It didn’t rain constantly during my visit, and although my last post might have suggested that we stayed in watching tv all of the time, we didn’t.
We knew it was time to step away from The Spanish Princess when Frenchie started to insist on being called, My Lady Sister.
In fact there wasn’t one morning that we didn’t venture out and manage to get a pastel de nata and coffee in some picturesquely positioned cafe in northern Portugal. It may tell you something about my sister and I that one morning the ‘picturesque’ view was of an alteration workshop.
Well we liked it.
Was it President Roosevelt who said, ‘comparison is the thief of joy’? Well he obviously never had the joy of actively comparing pastel de nata. Comparing varieties of pasties, or the comparative delights of sausage rolls are likewise joys. It’s a shame that he is long dead and I am unable to open his mind to this.
Frenchie’s grasp of Portuguese is coming along nicely, English is not so widely used in the new location as it was on the island, so needs must. She fearlessly approaches shopping as an oral language test. However, there are those who see her as an opportunity, not to be missed, to practice their English.
The young man in the garage for instance, who was genuinely interested in why the British thought Brexit was a good idea, why Boris Johnson, a lying shyster, was so popular. We had to disappoint him. We do not know, we don’t know anyone who knows. We are altogether unsure who might have this information.
Shopping, as it turns out, is not only good language exercise, it’s also not bad actual physical exercise. Out shopping in the drizzle we were racking up upwards of 7,000 steps without much noticing. Meandering between shops, stopping at items of interest, sitting outside cafes watching the world go by, bit of sightseeing.
Perfect.
I suppose that it could be a potentially expensive exercise regime.
In addition to the great house, fabulous views, huge garden makeover project, multiple upkeep projects for Mr P, my brother in law, Frenchie has fallen in with good company, opinionated, gobby, kind, funny lefties. They made lunch for us, near an Atlantic beach.
I loved it all.
fat tart 