Time flies when you´re having fun

We had a soft and relaxed day today and we started off just having one must on the agenda, going to Santana market to pick up our new sign which will be on the wall outside Casa Limon. If it would be ok we would also order for the other three Casas as well.

This will look nice on the wall outside Casa Limon. We now Limon isn´t Portuguese but we wanted that name anyway

That was the only thing we were going to buy at the market but Lars suddenly remebered that he needed new slippers so we got a new pair for him as well. Then I wanted to go and have a look at new riding boots. I went horse back riding last Thursday and I am probably going to continue. I found a pair I really liked and at  a good price so we bought them too.

These boots are not make for walking

What if we were to buy a new lemon tree to put outside Casa Lemon now when we have the new sign and evertything. The one we planted two months ago looks a bit ill. Well we bought one of course.

New tree 7 euros

So now when Casa Lemon have its new sign and its lemon tre shouldn´t the other Casa also get something. They are named after grapes growing in our vineyard. Well wouldn+t it be nice to put a grape vine outside each so our guests can pick grapes on their patios. It will also give a nice shade. We discussed back and forth. We got them of course.

new vines

Then we were happy and done at the market and went home. Now we had some chores to do when we got home. We would plant our new vines and the lemon tree.
We came to think of our guests arriving on Wednesday. They are staying for a month. It is going to be quite warm next week so we better clean the pool and get everything ready.

pool boy Lars

Maybe it is best to take a look in Casa Periquita to see if it is something missing or that is broken. So we went there and started to count forks and spoons, checking pots and pans. We decided to put up some new pictures on the walls.

We had a sandwich and a small rest. I did some laundry and answered some mails.

After we took the dogs for a walk. When we came out one angry man waited for us. He didn´t enjoy daylight saving time because it meant he and the rest would be out later in the evening and supper would be late.

Are you coming soon. We are getting really hungry

Suit yourselves if we´re eating all your chives

Baby figs found when walking dogs

Back in the house we took the chickens in, lit a fire and bottled some limoncello that we will sell.

Limoncello, made from our own organic lemons, for sale 10 euros

We are so happy we had a day off :)

Ase

Thanks to all of you who have contacted us, sent hugs and wishes for his well being, according our old dog Herman. He seems to fine now.

a stroke and dinosaurs

It has been hectic the last couple of days. So hectic that we haven´t had the energy to write anything. Now we´ve had a day off , well I even had one and a half, from work and thus have more energy.

Our beloved and quite old dog;Herman, probably suffered from a minor stroke on Thursday and we were scared to bits.

Herman on the beach. You can´t tell he will be 13 in June.

He was his usual self in the morning, going for a walk, had his breakfast and playing with the other boys. Just before lunch time, we were having lunch for our workers, he wasn´t around, so I went looking for him. That he would skip lunch time is unheard of.

Herman in his favourite place

I found him in the horta, the veggie garden which has no veggies at the moment. He seemed absent and tired but came with me when I called him. There was no energy in him and staggered a bit. We immediately saw something was wrong. So we pulled our last card to see if he wasill or not. We got som chourico from the fridge and he didn´t touch it.

Ok that´s it. If he isn´t eating then he is seriously ill and we called the vets. We have the best vets in the world by the way. They opened even if it was closed for lunch and took us in. The vet couldn´t find anything wrong with Herman. Hearts and lungs were fine, no vomit or diarrea, temperature perfect and so forth. He asked if we thought he could have eaten rat poison. But we didn´t think so.
He told us that it was probably a stroke but he couldn´t tell for sure.

By that time Herman had recovered and had started to look his normal self. We took our dog and went home, relieved but also a bit quiet. Herman is going to be 13 in June, which is quite a lot for a big dog. He is not going to live forever. We know that. But what will we do when he is gone?

