Tuesday 29 April 2014

Has it really been a year?

And what a year it has been!

This time last year we were running around tidying up loose ends and saying goodbye to friends and family, now we are settled in and getting on with the work that needs doing. We are off schedule due to refitting the kitchen and having back to back guests up to mid November, then we failed to take advantage of the last few weeks of good weather, we'll make a proper start in January we said! Then came the storms and what storms they were. One hundred mile an hour blasts, (bye bye screening) and torrential rain made for some very soggy land, though we did what we could, when we could.


The barn now has guttering but we couldn't do anymore work on that as the weather needs to be good and dry before we fit it out or we will make more problems for ourselves. We've learned a lot about humidity in Portugal. Come February we managed to make a start on the courtyard, clearing the ground of weeds, raking and flattening it before putting down anti weed matting and gravel. Phil has built a raised flower bed as a feature which will hopefully will get skimmed today so we can clear the barn of the soil I have sifted.









The field has been transformed from a piece of scrub land that was used to keep cows on and has a smooth more garden like appearance. We hired a local man with a small tractor to plough it a couple of times all other work has been done by hand so to speak, we now have it all seeded with grass and can see it taking shape, though I have to admit to feeling a little old for weeding an acre, but it has to be done. The land has screening pretty much all the way round, with a line of Melaleuca twigs on the north side, just the boarding to put in place in front of the courtyard. We have bought the wood to make the pergola and trellis's, we can finally see the basics coming together. a lot of work to do to fit out the barn but we still hope to be open for business this year, hopefully for the summer. We recently learned our yurts will not arrive until June, they were scheduled for April but there was a problem, probably for the best as it will focus us on the other works.



















So from this...



To this...



In a couple of months.

Wednesday 7 August 2013

We settle in...

Over the last few weeks we have been settling into this new life. I'll start by being terribly English and chat about the weather. The first week or two we had an unseasonably cold wind, it was warm enough during the days but the evenings were very chilly. Apart from having bedroom furniture aka the brick bed we were pretty much still camping out in the house, so evenings saw me retiring early to watch one of our many DVD's, Phil being much hardier weathered it out on the veranda. The temperatures soon warmed up again and then soared to some near record breaking temperatures, we could barely move, everyone was announcing it was very hot, even our neighbours were retiring to the cool of the interior. It was over this weekend that we had invited everyone round to eat, I thought I would melt!The hot spell was followed by some much cooler weather which frankly was a relief especially as we had another trip to Lisbon to finalise the new kitchen.We now seem to be settled into a period of pleasantly cool misty mornings and evenings with some high(ish) temperatures during the days. The inside of the house is pretty much decorated, we have furniture in all of the rooms,the kitchen has been ordered and the bathroom is still in the planning stage. Phil's daughter Vikki has been for a three week visit and it was wonderful to be able to share something of our new home with her. We have done shopping trips down to the Algarve and up to Lisbon, from Leroy-Merlin to Ikea. Ikea is off the list for future buying of large items there delivery prices are extortionate! We got a 10% discount (I say discount but we have to spend it at Ikea) due to our kitchen being on offer which was pretty much snatched back on the delivery cost, we are not amused! We lightened that visit with a trip to Quinta da Regaleira, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quinta_da_Regaleira. Due to time constraints we only saw part of the gardens but it was beautiful! Our journey home was via the Troia ferry across the river Sado, I admit to singing ferry cross the Sado in my head on the crossing.I saw my first wild dolphins a very exciting trip. Much pottering has been done, little bits and pieces that needed doing, one of these was fencing to keep the dogs out. We love the dogs, they are very friendly but they do leave little presents all around our property especially on the lawn. Fifty metres of wire later we are relatively dog proofed, we are going out to collect some decent sized stones to finish the job off, over a period of time we hope to build it up into a low wall to hide the chicken wire.

Tuesday 16 July 2013

So far behind...

I guess that life just overtook and I haven't found the impetus to blog with so much new stuff going on around us...

I wrote about our first week here and didn't get round to posting it, it's a bit we did this and we did please bare with me I promise to try and improve!

