Uma alma portuguesa

Or, a Portuguese soul

I've been back in Lisbon for more than a week now, after a wonderful few days in Oxford. It was lovely to catch up with my family and friends while I was there. Still, since this is strictly for Portuguese-related things, I won't bore you with the details of that trip, but will instead tell you about everything that's been going on since I got back.

I flew in to Lisbon on Monday evening and arrived after 11 - my flight had been a bit delayed - so got home very late. But I was back in the office bright and early on Tuesday for a normal day's work, which was fun. During my very short commute I noticed how warm and sunny it was. It seems that summer arrived here while I was in England! By the weekend it was well over 20 degrees, and felt positively hot in the sunshine.

Blossom near the rowing club

Thing back here have been going well. As ever, I'll let you know about the evenings and the weekend, rather than the details of my days at work. Both Tuesday evenings brought 2-hour Indonesian classes, which are great, but very fast-moving. More practice required between classes, I think! Then both Wednesdays I have made the most of the warm evening by going down to the river for a good row. I spent last Thursday early evening doing a bit of admin, before going out for dinner with Carly at our favoured restaurant, which didn't disappoint. 

A beautiful view from the Miradouro de Alcântara

The weekend was full of entertainment, as ever. On Saturday morning I went rowing - a good session in a slightly narrower kind of boat, a 'yolete', which was rigged as a coxed quad rather than the normal four. Later I met up with Tom, another Oxford Portuguese student who will be in Lisbon for the next few months. We had a bite to eat near Rato then went on a walk round the city - down through Principe Real, past the Miradouro de Alcântara, to Bairro Alto, through Chiado, and the Baixa to Praça do Comércio, then up through Rossio, Restauradores and Avenida de Liberdade, past Marquês de Pombal and to the top of the Parque Eduardo VII. Quite a long route in the end, which I hadn't planned, but we both enjoyed it! 

A caracol - definitely tastes better than actual snails

I went home to cool down for a minute (it was very warm by mid-afternoon) before meeting Carly for a chat, a coffee and a snack, which was great - we both had a pastry called a caracol (literally, 'snail'), similar to a Danish pastry but with different fruit. I feel it's my duty to make the most of the pastries while I can! Later we went to Carly's flat to continue chatting for an extra couple of hours... we never seem to run out of things to talk about.

A street in Campo de Ourique, deserted at around 9.30 on Sunday morning

On Sunday morning I got up quite a lot earlier than my normal Sunday routine, so I could go swimming. It was really nice to be back in the pool - a good way to start the day, and there were lots of lanes open, meaning I could swim at my own pace with no problems. Maybe I'll go back on another Sunday sometime; starting early has its advantages.

Breakfast!

I followed up the exercise with breakfast with Carly at Tentadora (my favourite pastelaria, mentioned frequently in these pages). A ham and cheese croissant and freshly squeezed orange juice really filled the gap. I was so enthusiastic about it, in fact, that Carly decided to supplement her cup of coffee and apple pastry with exactly what I was having. It's nice to have found someone who shares my enthusiasm for food...

At Tentadora you can watch the trams go by and feel like a true lisboeta

We managed to get to church on time - the service had the added excitement of a choir from Tennessee (the Variations Ensemble) singing. They were great and it was fun to chat to them after the service - they were even giving out free CDs. I'm listening to mine as I write this and enjoying it very much.

After leaving church, Carly, Kinsey and I bought a bit of food and headed to the Jardim de Estrela for a picnic in the beautiful sunshine. We stayed there for hours - with Janice replacing Kinsey halfway through the afternoon - just relaxing and enjoying the fresh air. Once it got a bit cooler we had a look round the monthly craft market, which was taking place in the garden, and had a drink in the café, followed by wandering over to Avenida de Liberdade and sitting around there for a while too. I eventually decided to go home and had a quiet evening doing not very much.

Drinks in the cafe at the Jardim de Estrela with Janice

My chocolate milk came in a plastic cup branded as Sagres (one of the local beers)

This week has been going well too - probably the most exciting thing to tell you is that on Monday I was given a flower at work to celebrate International Women's Day, which seems to be a much more important thing here than it is in England. Very nice it is too. 

It certainly brightens up the room

And there you have it - you're all up to date with my life. Thanks for reading!