Senhor Lars and Herman

Today we took the dogs, some coffee, some fruit and pao com chourico, which is bread with baked in chourico and decided to go to the dinosaur park in the Serra da Aire e Candeeiros. We wanted to get a book from the park workers where you can read about different hiking trails. This was our second attempt to find it. We do own a GPS but can´t find the charger so it isn´t much use. And of course we didn´t find it. But we found other interesting things

A sign by the road read Alcoberta and that it was something old there. What it was we didn´t know.

It was a tile oven from Roman time.

The view from there was stunning

Then we continued our journey and I must say that it is absolutely beautiful this time of year. There are flowers everywhere, the temperature was over 20 degrees and the sun was shining.

rosemary and another yellow flower

We found Vale do Meios, another place where they have found dinosaur tracks.

Wrong spot....again. It was the one to the right we wanted

They have been walking all over the place

different size 

Just a tiny bit bigger paws, or what it is called

Lars got tired and went to pick pine cones instead. He was happy to find cones worth 3 euros. Only the petrol going to the place was about 15 euros

Over and out

Ase

Farm Holidays Silver Coast

In April 2013 we went to Portugal the first time, at least it was my first trip to Portugal. Lars was there once to see a football game in 2009. It was Sweden against Portugal and he went there with a company. It was a short trip but he came back excited and happy raving about Porto and Portugal.

This one of my first entries on this blog, from November 2012 thoughts about moving to Portugal.
We knew we wanted to move somewhere and our thoughts were first to move to Greece after retirement. But slowly Portugal rose in our minds. thoughts about going to Portugal

Then we decided to go to Portugal Easter 2013 but before we went we discussed where in Portugal we wanted to live and when we could move.where in Portugal

These are our first thoughts about Lisbon Lisbon

Then at last we went to see our farm. We didn´t think at that time, that we would actually buy anything. We were just going to look. Our plan was to see many different objects and rent something for 6 months or so while doing it. But when we got to the vineyard it was....love at first sight

We almost bought it then and there but it actually took almost a year until it was ours.

Now we live here since 11 months and love it even more even though we work as maniacs to renovate, clear up clutter and learn all the new things.
Who wouldn´t just love this.

our garden

newly built swimming pool

our volonteers soaking in the sun last summer

new verandas on some of the apartments

Farm Holidays Silver Coast
Casal Bougainville

Ase

How much can you squeeze into a SAAB?

Today we went to a large Swedish furniture company. I don´t want to mention their name. In that case I would like to get paid hahahaha.

The very large swedish furniture company is good when it comes to quality beds at a decent price. The Portuguese beds are too short for us Nordic people so they are not an option.

We had a lot of things to buy since most of the things and furniture in our rentals are dated and not so fresh. Last season we bought all new linen and towels and now we are buying some new beds and some kitchen tables and chairs.

We were going early around 9 am so we would avoid the crowds. You always have to work quickly so the dogs wouldn´t be alone for so long. This time we were lucky to have our volonteers on the farm who could look after the animals while we were gone.

Things were going quite well until we got to the bed department. The selection of beds and matresses are not at all what you would find in Sweden. It took us a while to decide which ones to get.

Lars with all our new stuff

I had to pose as well

Then the next question occured; to get a transport or not. It is quite pricey when you live 85 km away.

Lars thought that it wouldn´t be a problem to fit everything into our old SAAB. I doubted it.

Waiting for Lars

Getting everything in there

Yepp, looking good

I am in there somewhere

Lucky I wasn´t driving

We were so happy then and there that two of the matresses wasn´t available anymore. But the thought that we have to get back again, soon, is devestating.

I think I will have two glasses of our winr tonight. I need it.

Ase

Recidencia at last

Today there will be another short entry since we would like to share this important news to you all. We are hereby from Friday March 20 official residents in the republic of Portugal.

Ase

Where do we live?

Little over one year ago we bought our beautiful farm in Portugal and a dream came true. We are now the proud owners of a piece of Portugal with about 120 fruit trees and 2200 vines. There is a main building and four apartments for letting. We have a wonderful view over the hills and mountains and the valley below. So far so good.