Our first week

Saturday was all about getting here and buying food, eating, drinking and settling in. Luis was watering the lawn when we arrived, he and his young lad Alexander greeted us warmly and then retreated to give us space after travelling. After shopping we came back to discover him mowing the lawn, he's a lovely guy! We'd eaten around six and were on the lawn looking at the house, our home when the couple who have a weekend place just across the track returned, they came over to say hello and insisted we come look at the house which they had restored themselves, small on the outside but a tardis inside. Next we knew he and his wife were bringing out bread and cheese and beers for all. We explained we had eaten, chatted and drank, Phil popped to ours and got more beer and wine, jokes were made about English and their drinking, more chat and we made our excuses and came home to bed.

We were up early on Sunday and did some daily household stuff, before buying a few more bits we needed then headed to the beach for a picnic, we saw frogs and snakes in the little stream that runs out to sea, we layer on the sand and chilled out.

Monday all our worldly goods arrived promptly courtesy of Algarve Freight, they were brilliant! We dug around for a few bits and pieces before heading off on a plant buying trip, we bought bougainvillea, dark purple, jasmine, an orange flowered climbing plant and some pot plants, after we sewed seeds into what containers we could find or craft from empty water bottles. We went out for a walk to the windmill, the walk became extended to round the block, around a mile and a half.

Tuesday we cleaned and shopped, we cleared the cupboards, threw stuff out, rationalised, got more stuff out of boxes, my Sabatier kitchen knives, large frying pan and other assorted goodies. More shopping as we realise what is missing. Although we speak very little Portuguese we managed with few problems to arrange phone and Internet to our little house, hopefully that will happen next week and we can stop using our UK mobile accounts for access. The system has changed, we used to get a defined amount of access from our provider now we get a limit, how much we are unsure of but we are warned when we have nearly reached it, then when we have reached it and are offered a £1.99 top up for another undefined amount, I can see the bill being high for both of us, to have home Internet will be a relief, as we can tether our phones and iPads to my laptop to gain a wifi service and use FaceTime to talk to the folks back home.

Wednesday our friends came over, we drank coffee and chatted about the change in weather, we are currently getting the tail end of some nasty UK weather and sadly the temperature has dropped and we're getting rain and clouds, it will pass though as all things do. Next was shopping for paint and related decorating bits. We ate pasta on the veranda.

Thursday we headed into Milfontes to the fish market where we bought fresh sea bass for tea. Next we dropped into see Tom at the Remax office, he helped us view properties for almost a year, it's important for us to keep in touch because he's a lovely guy and did so much for us. He once again told us to get in touch if we needed help with anything, I don't know any UK estate agents that offer that kind of support! We bought step ladders and headed home for lunch after which we commenced decorating our bedroom, pure white in the int he classic Portuguese way, though we may do a feature wall later. It's a long time since I decorated, and by the time we finished it was 'Ouch'! We knew we were unfit and have to build up strength for the projects to come.

We are both noticing a change in shape after just a few days, our eating habits have changed, not only a reduction in the amount but more salad and fruit. We will be eating more fish, meat is eaten with salad, so a reduction in carbs. We are also eating breakfast every morning, for me a little cereal and fruit, some mornings just fruit, lunch is light, a little bread some sheep cheese and salad for me, lean ham or eggs for Phil. We are truly determined to make this move a real lifestyle change. The wine however is so cheap, €1.59 for a good bottle of vino verde, €2.79 for a bottle of reserve red which is very quaffable, as the work load increases I am drinking less, physically tired I have less need to de-stress myself.

Friday we couldn't decide whether the paint was even so decided to leave it for another day, we pottered, Phil sorted boxes and I pruned the roses. A few meow odd jobs and we decided to head to the beach, we didn't get there, we got distracted and wandered down various tracks in the car. Phil treated me to a meal a Duna Parque, a stone steak with a little Gorgonzola sauce on the side, we even had desert, chocolate mousse, very light and fluffy. The added bonus was free wifi so we filled our boots so to speak before heading home for another early night.

Today we went to look for a bed, we found a couple of local shops and saw some really solidly built ones, not cheap but not overly expensive either, but we thought we'd go and look in Beja, a much larger town about 90km away, we couldn't find a furniture shop for the life of us, even with Internet, maps and phone sat nav, we did however get a couple of double sockets, a light switch and a cauliflower, we successfully managed the automatic check out, so not a complete fail.

