A Creative Spirit
If we were having coffee, I'd tell you last week was a strange week. As I write this on Sunday, we should be in the UK, but our youngest grandchild contracting chickenpox put paid to that, and we had to cancel our plans....pooh! Ho hum, so rather than sit around feeling glum, we made other... Continue Reading →
What a week! I am happy because I did manage to tick off a few major tasks from my To-Do List: Book an MRI Scan, restart Portuguese Lessons, take my new car for a drive and buy another mouse to use with my laptop. Appointment Challenge My main goal for this week was to book... Continue Reading →
Checkouts not manned by staff have apparently neither revolutionised our shopping experience nor cut operating costs as expected. In my opinion, this is proof you can't always replace humans with technology-- and why should we? My number one concern when shops implemented self-service checkouts was that of the human cost. The army of part-time workers, such... Continue Reading →
One of my personal pet peeves are my square stumpy feet. They resemble pig's trotters and make me feel like one of Cinderella's ugly sisters. It's official: I hate shopping for boots. Why? Most standard shoe retailers, such as Guimaraes, only seem to focus on women with Cinderella feet, so if you are blessed with... Continue Reading →
When you drive from Lagos along the N125 towards Sagres, after about 20 km, you will discover the most amazing and probably one of the best selections of pottery on the Algarve. It is the second pottery shop on the left-hand side just before Vila Do Bispo. You can't miss it It's easily recognizable as... Continue Reading →
Aljezur, is the first location in my "Out and About" series where I review various towns and villages in the Western Algarve. The sleepy town of Aljezur is now well and truly on the map since the British Prime Minister and his wife, Samantha, visited the local market to buy squid. It made me smile... Continue Reading →
Waiting to be served at our local butchers for "home-made" beef, and hopefully horse-free, burgers gave us the opportunity to study the array of "unmentionable" delicacies on sale. The dubious identity of which even made Mr. Piglet's toes curl in horror. However, our debate is quickly forgotten when I whip out my camera and start... Continue Reading →
I enjoy going to the country markets and one of my favourites is the market at São Teotónio near Odemeira, in the Alentajo. I refer to the term "country" because I'm not so keen on the markets held in the tourist towns of the Algarve. These are usually full of the rip-off-tat such as fake... Continue Reading →
Post inspired by the WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge This week's theme is "Wonder" Our very basic knowledge of Portuguese often means simple tasks turn into a challenge; today’s experience is a typical example. Although I continue to study Portuguese I am struggling – the more I try, the more stressed I become! After my recent... Continue Reading →
Living in a country where English is not the first language certainly takes you out of your comfort zone, especially when it comes to food shopping. Imagine walking into a supermarket and suddenly there are none of your favourite foods and familiar brands; throw the added complication of language into the mix and you may... Continue Reading →
Shopping!! I absolutely hate supermarket shopping with a passion! Living quite a way from the big supermarkets, as we do, I organize meal plans and my store cupboard with military precision. However, we usually end up visiting at least 3 supermarkets to make sure we procure everything on the “list”. The shopping expedition usually involves... Continue Reading →
Shopping – The survival guide and more... ...or should I say a stress free guide? 1. Write your shopping list in Portuguese. This is really useful if you are unable to find a product and you do not speak Portuguese. You can at least point and grunt to the item on your list when asking... Continue Reading →
Piglet in Portugal 