Wall-to-wall Sunshine

     We have just experienced the first truly spring-like weekend (out without a jacket yesterday) and finally things are beginning to grow. Today started off at 10C and was up to 19C by lunch time. Now it is raining and giving the garden a good soak so there should be even more new growth by tomorrow.

   I started raking the lawns yesterday but gave up after half-an-hour to bask in the sun with a cold drink. Today I was busy out and about (invited to play bridge this afternoon) but if the weather holds, I will get the rake out again tomorrow. Then it's on to fertilizing and overseeding the lawns.

    One last picture of my Portugal trip:

Spotted outside a bar in Albufeira. Not a sentiment I particularly endorse but I have to admit to indulging while on holiday!

Seville Spain

A bit warmer today, 10C but very windy. The garden is very soggy after an overnight thunderstorm, so no chance on getting a headstart on gardening. The only bit of colour in my garden is some pansies (from the Garden Centre) at my front door and a few small blue hyacinths in the sunnier part of the back garden.

   One more set of photos to share - they are of Seville, a city in the south of Spain we visited briefly. It has quite a Moorish influence and I really liked what I saw of it and would like to go back for a more thorough exploration. Despite an early start, it was mid-morning before we arrived in Seville and started with a bus tour of the city. Many of the buildings we passed had been built for the 1929 World Fair and belonged to different countries - quite fascinating!

Plaza de Espana

    Our first stop was at Plaza de Espana which was originally part of the royal palace but is now a public park. Then we started a walking tour with a local guide and learned some history of the city. We ended at the Cathedral which is truly magnificent with many valuable treasures. It also contains the tomb of Christopher Columbus, although he was in fact Italian, not Spanish. I climbed the tower for a great view of the city before returning to the bus. On the way back I stopped at a tapas bar to sample some of the local delicacies.


View from the tower of the Cathedral.

    One day really wasn't enough to see this beautiful city but we had to keep moving. Another long bus ride to Algecira and then dinner in the hotel. Best part was Crème Caramel for dessert.






Christopher Columbus' tomb in the cathedral.

Where we had lunch.

 

One of the Spanish provinces portrayed in the plaza.

Visit to Tangiers

   Another cold, rainy day, temp. only reached 6C this afternoon. I was out early to work the coffee bar at the Senior's Centre, then stayed there for bridge with Ron, Diane and Maria. I had terrible hands and the only one I played, we went down one. So not a successful afternoon. Swam 16 lengths at the pool and had a long soak in the hot tub as I am quite achy - probably due to the damp weather.

    While in Portugal we had a side trip to Spain and from there got a ferry to Tangiers in Morocco. We had spent the night in Algecira which is a half-hour drive from the port of Tarifa where the ferry departs. It had been raining torrentially that morning and we were all pretty well soaked when we boarded the ferry. The rain stopped once we were in Tangiers but it was still quite cool, especially in our damp clothes! 



Entrance to the Kasbah inside the city walls.

Interior of hotel where we stopped for coffee.

    Tangiers is very hilly so we were glad of the bus tour of the city, both the affluent and seedy sections. We stopped at the beach and some of us had rides on camels (not me, I was still too wet, plus I rode a camel in Egypt). Then we started a walking tour of the Kasbah,  an array of winding, narrow streets, followed by a traditional lunch, complete with traditional musicians and a belly dancer. Then more walking to the medina which is an open air market - it had started to rain again so we did this lickety split! 



Some interesting doors in the Kasbah.



Notice the jerry-rigged wiring!

   The street vendors were particularly persistent and annoying, especially if you showed the least interest in their wares - they would not take "No" for an answer.! I guess this is a lean time of year for them. The ferry ride back was much more pleasant as the sun was setting and we had a good view of the sunset. Back in time for dinner at the hotel and some dry clothes!

Chilly Weekend

    Easter Sunday saw a light covering of snow as the grandkids plucked candy eggs from the "Easter Tree" at my front walk. They were in fine form for our Easter lunch of roast lamb but the other family didn't make it as Lucy the dog was sick and had to pay a visit to the vet. They phoned in their apologies but we had already dived into the meal and there wasn't much in the way of leftovers. That said, I got two more meals out of the lamb leg and am going to make a Shepherd's Pie tonight with the last of the meat and some new vegetables.

    Today is still very chilly with rain and freezing rain forecast. In fact it will be a few miserable days but, thankfully, the temperature is going to rise into the low 'teens by the weekend.

   I calculated all my expenses for my Longstay in Portugal and it came out to just about the same as I have been paying for my 8 - 10 day trips with U of T Alumni. I probably did as much sight-seeing but interspersed with rest days which really suited me better than rushing around to a different place every day.

     One of my favourite excursions was a tour of Historic Algarve. We were on the road by 8:30 and visited four different towns. First stop was an old castle in Silves, then we climbed the mountains to Monchique at about 900 metres, where we had a lunch of Chicken Piri-Piri (a local speciality) after admiring the view. Next stop was Lagos on the coast - a quite attractive harbour and holiday spot where I saw a model of the ship Bartolemew Diaz, a 15th century Portuguese navigator, sailed around the Cape of Good Hope - it was tiny compared to the sailing vessels of today!

    Our last stop of the day was at Cape St. Vincent which is the most south-westerly point of Europe - a very windy spot with craggy cliffs and crashing waves. Then there was the long ride back to Albufeira, getting in around 7:30 after a very full, busy day. It was one of the better tours I had and only cost 17 Euro - a bargain because it is still off season.

Silves Castle - thought to have been founded in the 10th century.

 

One of the early kings of Portugal. His statue is outside the walls of the castle.

 

Lagos harbour

 

 

Me at Cape St. Vincent - looking rather windblown!