It's our second Sunday at home, and I've just opened a bottle of champagne to celebrate! We went to Cabo Sardao to day and wandered on the cliffs by the lighthouse, we noticed just how many wild flowers there were of different types, marvelled at the precarious introduction some baby storks have being balance high up on the rocks with the sea below crashing around them. We then went ove to the beach at Furnas but but then the clouds had drawn over and the wind had developed a sharp edge, time for home. I'm siting on the veranda listening to the wind in the trees and a variety of hidden wildlife making a variety of sounds. We have booked the ferry for our return journey to Portugal with my car, Portsmouth to Bilbao, with 2 nights on board I pray for calm seas!

Monday 13 May 2013

Arriving was as good as travelling!

We left Nottingham at 6.45am on Mayday morning, our goodbyes said the day before. The day was bright and sunny we had a clear run down until we reached Dover which was bathed in fog. Due to the fog the ferry was delayed for thirty minutes or so, not so bad, we arrived at Calais in good time to make the ferry down to Rouen our first stop. We exited the ferry and bang, I got hit by an ocular migraine, for those who do not know me I don’t shut my eyes or sleep when travelling, the ultimate act of trust was for me to close my eyes whilst Phil drove to the nearest service station so we could look in the back of the car for pills and buy water. Thankfully they acted quickly and we were on our way once again.

We checked into the Ibis Isle de Bastide, Rouen next to the river Seine (lots of silly jokes), we then drove down into the underground car park, eeeks it was not built for an estate car that’s for sure! Steep entry, my Mazda would have beached, narrow road, very narrow parking bays some for one car others for two with walls between. We finally parked, threw our stuff into the room and went off to explore the old part of town, a delightful town with medieval architecture lurking around corners (I will post photos at a later date). We ate at the Holy Cow gourmet burger bar, a burger like no other I have tasted, mine was topped with gorgonzola. Back to the hotel, a couple of drinks and then bed, we were truly shattered. We awoke early the Tuesday morning knowing we had a long drive across France to Bordeaux ahead, we capitulated and used the motorways, the tolls weren’t as bad as expected, it was however a long, expensive and uninspiring drive, which has led us to decide we will get the ferry to Santander when we bring Rodger the Roadster back at the end of the month. We arrived in Bordeaux so shattered we ate and drank at the hotel before crashing out not long after 9pm.

Another early morning saw us back on the road to Salamanca, Spain, we saw our first wild life road bridge, though I do wonder whether the deer and wild boar know it is for them. We had a minor incident with a French man and the toll booths, he seemed to think he could push his way into the queue despite there being no space. He eventually forced his way in front and made some rather rude gestures, we responded in kind. Next we knew he was out of his car coming towards what he presumed was the driver side, he looked a little shocked to see that it wasn’t and all he was faced with was a middle aged woman, he returned to his car with no further incident. The day was overcast and it began to rain once we got close to the border and the Pyrenees. Now about that border crossing… I was so disappointed, I wanted guards, with guns and dogs and silly hats, I wanted barbed wire fences, interrogations, car searches, what I got was a sign saying we had entered Spain, which I actually blinked and missed. On the first part of the journey the mountains were snow capped and spectacular, we were either driving over bridges or through tunnels in mountains, one 2 miles long. The second leg of the journey was through industrial landscapes then we hit open farmland again, we stopped a roadside service station, which looked a bit dismal, the coffee was fabulous and if I had been hungry a slice of that Tortilla would have been mine. We arrived at Salamanca around 6pm, the garage to the hotel was even worse than the first one I am surprised we didn’t leave bits of the undercarriage of the Rover behind. Once checked in we grabbed cameras and went for a wander around finding an old square lined with restaurants and apartments all very grand, there was however a book fair going on and so we couldn’t get a real feel for it. We found a little café and ate some Tapas I had a can of beer with mine and felt instantly squiffy, no more beer for me. Back at the hotel I had some wine whilst Phil had another beer before we headed to bed early again.

