Bom Dia! Back to Peaceful Portugal

Portugal has a special place in my heart!  I spent our first ever two month winter 'long stay' in that beautiful country almost eight years ago. It was the first time we'd drained the pipes at the cafe, found a house and cat sitter for Spooky and Stacia, counted up our hard earned dollars,rented an apartment in Albufeira for a month and another one in Lisboa, booked a flight via Heathrow (no longer necessary to use that roundabout route) packed our suitcases not knowing what to bring, and set off on a snowy day in January for Pearson airport. 

Well!!! What can I say?  The experience changed my life. Waking up to birdsong, flowers, sunshine and blue skies in January!  Eating grilled sardinas and piri piri chicken and that delicious Portuguese bread and pastries and olives in beach front cafes or in the elegant old restaurants of Lisbon. Walking through green avenues to the market. The architecture. The friendliness of the people. The incredible wines costing less than 3 Euros a bottle.We spent the next six winters away from snowy Ontario; in Portugal, in Spain, in France and in Mexico. And we loved them all!

But the time has come to return to Portugal. This time we are exploring rural central Portugal: land of green hills and blue rivers. Its very much a place where time stands still.. Days are quiet and there is time to read, to walk, to eat, to cook, to explore the villages and small towns. But progress is here also, which means that our rental villas have high speed internet, satellite tv, good bus and train connections to nearby cities.Join me in this new adventure. I'll be posting information about the women's small group journey planned for mid February and information for those who might be thinking of a long stay holiday in this lovely part of unspoiled Portugal.  Stay tuned!