Ronald Nielson

I was going to start posting pictures from our time in Portugal. Should I post them here, or start another topic in another place on the forum?

Hello again. I have been away from this website for many times, for many reasons, for many thoughts. I decided to return today for many reasons..... I cannot forget Portugal! ** ** I was invited to speak at a convention in September of 2008. I was asked to provide information about cihlids and the time I have spent learning about those fish. I attempted to provide that information to those that attended in person or through the WWW. Little did I know, Portugal had more for me, than I had for those fish keepers in Portugal. ** ** I returned to the USA at the end of September 2008. ** I spent an evening along the Tagus river after the final day of the convention. We had a very nice end to the convention, then everyone would come to the restaurant to celebrate our success. My traveling companion ordered some Sangria and the two of us enjoyed a nice breeze, drink, and wonderful music from restaurant. I lingered at the TAGUS and a special moment happened. I asked my companion to marry me, along the Tagus, and she said yes. Then the convention was closed and many people came to the restaurant... maybe some would think the story over...... I will never forget that night along the TAGUS river, the people, the talk, the many things that make it a memory that cannot be repeated in song. ** Now, we returned to America, decided to marry in November. ** Got too busy to talk to people that were still in Portugal... ** I learned in November that my father has Cancer, Diane and I were married on 21 November 2008, and we dream of Portugal. ** Christmas and family needs come so quickly.......... ** My father's health worsens.... ** February 2009, my father dies........ Don't be sad...... I dream of Portugal......... We dream of Portugal..... ** Don't be sad about these events. This is how life occurs. I am not posting this to cause sadness......... I wanted to say thank you for the time in Portugal and the LOVE learned there. I cannot wait until Diane and I return. You all have a Wonderfull country, many wonderul memories, much music (Mariza is great) and many things to be thankful for. Diane and I will return very soon to Portugal, hopefully this year. I will return to this forum to let you know of the many things we experienced while there last year. I have a lot of photos, stories (yes, Interpol was involved) and just thanks to those of you that hepled us have a wonderful memeory of Portugal, and now a life-long memory of our time together... ! I hope to see you again on this post.

I know what we are baking this weekend! Now I need the sauce for the Steak de Portuguese, Sericaia, and Encharcada.

Thank you to everyone that worked so hard at making this event a success. The planning and dedication to the event was evident. I am sorry I could not stay longer in Portugal as everyone made Diane and I feel very welcome there. We did not have many more complications while there and enjoyed our stay a lot. I hope to return another time to see more of Portugal and maybe see some of you again. Muito Obrigado

I think we should stay with English, unless you have Google Translator ready for me, I use it on line to learn a bit. I will try to make the talk as understood as I can though.

Eu espero poder falar algumas palavras no português quando eu estou em Lisboa, assim que eu estou tentando aprender alguns em seu fórum maravilhoso!

I would like to attend on Saturday and have dinner as well. 2 Adults