With a shorter distance to travel we allowed ourselves a much slower start to the day, a hot shower then out for a coffee and a croissant and a walk around the park which was opposite our hotel. Back on the road we escaped from Salamanca and headed for Badajoz and Portugal. After a stop to eat I finally took over the driving, well I say driving more pointing the car in the right direction with an automatic and cruise control. It was a lovely drive mountains and then heath land, swathes of meadows, some yellow, some purple, pink or white, others a mix of all the colours. We saw all manner of raptors, including eagles, a beautiful journey made more so when we crossed the Portuguese border, I saw that sign! So here we are in Elvas for two nights in the most delightful hotel, which has been both a hospital and a convent in its many incarnations. As I type this I am sitting by an open window to my right with a view of one of the towns walls extending away from our room, I can here the birds singing and there is just a hint of orange blossom in the air. We have explored the hotel with its many corridors, beautiful furniture and ancient nooks and crannies. We have been out onto the ‘Varanda’ which over looks the courtyard, with it’s small garden of olive trees and it’s swimming pool, oh and views of the old fort. We have explored the streets in the vicinity of the hotel and taken many photos. Both the hotel and the town are everything we thought they would be. Tomorrow we will explore and then Saturday we will head to the little house we love, soon to be known as home.

Elvas is a delightful old walled town complete with the remains of a viaduct. We strolled around in the heat and sunshine taking photos. We found the ‘magazine’ of the Lady of Conception it consisted of a circular domed room and an outdoor corridor, the acoustics inside were amazing, the place had a very peaceful feeling. By the time we reached the castle it was closing for lunch so we walked down to the praca da Republica and found a lovely café to have our lunch at. Whilst looking for a cash machine we found the tourist office and enquired about a second fort we had seen on an adjacent hill, we were told it was a bit of a ruin and that the newer fort was in better condition. We, of course wanted to visit the ruined one! It was really quite large and didn’t have a very settled feel, heavily fortified with a kind of moat and wall arrangement the governors house sat atop all in the safest position. It wasn’t until Phil had been inside that I built up the nerve to do so myself. It was well worth it for the views, the residence must have been very grand in its hey day, but sadly is falling into ruin, the comparison between that residence and the soldiers accommodation was striking. Back at the hotel we bathed and wandered out to a regional restaurant and sampled some local food, the cream cod was nice but could have done with more flavour somehow.

Saturday and we were up at a good time, ate a healthy breakfast and hit the road, once again we decided to take the motorways to get to our house even faster, we split the driving Phil taking the first half allowing me to drive home. We were greeted by Luis and his boy Alex, then had the delights of opening up the house and letting the air and sunshine in, we quickly unpacked the car, placing Gabriel and Balthazar at the end on the garden path before going shopping for some provisions. It was good to potter around doing ‘normal’ things after so long on the road. A simple BBQ and salad for dinner with some Vino Verdi and we were ready for a very early nigh, or so we thought! Across the track from us is a little weekend place owned by a couple from Lisbon, they spotted us and came over for a chat, next thing we were being shown around their house, beer bread and cheese were produced and there we were getting to know our fortnightly neighbours for the next couple of hours.

Sunday we slept later than planned and awoke a little fuzzy headed, nothing that a couple of cups of tea couldn’t sort. We popped out to a local garden centre but it was closed, oops not the same hours as the UK, so we went into Milfontes and did a little shopping and had a coffee before heading to the beach for a picnic. BBQ and salad again for tea then an early night with a movie on the laptop.

Today is the day that our worldly goods arrive, we woke at six thirty and were up and onto the veranda for tea and breakfast, it’s like grand central station at the moment as our neighbour seems to be the hub of what ever work he does, a JCB, a large tractor and trailer, people coming and going, it’s quite fun to watch. Meanwhile we seem to have an accidental side order of cats and dogs we didn’t order, they just like to come and hang out at our place!

Sunday 5 May 2013

Here we are...

Here we are!

Sitting in bed having a lazy, restful day before our epic trip. In the last week we have socialised more than we have done in the last 2 years. We have spent time with good friends and family, we have eaten and drunk well, we have laughed and no doubt will have some tears before tonight.

Well having spent 2 months packing stuff up we were still packing when the van arrived to whisk our 86 variously sized boxes away. The house has been scrubbed and cleaned, neighbours said goodbye to and the keys handed over. We are on hotel number two of six and frankly I am looking forward to having somewhere to cook again. Eating out all the time is all very well and good but I don’t feel I have control over what I am eating and am too easily tempted, oh and obviously it costs so much more.

