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It`s a rainy day. I`d rather be at the golden library in the University of Coimbra or in the one in Porto, where the idea of Harry Potter was born, with a glass of port wine of course, but still, the memories of the three months I spent in Portugal are so inspiring that it is so easy to continue writing. I like traveling alone, thus you get to know the native people like Filipa and Guilherme who invited me at their house until I found an apartment, or like Eduardo, who even missed his appointment with the doctor to come with me for the meeting with my future landlord. On the streets the situation wasn’t different. I got lost in search of Jesus Christ statue in Lisbon. I asked two policemen about the route and they brought me there with the police car! Standing there in the vicinity of the immense structure and contemplating the gracious statue of our God I thought that Portugal is blessed by Him and I felt sure that miracles will happen to me too in that sacred country. And, well, I experienced not one but three miraculous situations. The first miracle that happened to me was that I felt like the main character from my favorite book – The secret garden, in the Botanical garden of Porto. Huge trees covered with pink and purple flowers, a bench cozily hidden in a maze and the only person I met there was a musician who was playing the most beautiful music on an instrument I had never seen before. I felt like a got a glimpse of the Garden of Eden. Love was in the air and I went to Lisbon. I decided to have some fun at one bar – best decision ever! There I met a group of Bulgarians. After that it’s a long story, the short version – I married one of the guys and last year we celebrated our 10 years’ anniversary - true miracle, isn’t it! After all these emotions I thought that nothing can be as thrilling as that! But yet the third miracle was about to happen and what better place for that than Fatima the sacred Portuguese town where people believe that Virgin Mary appeared to three shepherds and confined three secretes for our future. The day that I decided to visit the town coincided with a holiday that takes place there each year, so there were a lot of pilgrims. I was about to give up finding a place on the bus when a woman dressed like a nun and wearing big black glasses took my hand and found one. When I arrived at the main square of Fatima I saw a view I will never forget – people walking on their knees to the Cathedral and praying with all their true fate. I really needed to share this moment with someone and suddenly I started talking with a woman that very much looked like the one that showed me the bus. She was very kind and even told me I speak Portuguese very well which is far from the reality. After this memorable experience I decided to buy a book about the story of the three shepherds and Virgin Mary. I was struck by the fact that the woman on the cover, who was one of the grown up shepherds, looked just like the two women that I met that day… One day I can see myself like one lady that I saw on one of the typical yellow old-fashioned trains in Porto who was traveling the whole route a few times just to talk with the tram driver and was enjoying the everyday life like only Portuguese people can do. When I close my eyes and think of Portugal I also see the azulejos – these typical blue tiles that can be seen on multiple buildings. I think they perfectly reflect the Portuguese soul so pure and tender like a fado song. This blissful mixture of fine architecture and hospitable people strengthens the feeling of being in Heaven when you are in Portugal where blue is the color of the sky and the azulejos but never a state of mind.