April – Ten Fabulous Things 1
Monday mornings are a lot easier to deal with when the sun floods through the curtains as soon as we pull up the shutters. I am very thankful that I really can’t find a lot to complain
Montegordo - just before sunset
about right now, and yesterday as I sat on the beach, I started thinking about all the great times we have had this month. It’s time for a list! Here are ten fabulous things that we enjoyed in April:
1. Spending three hours (yesterday) bobbing around in an over-sized rubber ring in a calm and surprisingly warm Atlantic Ocean.
2. Learning how to prepare and cook fresh squid.
3. Watching fish swimming in the top of the waves at Barrill beach on the Isla De Tavira.
4. Sharing our new home with several of our nearest and dearest.
5. Going to the beach with our friend’s eight month old baby and introducing him to sand.
6. Mastering the use of our new barbeque, with the exception of learning how to stop having to clean it being a HUGE chore.
7. Playing boule on the beach. (Hmm, a bit of a beach theme emerging here…)
8. Driving around somewhere that now truly feels like home with loud, sunny music playing.
9. Sitting outside drinking cheap wine on the first of the really barmy, warm evenings.
10. Exploring some more of Portugal (some the Alentejo and the area around Coimbra – more to follow on the blog at some point!)
It is interesting, when I read back over the list, that none of these things really cost money. Luther Vandross and Janet Jackson were spot on: the best things in life ARE free!
In the interests of balance, as always, here are a few less fabulous things from this month!
1. Discovering that Spain, as well as the UK, must have its share of noisy chavs, demonstrated by the group of children throwing wood at each other on Montegordo beach while their tattooed parents shouted at them. Thankfully this was an isolated example!
2. Coming to the realisation that having to go back to the UK every few months to work is never going to stop being rather depressing.
3. Trying to sleep when mosquitoes are determined to make noisy dives at your ears.
4. Finding out that even though Portugal is a far more friendly country than the UK, there are still a few people in customer facing jobs who need to learn to smile. Chinese restaurant on Montegordo seafront, I am thinking of you 
That’s it for today. Have a look at my other blog, www.foodandwineportugal.com for five fabulous foods from this month!