Tomorrow we have an early start to ensure we reach Dover by 11.30 for our 12.15 crossing to Calais, from Calais we drive down to Rouen for our fist night in France. I’m hoping to grab a few photos on my phone and maybe do a blog a day on the way down but I could fail in my intentions lol.

And so the penultimate day will be quiet and slow…

This post is brought to you by my Personal Hotspot iPhone to Mac Book wi-fi!

Wednesday 24 April 2013

A dream no more...

With so many of our belongings packed up it is no longer a dream, the reality is upon us. Addresses have been changed for bank accounts, reading glasses have been taken to be mended, carpet cleaner booked for the day before we hand over the keys, frozen food has been re-homed (I hate throwing food away), the change bucket has been cashed in into a more portable form, the windows have been cleaned, the milk has been cancelled and paid up to date, it's not the arriving that's difficult to arrange it's the cleaning up before leaving. On the to do list, chasing up some paperwork, printing out a tax form in the hope they owe me something, booking a van for short haul stuff and I'm sure there are things that haven't come to mind yet.

Phil is looking at his last couple of days at work, we have his works leaving do on Thursday night which may lead to little being done on Friday, we have our leaving do in the village on the Saturday night, then friends over to pick up our fridge freezer on Sunday with a bit of lunch thrown in, the following Saturday we have a family do, so a busy social time ahead.

So I guess the question is how do I feel? I admit to a couple of anxiety attacks but they are connected to what we have to do between now and when we leave the rented house we are in. The overall feeling is of great excitement and the desire to be there not here, I have had days where I could quite happily have just got on a plane and left everything behind. I want to be where I can pop out and walk on the beach, where it is warm, where the sun shines for more than two or three days in a row. I want to know what it is like to live in a different country as opposed to just visiting one and not wanting to go home, I will admit there are few holidays abroad that I have wanted to come home from for various reasons. It's like achieving everything I ever wanted, I always wanted to live close to the sea, somewhere, somewhere else. I look back and think how many years I didn't get the chance to travel outside of the UK, mostly for financial reasons, other people would tell me of their holidays to places that to me seemed magical, each story I heard I promised myself I would one day visit the countries I dreamed of. At the age of 40 I could finally afford to have a holiday where ever I wanted so off I went to Sorrento in southern Italy with my daughter and a friend, I loved it so much I went back on my own two months later, that was the start! When I met Phil in 2005 the travel bug became fully unleashed, Italy, the Island of Rhodes, Belgium, Spain, Turkey, Tunisia and of course Portugal, so many visits to Portugal, the country which will become our home in just 16 days time when we arrive at our house.

Of course it goes without saying I will miss my family and friends, but we worked it out that it would take longer for them to drive to Cornwall than it does to fly to Faro or Lisbon and hope they will come visit as we will visit them when we can!

Thursday 11 April 2013

And so...

The wheel turns ever closer to our departure date.

Monday I had lunch with some old school chums who I met up with last year for the first time in more than 30 years. Once again it was fun, we reminisced about our time there, recalled names from the past, some of the escapades we got up to and how we didn't send our kids to boarding school because we disliked it so much. The other notable thing about Monday was I had a little wobble about the move, inevitable at some point, all in my head but it went along the lines of "OhmygodI'm50andmovingtoPortugal,OhmygodI'm50andmovingtoPortugal,OhmygodI'm50andmovingtoPortugal,OhmygodI'm50andmovingtoPortugal,OhmygodI'm50andmovingtoPortugal,OhmygodI'm50andmovingtoPortugal,eeeeeeks". It soon passed!

Tuesday I did a little more packing, Wednesday a little more, the boxes now number 30 and I can't find much more to pack that we don't use daily, though there maybe some kitchen bits in one of the drawers. Today I took my Mac in to have a new DVD/CD drive fitted, fortunately the Mac is still under warranty. Went to have a chat with the local garage about some bits I want doing to the car, it's booked in for Tuesday to have an MOT, then I need to source a couple of parts for them to fit, another tick on the list. Now to find and book a van to move stuff to my daughters and book a carpet cleaner to come in after we have moved everything out!

Just 25 days to go!