Whew! We were almost song stumped. A grandchild or two have said, “there is not a song for everything, Grandma Jelly “. (I think I’ve mentioned that before) For a couple of days I thought that might be so. Then, it all came to me.
The song is really called “April in Portugal”. The English title is “Whispering Seranade”. Bing Crosby was probably the most famous one to sing it. “I found my April dream in Portugal with you. When we discovered romance like we never knew….And madly I said, I love you”… Too soon I heard you say, “This dream is only for a day”, That’s Portugal and love…in April”. Does anyone remember the song?
One of the first things we did in Armacao de Pera, Portugal was to remember how to cook and do our own laundry, without a dryer. It’s been quite a while for us.
It’s like riding a bicycle.
There is one food item very popular in Portugal that won’t be cooked in the Harris household. They are too fun to watch when scuba diving.
The next item on the get-to-do list was to decorate for Christmas. We just happened to have a nativity from Bethlehem made from olive wood in our suitcase.
Our first week we did absolutely nothing but rest and watch a sailboat or two go by.
We had not unpacked our suitcases since July 25th and we were ready. Our view is absolutely amazing with these guests coming to see what we have to eat each day, so we weren’t in a hurry to go exploring.
The day we named our guest Jonathan, this quote came up on my phone.
This is where we have landed for the month of December, the Algarve of Portugal. It’s the southern most area of Portugal. The Arabs gave it’s name “Al-Gharb” meaning “the west” when it was the westernmost possession of its empire. They called themselves the Moors and ruled in this area for more than 500 years. Many of the Portuguese words have an Arabic origin. Portugal declared its independence as a kingdom in 1140 with its first king, Alfonso I.
During our travels Jay has become an olive oil connoisseur, so our first outing was to an olive farm. We learned so much about olives, pressing them into oil, what it takes for their ratings, and the correct way to taste. Now Jay is really a connoisseur. If you are ever wondering what to get Jay for a gift, olive oil. However, never flavored. We learned flavored oils could be rancid.
There are many artists in the Algarve of Portugal.
Just like many of the European towns we have experienced this year, celebrations are important and anyone can join in.
The town’s decorations are so beautiful in their simplicity.
Next on our get-to-do list was to remember the day of the week so we could pick up Niece Becky from the airport on time. She is with us through Christmas.
We began a 1,000 piece puzzle thinking it would take all the day’s we are here to finish. Why I thought that with three high achievers in a house, I don’t know – it took five days instead of the twenty-one for the three of us to complete the puzzle.
Back to Toys-r-us for another.
As the grandchildren would attest to, we always like a good puzzle and I like an art project during the Christmas season. Puzzle, check. As for the art project – we waited for Becky to get here to begin gathering 200 shells just in case we needed that many.
Our first official outing with Becky was a boat ride viewing the caves that are inside the gorgeous cliffs we see from our deck.
I did a little exercise on the beach waiting for our boat to be ready.
This past weekend was my birthday. The three of us began the celebration with a yummy breakfast by Jay.
….And a road trip, spending a night in Sintra, then Lisboa (Lisbon) the next day visiting castles, palaces, and seeing the beautiful sites of this area. Sintra is the home of one more Game of Thrones fortress. (It’s feeling like we might need to watch this series when we get home.)
We walked approximately 15,000 steps-76 floors, before dinner and enjoying the Christmas decorations in Sintra.
Lisboa reminded us quite a bit of San Francisco, only much cleaner. The city is built on seven hills using finiculars to go up and down the hills. The big bridge reminds us of the Golden Gate. It has an area like Union Square decorated for Christmas. The differences would be Lisbon has castles, forts, cathedrals, and a large statue of Jesus overlooking the city and bay.
Portugal is unique in our travels. We didn’t do much research prior to getting here nor while we’ve been here. The people are very kind, however not very talkative, so we don’t have people stories.
We hope you enjoy our pictures. Most of all we hope during this holiday season may you find your time of celebrations with others joyous. May you be able, as the writer of Jonathan Livingston Seagull says, to see beyond the limitations of your eyes. May you see and understand how to fly with love and kindness during this Christmas season.
Blessings, Jay and Kelly and Niece Becky
A Year with Jay and Kelly 