The baterfly returns 13/04/2009

Hello all!

I have one hour left before leaving to Aljustrel, so I’ve decided to usefully spend my time on updating this page

The past two weeks have been very busy.  During the week I work and in the weekend I’m off, exploring the country (like a real Magalhães!) as much as I can before I go home.  Together with my cousin Nathalie, I went exploring the Aquaduct and the water reservoirs of Lisbon.  The next weekend I discovered new territories with René and Stefanie: Tomar and Alcanena.  In Tomar we went to visit a convent of Templars, which was very pretty and big!  We also wanted to pay a visit to the local museum of matchboxes (I really wonder what it must look like) that, if we believe to our guide, was the biggest of the region.  And according to Stefanie, we just missed out on a expo “Books, Antiques and Soups”.  Gotta love the combo!  Personally, I wouldn’t let people eating soup come too close to my antiques and books…

Alcanena then… It had a museum of electricity, but it was closed.  Not much to see there, just a quiet village (apparently the local Manhattan according to its citizens).  We must have been very special too, because when we were in the restaurant, people couldn’t keep their eyes off of us.  And they didn’t bother hiding it either.  Which was kind of unconfortable, personally I don’t like people staring at me while I’m eating.

This weekend I’ll be going to visit the Alligator in it’s lair, the fearfull Aljustrel!!!  No, I love Aljustrel and I’m looking forward to going back for a few days.  If I remember well, it’s all about eating and drinking, just my kind of thing   I have already baked some fresh cookies to offer in return   Anyways, I’m going to start preparing my bag!

Have a happy Easter!!

So you do want to know… 08/03/2009

I am writing this blog from my sunny terrace in the centre of Lisboa.  Blue skies, 22 degrees, white legs getting tanned without an entire beach to see it.  Wonderful!  And I just took two pictures to prove it :p

View from my terras (including my monkeytoes)

Sunshinyday

I know, i’m teasing you but you would do the same to me if you had the chance.  And actually, it’s pretty annoying to write a blog like this, since I can barely see the screen with the sun blindig my eyes.

Yesterday was also a nice day.  In the afternoon I went to help out Cloé in her new garden.  Well by the time I got there, most of the work was done, but at least I was outside!  We pulled some weeds, I got stung by the palmtree on several occasions (with bumpy red marks on my arms and hands as a consequence), then we made a nice improvised diner with Rene, Anna and her boyfriend and then we made a fire in the garden.  It was very cool, the fire in the garden with a view over the city.  It made a lot of smoke though (dry palmleaves seem to be smokey and I’ve learned that mud doesn’t burn), but only one neighbour complained.  Well we think he did because we didn’t understood a word of what he was mumbling.  We’re not even sure if it was portuguese   Later that night, one of the cats escaped in a complete panic and confusão since she didn’t recognise the garden.  The poor animal was so startled that she jumped over the wall, going 4m down!  She then climed into a tree, crying and crying.  Guess in who’s tree… the one of angry man!  Another girl that lives in the appartment went to get Frieda (the cat).  When the cat came back, they had to wash her because she had blood on her feet.  Not hers, angry mans   Poor guy, maybe he wasn’t that angry with us after all…   Or now he really is…

After that we went to a nice bar near Marques de Pombal (our new discovery) where we had a nice cocktail and ended an interesting day!

Anyways, I have some e-mails to write which I will do inside because I’m starting to sweat (yuk) and a bee is buzzing around my head all the time.  Ladies and gentlemen, enjoy your day!

xxx