No Slacking, Work Tomorrow...

We arrived home safe and sound from our trip to Portugal, refreshed and with increased weight around the middle with the realisation that with just 15 hours to go from walking through the door, I would be back at work driving the desk - bad planning or what?

The house was in one piece and tidy and the three boys had not begun WWlll, so after a quick cut of the lawn, top up the fishponds with water and out for tea at a lovely local restaurant (my treat for still having a house and a family in one piece), I write this on my last evening of freedom for the time being.

The day began (with the picture at the top of the blog) at around 6.40 am this morning on the Algarve, sunrise over Alvor. All packed and ready to depart.

This has been one of the laziest holidays I (we) have ever had and this has been quite deliberate. The Hotel catered for all our needs without wandering off anywhere, but there's plenty that we could have done. Walking the length of the beach on a few occasions and one foray into he old part of Alvor was good enough for us. This was one of the typical streets, (left).

The beach was the main attraction for so many people simply for walking or sunbathing, but not swimming unless you're hardy because at this time of the year, it's still cold. There were a few kite surfing competitions going on and some of the heights surfers reached in the brisk breeze off the sea were mind blowing, probably thirty feet in the air I would guess. Brave people.
I mentioned this on one of my comments to a fellow blogger on an earlier post, this was one of the only places I've been to where no-one fought for sun recliners near the pool - reserving them with their towels. Although the hotel was packed, there were more recliners than people who wanted their use, so we had our pick, every morning.

The hours for meals were long, so there was never a rush to get out of bed and never a rush in the dining room when we got there. They can't make tea by the way, they give you a tea bag in it's paper envelope because their rules say they can't handle the tea bag and put it in the pot of boiling water, So you order 'tea with milk' and they bring a tea bag, cup and saucer, sugar - always sugar even when you don't use it, a jug of boiling water and a jug of milk - it's an art form.

There are a few more pics, some taken on a late evening before the light disappears totally for example and which I'll post over the next few days.

I read three books while sat by the pool, 'The Power of NOW' by Eckhart Tolle, interesting topic if you need to get out of the rat race and stop letting your mind run riot; the superb Chris Evans tells the first half of his life story in his excellent and brilliantly written autobiography, 'It's not What you Think.' This is a stunningly honest portrayal of this complex man who has made mega mistakes and engineered fabulous coups.

Finally, a little heavy but equally as enjoyable 'The Greatest Show on Earth' by Richard Dawkins, the case for evolution against creationism. Controversial, yes; thought provoking, yes; entertainingly written in a witty style and he makes it reasonably understandable for someone like me with one O'Level. You make your own mind up - mine's quite clear.

Unpacking is in progress and far be it for me to be in the way of emptying cases. 160 e-mails to scan, bills to peruse.

Chat soon

ta-ra
(click on any of the pictures to enlarge them, all taken on a Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ65)