors. Its walls form a pentagram, including rectangular towers , a military square and a central Keep. Then during the centuries it was remodelled.
We walked through narrow and picturesque streets of the historical city center and reached Largo da Oliveira, where we visited the church of Nossa Seňora da Oliveira, one of the most beautiful church which dates from the end of the 14th century. It was commissioned by King Dom Joᾶo in gratitude to the Virgin Mary for his victory at the Battle of Aljubarrota.
In front of the church there is the Padrᾶo do Salado, a 14th century Gothic shrine shielding a cross. It marks the spot where an olive tree was transplanted in the 13th century to supply the altar lamp with oil.
After that we went to Braga where we saw wonderful avenues bordered with a rich, colorful and bright variety of flowers .We arrived at the Santuario do Bon Jesus do Monte. It was built by Carlos Amarante in a neoclassical design. The stairway leading to the top contains 17 landings adorned with symbolic fountains , allegoric statues and other Baroque style decorations.
Later we visited the Theatre Circo, inaugurated on 21st April 1915 with a performance of Ruggiero Leoncavallo. Inside, the theatre’s center foyer is plastered and painted with rose, white and gold columns of marble, large glass doors and a roof made of stucco panels and enriched by great chandeliers. The interior of the theatre includes a grand stage and three-story stalls with a great chandelier in the center of copula.
We closed our day trip visiting an old leather farm.
The third day of the transnational meeting, the partners went to Porto for a guided tour in this picturesque town. All the partners had a cruise on the Douro, enjoying the magnificent bridges that unite Porto and Gaia. We had the opportunity to observe Ribeira, D.Luis Bridge, Monastery Serra do Pilar, Infante Bridge, D. Maria Pia Bridge, S. Joao Bridge and Freixo Bridge.
We saw also Oporto, World Heritage, the mouth of the river Douro and Afurada, the land of fishermen
In the evening the partners visited the Calem wine cellars. The program included a guided visit to the cellars, followed by Port Wine tasting and a “Fado” music show, accompanied by Portuguese guitar and featuring male and female performers.
The 4th day was opened by the Project’s coordinator informing all partners about their future tasks activities and works’ deadlines. Afterwards we checked Project’s website, then the Project’s coordinator displayed us e.twinning platform, showing all the uploaded activities, photos and videos. Furthermore we exchanged information for the “ 21st Century Teenagers’ play”.
After the meeting we had lunch at school canteen with partners, local colleagues and Portuguese students in a European atmosphere.
In the afternoon we visited Viana do Castelo, which is one of the most beautiful cities in the north of Portugal. It is like a living museum, with countless monuments . It is rich in palaces emblazoned with coats of arms, churches, monasteries and monumental fountains so that whichever streets you stroll through in the historic centre, you will always come back to the Praça da República, the heart of the city.
This is where we admired the 16th century Misericórdia building and fountain, as well as the old Pacós do Concelho ( Town Hall).
Close by there is the Romanesque Cathedral or Igreja Matriz ( Parish Church). It’s special geographical situation, next to the sea and the mouth of the river Lima was contemplated from the Santa Luzia hill, with a stunning view.
Just outside the city we visited a lovely beach that we appreciated particularly because it overlooked the Atlantic Ocean. An astonishing scenery and landscape, generated by nature.
In the evening we had dinner with all partners, Epralima’s headmaster and Puente de Lima’s Mayor. We also tasted delicious local food
After that the headmaster delivered us certificates thanking each of the partners for attendance and warm welcome
On Friday 14th October the Project Coordinator opened the 5th day by informing all the partners about how to fill in the Europass documents. She showed us some practical examples on the LIM in order to clear up any doubts.
After that, we set the dates for the following meetings in Poland, Slovakia and Bulgaria.
Later, we had lunch at the school canteen with the students, sharing that experience with them.
The afternoon was free, so we took the chance to visit Arcos de Valdevez once more. Finally, we said goodbye to some of our European partners leaving for their countries.
On Saturday our leaving.
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It was a very good experience because we enlarged our cultural knowledge gaining strong motivations to be not only European but also global citizens.
