Reflecting on my week #86

Last weekend was a weekend for getting jobs done, and that continued through most of the week with the focus changing to work, rather than home. Though of course there was always more, on both lists, that could probably be done, but that is often my way. The plan to be prepared and pack way in advance, didn’t quite materialise, and as ever there was the “how heavy is my case” guessing game after the bathroom scales refused point blank to even guesstimate the weight.

As it turned out, and despite us thinking that we had plenty with us, at the airport our luggage was woefully under the 23kg weight limit per bag, so no pre-worrying (however light) was needed. In fact, we were 16kg off the total limit, and it did make me wonder what on earth people take with them.  The check in staff looked even more surprised when they saw the (small) size of our hand luggage, but so far I’m sure we have everything we need with us. 

There was a bit of a scare though as l started to lightly unpack in our Lisbon apartment - I couldn’t see MOH’S toiletry bag, and had the sinking feeling that perhaps it wasn’t in the case after all. Turns out it was, it was the one thing he’d unpacked.  

Panic over, and I could go back to enjoying the rooftop view before we headed out for that initial explore where tuk-tuks, funiculars, trams and plenty of tiles were all spotted.  A pizza and beers were also quickly devoured under the bluest of skies, as somehow airports seem to make me ravenous. 

THE VIEW FROM OUR APARTMENT  

THE PROMISE OF TILES TO COME

A FUNICULAR  

With life its usual busy self, we'd booked our holiday but with very little planning for our time in Lisbon, the only definite was that MOH wanted to watch the Champions League Final, which was fair enough. So the question of what we were actually going to do, prompted some serious planning so we could make the most of the three nights and two days in the city.

And the first of our days here was spent in Belém admiring many of its monuments. Belém is just a short (three stops) train journey from Cais do Sodre, and well worth the trip, though the Tropical Botanical gardens which I was keen to visit was shut, as we discovered as we arrived at its gate. 

THE MONUMENTS TO THE DISCOVERIES

WAITING TO GO INTO BELÉM TOWER

OIUTSIDE THE MONASTERIES OF JERÓNIMOS

Getting a tram was obviously on our list, as was eating plenty of those fabulous Portuguese custard tarts, and as it turned out, our first of each were linked. We hadn’t planned our return journey back and while sitting enjoying some tapas and vinho verde we realised we were overlooking the terminus for tram 18. After not seeing the botanical gardens and wondering what do do next, a tram pulled in, we worked out it would take us back and so we jumped on it. And for that first stop, we had it to ourselves which given everything I’d cram-read that morning wasn’t what I expected at all. 

PASTEL DE NATA

I took many photos of buildings from the tram and will no doubt share those once we’re home, but the let’s continue with how the trams and tarts. Once off the tram, which did fill up as expected, we found ourselves wondering what to do next. The Timeout Market was on our list of ‘must sees’ and although we expected to do this the next day, when it presented itself right in front of us, we’ll lets just say gift horse and mouth. And pastel de nata.

TILES! SOME OF MANY (AND I MEAN MANY)

Throughout the day we’d spotted many of these purple flowering trees and wondered what they were. They had a similar appeal to the cherry blossom in Greenwich Park and were much photographed.  Back at the apartment later Google told me they are Lisbon Jacarandas, and the flowers signify the start of summer, and with temperatures above thirty degrees, and reaching 36 on Sunday, they probably weren’t wrong.

THE PRETTY LISBON JACARANDAS  

Our second day was supposed to include a tram ride and the market, but in a rare spate of getting ahead of ourselves the next on our list was to visit the Alfama, or old part of the city. Despite the increasing heat we set off on foot, purposefully taking a different route through the city, heading towards Rossio down these steps, which went on and on. One step on each and you’d get down them pretty quickly and at speed, but two steps on each and you (well I) felt like a doddering old lady, so a combination of the two was adopted I’ll say successfully as I didn’t fall over (though it was probably close)

STEPS! 

After some people watching in the streets around Rossio, another market and a stop off for drinks and to visit one of the churches along the way, we reached Alfama, which seemed to be adorned in a vast supply of tinsel throughout its narrow lanes. It had the feel of a great party the night before and of gearing up to do it all again, but not just yet.  So after an extensive wander we headed back towards Rossio in search of tapas.

IN THE ALFAMA DISTRICT  

Once again we struck gold. Octopus in a confit of peppers, lime shrimps and chorizo cooked in moscatel with mushrooms along with a refreshing glass of vinho verde. All that was needed was a custard tart, so back we went to the market, this time using the Metro as a concession to the day’s temperatures. There are obviously plenty of other places to eat and enjoy custard tarts, but our plan was to stop off at a wine bar we’d spotted the day before with the most amazing vaulted bottle ceiling. 

Looking at it more closely it was also a feat of engineering, but more on that another day. Today we’re moving on to the second phase of our trip and heading down to the Arrábida Natural Park on the Setúbal Peninsula, which is just a stone’s throw from Lisbon, but which I’m expecting to be totally different.

I’d better go, I’ve some packing to do...

Adding some Hotter pastel travel sandals to my holiday wardrobe

* This post contains an item that was gifted

One of my pre-holiday rituals is working out what to pack, that might sound an obvious thing to do, and it is, but bear with me. I have a tendency to overpack, I realise that that might also not be news, but my ploy now is to get out what I want to take, review it, prune it and try again. What I’ve learnt from this approach is that while I still overpack a bit, it’s way less than before, but also it’s a good way, for me for working out the flexibility that the clothes I take will bring.

On the left the bottom white, navy, brown with pink spots and pale blue pile is my shorts.  To the right is my t-shirts and on top are vest tops. It’s far from a capsule wardrobe, I’ll admit but already I can see that I have options, with vest tops, t-shirts and shorts all earning their place in my suitcase. 

