You asked about the meaning of saudades, so I looked it up. I believe the translation into English would be nostalgia or yearnings. Here is the site I used: http://www.foreignword.com/Tools/transnow.htm

I must admit that reading Ric's post awakened longing in me also. I really love Portugal and the Portuguese people. If you haven't been to Lisbon, it is certainly worth visiting. Here's the travelogue of our most recent visit there: http://tinyurl.com/ikyp

Ciao for now, Linda