We have a problem. We don´t know where we live. Well that isn´t entirely true since we are able to find our way home but we don´t know the exact adress of our property. How can this happen because there was an adress on the deed when we signed it. It read Rua das Carrascas 9. We didn´t question it because we had no reason to doubt it. A small piece of our land is on that road, the land on the right after the dustbin. There is another road going down to the right and it has another name.

Rua das Carrascas.

The gravel road going down is....

Lägg till bildtext

A larger piece of our land is along this road. Some of the mail that turned up in the beginning had both adresses on them. So what was the proper adress?

One day one guest called and said that they were standing outside Rua das Carrascas 9 and it wasn´t our house.A mystery started reveal itself. The very next day we went to this place and asked the people who were there. It isn´t a place where someone lives but they keep cattle there.

Yes that place was Rua das Carrascas 9 they said and pointed on the number on the wall. Your place is Travessa das Carrascas 9.

We don´t live here

but bovinos/cattle

We thanked them and walked away. Aha! Travessa das Carrascas 9 is our adress. We were relieved that we finally got it right.

We learned later that this was wrong because when we were going to pick up some documents from the freguesia they told us our road didn´t exist. So where do we live then we asked. They had to send the top guy from the freguesia to have a look.

The very next day he came and stated that we live on Travessa da Bica. He wasn´t sure about which number.

So this is where we live.

The week after we went to the freguesia one more time to have the remaining paper we needed to seek recidencia in Portugal. To our surprise the adress on the papers was Rua das Carrascas 9. Back to square one as it seemed.

When we questioned it they said that since that adress was on the deed we had to go with it or change the adress in all official files and records. We just kept quiet and didn´t say a thing.

Still don´t know our adress and probably never will find out either. The mail man finds us and if we don´t drink too much wine we can still find our way home.

Have a wonderful afternoon
Ase

Poetry evening in Sao Martinho do Porto

Here is a update regarding our school and progress in learning Portuges.

Our school in Sao Marthino had arranged a poetry evening and invited us as students the read poetry mainly from Portugal but we were also encoureged to read poems/texts from our own countries. The evening was supposed to celibrate the word from all around the world. We have students from a lot of different countrys and it was interesting to hear all different language at the same evening. It was an pleasent evening with a lot of poems and different cakes and coffie and tea,

Åse was reading two poems one portugeuse and one swedish. The Portugeuese was written by Fernando Pessoa, Nunca, por mais and the swedish was one by Evert Taube, möte i Fritjof and Carmencita, Åse was first too read and she did a very good presentation of both the poems. I was reading a poem by Manuel Alegre and it was a celibration to one of Portugals best football player ever, Eusebio. I was not so good but it felt ok

Max, Åses son was also at the poetry evening and he did one or two selfies at me and him, at the picture we are looking a little bit tough on this one don´t you think. You can also see and hear my presentation.

Have a nice evening
//Lars

We explored Nazaré and found a .....penis

Yesterday I took my son and his friend Michel to see Nazaré. Max had been there before but it was the first time for Michel.
It was a quite sunny and somewhat warm day and we started around 10 am. We parked the car by the beach and took the cable car to the top, Sitio. The view from there is astonishing. The ride is 1.20 euros each way.

gorgeous view

Then we decided to go to the light house and to see if there were any surfers on Praia Norte. That is where Garret McNamara broke the world record in 2013. If you haven´t seen it you just have to.
see here

wonderful views wherever you look

Beach for 10 km

 There was one thing in particular that caught the attention of the young men who were with me this day. When we looked down on the beach below there was a gigant penis that someone had had a good time drawing in the sand. It wasn´t visible until you got up on the mountain. I can imagine all the tourists having a good time looking down on the beach.

there it is

Have they seen it yet?

pretty

The whole way to the light House it is just one wow after another. Not many people walking there.

walking to the light house

there she is

wild water all around but no surfers today

 On the way back to Nazaré we decided to walk down. It is quite a bit.

walking all the way down there.

and walking

We had a well deserved late lunch when we got down and then we headed home.

This is just 25 km from our house so make sure you visit Nazaré when you stay with us.

Good evening