Which is good news, as for our upcoming holiday we’re combining a city stay with a walking holiday, and while both will be casual unless it’s super hot then I’m not much of a shorts in the city kind of girl,  I’ve  got some 3/4 length trousers lined up for there, plus a slightly smarter pair for evenings, which will also double up for the walking part of our holiday for evenings, and if we’re unlucky on not so sunny days.

But, as ever, it’s shoes that are my achilles heel (pun not quite intended).  Something comfortable to wear walking around the city, and then again practical for a proper walking holiday in Portugal’s Serra Arrabida on the Setúbal Peninsula, which we’re led to believe is virtually undiscovered.  With walks generally over 10 km each day, the longest walk is 18 km - a circular walk at that on day four,  and terrains that include forest tracks, country lanes, valleys and ridges proper, supportive and comfortable footwear will be needed. 

And that’s often where I struggle.  I have plenty of footwear, and more recently I’ve acquired plenty of flatter options too, but still none that I’d deem appropriate enough for such a trek.  So when Hotter offered me the chance to add their travel sandals to my walking holiday wardrobe and I realised that the pastel colourway was in ‘my colours’, how could I refuse?

When they arrived, my instincts about how well they matched my wardrobe was proved right.  There’s pinks, lilacs and blues as well as the greys, and holding them up against the clothes I’m planning to take shows that.  Trying them on  was the icing on the cake, they’re as comfortable as I’ve come to expect from Hotter shoes, and so I’ve a feeling that any dragging my feet on that long circular walk, won’t be due to my footwear. 

* This shoes were gifted by Hotter Shoes to review, I’ll be sharing how they - and my feet - fared on our upcoming walking holiday, as usual all views and opinions shared here and in my future posts are and will be my own.

Reflecting on my week #85

* This post contains an item that was gifted

I think I’ve said before how much difference a three day weekend can make. i definitely think we should have more of them, though I think this week I’ll be suffering as I’ve an even shorter week than the rest of you. Our weekend started off well with dinner in a relatively new local restaurant, Copper & Ink. It’s in Blackheath and describes itself as “a modern British restaurant with influences from classic French and Scandinavian cuisine” and is a great addition to the restaurants in our London village.

As ever looking for the easy option on the menu and when we’re spoilt for choice we opted for the tasting menu ,and it was a great choice. As well as the food, my favourite part about the restaurant was the bookcase, with real, proper books. And many recipe books which I have too. The other nice touch was that the Chef Patron, Tony Rudd, the Masterchef finalist who lives locally served the main course of the five course menu. That and the fact that there was two puddings, which is always a good thing in my book.

And with a start like that, the weekend could only get better. I’ve been trying to implement a new Bank Holiday rule, which includes cocktails each evening. MOH got on board with it two nights out of three, my favourite was the Aperol Spritz, which always tastes better in the sun. And in big glasses!

It was one of those weekends were we tackled lots of jobs, and many of the jobs that have been hanging around for a little while. Like finally getting the dead and dying box topiary balls out of our tall pots, though that was trickier than it sounds. Last year we’d chopped one back completely in the hope that we’d prevent the spread of the box caterpillar. Earlier this year we realised we hadn’t been so luck and the second of our boxes was under siege by the stripey foes.

Almost resigned to the fact, and seeing the state of the box in gardens around us, this weekend the third bush which was only part-nibbled was also sacrificed. It had quite the rootball, filling one of the larger trugs. We’ve had the plants a while, and were probably one of our first additions to the garden some fifteen or so years ago. So we’ve definitely had our money’s worth from them, and it’s sad to see them go - and so savagely - but it makes sense to move to something less attractive to the pesky nibblers, I’m not sure what yet, but I’ll know it when I see it.

We also made time to assemble the Copper Rim Fire Pit which Von Haus sent me to try. It was the perfect job for a grey Bank Holiday Monday. I’ll share more in a separate post, but of course the Bank Holiday weather got the better of us in the end and so we’ve still yet to try it out. The website says it’s easy to assemble, and that’s something I’d definitely agree with. MOH likes a good assembly job, and I’m sure had been itching to get started on this, and my role was quickly designated Chief-Hold-It-In-Place, which it seems I’m not that good at.

The solar lights that we bought recently at the garden centre made it out of the packet and onto the fence too. It really was the weekend for catching up on jobs. I’m always wary about solar lights, and placing them in a straight line along the fence, as I think quite often with our long thin garden it can make our garden appear narrower, and there’s always the concern that it might get mistaken for a runway, which wouldn’t be good. These however have been added to the fence posts and panels alongside the conservatory, so provide an element of light when sitting in the conservatory of an evening too, as well as hinting that there’s more to our garden.

As well as generally trying to tame parts of our garden - and making small inroads - one of the parts that really needed tackling was the area in front of our gabion basket seating area. The weeds had gone rampant here, despite our best efforts to keep it clear. I think there’s wasted effort in re-weeding areas when we don’t need to, and while it’s something we tackle this year, the weeds will probably be quicker than us so it called for drastic measures. Those drastic measures were empty compost bags pinned in place as a temporary weed prevention tool, let’s hope they work.

It wasn’t all toil and no glamour though - remember there were cocktails - and there were also highlights, these buttercups seem to have found themselves a new home jumping up into the sleeper bed. Many class these as a weed, but I’m applying the “it’s only a weed if it’s in the wrong place” principle to these, and they’re staying for at least a while.

The bug to get things done had truly bitten MOH as next thing I knew he was out on the conservatory roof clearing out the guttering - a novelty, as it’s the first time our conservatory has had guttering. Even just him being out there gives me the heebie jeebies, my role this time was to pull him back in through the window.

I’m really good to him, at times. I’ll remind him of that when I need to!