14.4.

The last day of our holydays, a small but exquisite birthday party and sunshine. Tomorrow it wil be clouds and rain again. To remember the south, look at some pictures of my mamma´s garden:

Friday, the 13th - our lucky day!

Today we did a lot of driving, through narrow roads which meander round the Sintra mountains as the monks on their donkeys travelled centuries ago. You drive through lush woods where you could imagine meeting snowwhite and her seven dwarfs, you see the castle where the king and the prince on a white stallion were living. We even found the old gnarled house where the witch had her home.

When you look at drawings from two hundred years ago you see barren mountains with white rocks showing. All the trees had been cut down through the centuries gone, for ships for the seafaring portugese, for houses and fireplaces. The wood only has been restored some hundred years ago, by the king who had his sumer residence in this erea, by an english baron who collected plants all over the world and brought them together in a huge park.

My moter and me windowshopped along a street of antiques in Sintra, one was full of ancient ticking clocks, elsewhere we found knight armours, silver inkstands and bnoculars as the pirats used in the old days. Unfortunatly things were far too big for our handbags.

You can googel further picures of Sintra, Cascais and Estoril.

12.4.

This is the shawl I filted and sew from wool and silk. The wool comes from Newseeland, I think. It is very soft and fluffy.

The other picture shows us eating near Cascais. And, the problem of choosing a restaurant for the birthday is solved: we will stay at home.

tuesday

This new day found me in the sun, making my gymnastic. I try to do some everyday. In the afternoon we drove to look at two restaurants to go to on saturday for the birthday of my mother. That is a difficult problem to solve: one is in an old winecellar and possibly the better food, the other one is with a spectacular view of the sea. I suppose we will go to the later one.

Then we went shopping in the small village shop round the corner, beans for this evening and bread for tomorrow. This shop is tiny nad has everything you can whish for, is cheaper than the supermercado and is open nearly around the clock. Here you see my husban carrying some water bottles.

Beneath is the old market place where the old men will sit on the wall and discuss politics in the late afternoon.

still on holidays

So, as you see, I really managed it, right password and all, even though I am on holiay. Finally the sun is shining and to proof it I am getting brown. We had a very nice lunch yesterday at a restaurant at the seaside, it was delicious and perfect for Eastern holidays. Two times I have been a companion to my husband at the golfcourse, just a walking one though. Otherwise I am extraodinary lazy, it´s nice but feels a bit strange. I have not even glimpsed into the book from work I was going to study during holidays, but I have done a little knitting :) So, a picture of my husband at Estoril Golf, Tee 11, fairway 10 in the background.

Here you see two young girls in my parents garden.

This icelandic shawl I knitted for my mother from fine Icelandic wool, following an old pattern bought at the museum.

in Portugal

Yes, I am in Portugal. The plane came down - it always does - secure and healthy. My pink suitcase made the trip beautifully. It is not so warm and was a bit rainy, lucky me, so I could stay in bed and have finished rading the first book. In the meantime my mother cooks delicious meals for me. After two weeks of this I will roll out of the house. As the weather is colder than I anticipated lucky me had to go shopping and bought some warmer clothes. Today I went again to the sweet town of Sintra, walked through narrow, history loaded streets and bought a hundred years old doorknocker and boomerangs to bring home to grandchildren.
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