We are sitting under an umbrella, sipping sangria and looking out at boats moored in a blue sea. The shore is rocky, old buildings hug the coast line. It is thirty degrees, a bit hot in the sun but lovely in the shade. (When Colin first suggested we try sangria I was a bit dubious, red wine, beer, fruit and sugar, plus who konows what else, mixed together sounded like an odd mix, but it is surprisingly good, I'm hooked now)
We caught a train this morning, taking our first venture on the Portuguese underground (tame in comparison to London), and headed west along the coast. We have done a bit of beach hopping, getting on and off the train at various places. Colin had a dip in the sea at our first stop, there was actually sand and some waves there, most of the rest is rocky with the occasional sandy bit. The coastline is beautiful and the old buildings right on the foreshore is something you don't see in oz. We had a craving for a salad sandwich for lunch but it is surprisingly hard to find one, the Portuguese just don't seem to do baguettes and when you do find one they aren't anything special, but we were happy just to find something approximating one.
Some interesting observations-smoking is very common here, which is somewhat annoying when you are eating.
They don't have laundromats here, we had to take our washing to a dry cleaners and pay twenty dollars to have some jeans and tshirts washed (the rest we do by hand each evening)
it is also hard to find a decent salad here, not sure if the stuff we see all the time is what they think tourists want (lettuce leaves, grated carrot etc...) We went Italian last night, a simple pizza and finally a real salad, rocket and Parmesan cheese with oil and vinegar!
(col)
I think I need to change my FB photo. Maria handed me the iPad to add a few sentences and I see myself in woolley top and hat. Was wearing the same thick wool top in Wales just a week and half ago, it seems a world away sitting here overlooking coastline with blokes walking around without shirts and people sun baking.
Tonight we take a deep dive into Portuguese culture and experience Fado. Think mediteranian men singing lamenting folk songs ... Can't say it immediately strikes as something we would rush out and do, but hey, when in Portugal ...