Helen and Peter in Portugal

Having visitors is great, it means that you play tourist in your own back garden and actually go out and see things that previously you've passed by giving the excuse a) too expensive, b) we'll come back another time , c) lets just have some lunch first then we'll think about going. But, when you have a visitor you've got no excuse. It's all based on trying to show off really, showing people the best bits of your adopted country and trying to make them a) realise why you left the UK, b) a bit jealous and c) that life here in Pera is 'p e radise'. We managed to exhaust ourselves and most probably our visitor by travelling about 1000 kms over 5 days.... Porto (done), Aveiro (done), Figueira da Foz (done), Tomar (done), Lousã (done). And during our tour of Central Portugal we did a few things we've never done before. A boat trip around Aveiro (not a lot to see, but welcome cooling breeze a bonus), and we finally went back to Tomar where we wen...

There are certain things that you need to accept you are just never going to win. We all have them, you know, the things you are going to lose at. Mine are: 1) A disagreement with Peter (see what I mean) 2) The battle to get rid of half a stone (I'm not posting a picture of that) 3) Getting a quote from anyone Portuguese for household insurance (god only knows why), and 4) The battle against the garden weeds Now I know weeding is not a new (or interesting some might say) subject. All gardeners from the Mighty Monty Don (official name) to the person with a window box suffer the same fate. But here, in central Portugal the weeds seem to be on drugs...I mean there are thousands of them, floating in the wind, depositing themselves on my seedling pots, setting up home in the veg patch and growing down the side of the house. It's enough to drive anyone insane, yet every gardener deals with it on a daily basis. I was very excited when my flowers started to come through in this ...

Or otherwise known as 'eating far too much in two days'. Our summer time neighbours Ana and Joaquim, live in Lisbon for half the year. After much hinting last summer, Ana and Joaquim relented and invited us to Lisbon some time in early 2011. That time was last weekend. Now, this isn't a story of the 'hidden treasures of Lisbon' (although Ana and Joaquim are certainly 'treasures', no this is simply a homage to a really lovely city, which we got to know a little over the weekend. Meet our guide - Joaquim he's surveying the Tejo here! Despite having a foot operation this year took us to the Baixa, the Chaido, the Bairro Alto, Belem, Sintra and Cascais. All good tours start with food (this will be a theme), Ana is a great cook and as soon as we made it to their flat, lunch was on the table...having fully prepared (no breakfast, just a Pastel da Nata on the way do wn), we scoffed down pork and potatoes, followed by cake and Pudim (very sweet desert made wit...

It's not as hot as Brasil, which is a shame, but the Portuguese still like to party for Carnaval (Carnival). Parades, parties and dress up drinking seems the norm. Planning for Carnival started back in January, when our neighbour Jon had a drunken conversation with Peter in the local bar. This resulted in a planned margarita party in the bar on 7 March. Masks were made by Laurel, who stopped of at the hospital to get some bandages then put a plastic bag over our heads and bandaged us up! No, this is not how Michael Hutchins died, it was all in the process of making masks....take a look. Decorating them means trips to the Euro store and the wonderful Pound Shop in St Helier, Jersey. So on a sunny day, glue gun heated, glitter at the ready, enough pipe cleaners to clean a million pipes, Laurel and I started to decorate. Hmmm, as you can see it is quite easy to go 'over the top' when it comes to glitter! Although I am assured that 'over the top' is the only way t...

No, sorry, this is not a post about trashy women in Pera hanging out at the equivalent of The Boat House! It is really an observation on the crazy dogs of Pera... Having a dog really opens your eyes to the amount of other dogs there are around here. From little mini dogs with a sharp bite, to crazy insane dogs tied up all the time. Now my dog hero Ceaser Milan (I have read one of his books and I am sold, although not sure I quite have the calm assertive temper he requires), would do his nut seeing how some of these dogs are tied up all day as guard dogs. Now, don't get me wrong, I totally understand that us Brits have a different view of pet ownership than many in Europe. Our dogs are part of the family (maybe too too much in some cases) and I do understand that our culture of pet ownership is just different. But when you have a dog yourself you realise how mental some of these tied up dogs can be. Meet the old dogs of Pera. This little chap is being looked after by neighbours...

So, new year was fun. We popped to our Portuguese neighbours for one drink around 8pm (having already eaten and booked marked the evenings viewing on the TV). Peter got home at 4am! I was slightly more sedate and admitted defeat at 1am! The Portuguese do it so well you see. Rio and Philamina are our neighbours just over the road. Always really friendly we have been round for drinks with them a few times. Rio speaks Portuguese/Spanish with Peter and while Philamina does not speak English, she is wonderfully slow at speaking and I get about 60% of it! Typical Portuguese, they are warm and friendly, force feed you drinks and nice food, living proof of why we really love Portugal and the Portuguese people. This time, after disbelieving we were eating so early (8pm) they invited us round for a drink. Their children (about the same age as us) were staying along with their friends. Wonderfully they were young enough to know some English, which meant I could join in a lot more. When...

A couple of things you are always asked (and ask) when meeting new people is' 'why did you choose central Portugal?' another is; 'don't you miss the UK?'. Well my usual response is, 1) why not, it's cheap and the people are lovely. 2) I miss my friends but not the UK. Now I can add a new response to question 2. I MISS CENTRAL HEATING. I miss it a LOT. It is freezing up here in the mountains, the frosts and snow has started early, just like the UK - not half as bad as the UK, but you lucky buggers have central heating, me, I have a wood burning stove and a boyfriend that likes to 'air the house' and a dog that likes the door open to come and go as he pleases. I'm sitting here now with all the windows closed, the oil heater plugged in and under my legs....Yes, Peter's out! Despite the cold weather, it has been lovely here in Portugal and we've been getting into the swing of Autumn/Winter and a little bit of Christmas. We've b...