Real Life in Portugal 11
A glance at the date of my last post tells me it’s been over a fortnight since I last blogged.
The last couple of weeks have been hectic and not a tremendous amount of fun. They began with nine days in London, where the balance between work and play was tipped firmly in the direction of work.
After this grueling trip, we returned to Portugal and had one Sunday to clean the apartment before diving into another week of twelve-hour days. It’s fair to say it didn’t exactly feel like “living the dream.”
Sea and Sunshine? Not lately!
On the bright side, this busy fortnight means we now have enough cash to pay our scary tax bill, complete with the extra 3.5% “extraordinary tax” imposed by the government as part of the bailout.
On the less bright side, within two hours of my body knowing I was going to tick off everything on my list, it rebelled and rewarded my hard work with a nasty dose of man-flu, from which I am still recovering.
Meanwhile, as the UK simultaneously enjoys both a drought and reportedly the wettest month in about 100 years, Portugal is getting some fairly crappy weather too. Coming into May we would usually have enjoyed some weeks of around 25C and consistent sunshine. This year we are frequently seeing temperatures in the mid-teens – frustratingly cooler than it was at Christmas and on some occasions lower even than the temperature in London.
Portugal Weather - Unusually Cool for May
Of course, there is little point in mentioning this to family and friends back in the UK – I’m sure regardless of what we say they are convinced we just sit by the pool sipping caipirinhas!
Anyway, I realise I have now moaned for seven paragraphs so I’ll snap out of it.
We should have some good times ahead with a three day weekend on the horizon and a week off planned for later in May when some family come to visit. We have rented a villa in Lagos together which will give us a change of pace and scenery. Although Lagos is just an hour away, the coastline there is very different. I look forward to exploring, relaxing and, most of all, being able to step away from our laptops for a while.
So, that’s my update for today, which should serve as yet another reminder to potential expats that life abroad can sometimes be awfully similar to life at home – and equally at the mercy of the weatherman.
AT THIS TIME IN MAY 2010…….now this is amusing….I was moaning about popping back to England and fighting off a “nasty bug we caught on the plane!” However, looking back at May 2010′s posts does seem to suggest that the weather was better. Step back in time with me by clicking here.
Moaning in 2010 too!
