We have a good routine here in Quarteira, with me able to swim every morning at the beautiful pool near our apartment. Yesterday we walked to a charming restaurant for lunch, through some interesting neighborhoods we wouldn’t have otherwise seen. Lunch was good and we were able to sit outside.
We will see what the weekend brings.
Saturdays are the huge market day here, and I walked over early to see what it was all about. I was in search of fruit and vegetables, but there were streets full of everything else: men’s and women’s clothes, shoes, purses, and all sorts of household goods. The tables were chock-full of merchandise. I walked around for about an hour, then went back to where we are staying so the two of us could check things out.
We took a different route and eventually came upon the produce I was looking for.
After coffee, we dropped our bags back at our apartment and headed toward our tour of underground Alba. By now – 10:30- the streets were full of people, children, strollers, and dogs, and it took some time to get around.
We eventually found the meeting place. We knew the tour would be in Italian, but they gave us the script typed in English, which was nice and helpful.
It was interesting to see what archaeologists uncovered under the streets of the city, some under a church, a bank, and the police station.
The tour lasted about two hours and we had lunch at our apartment then walked around some more, this time in a direction we had not checked out before. We eventually headed back to make dinner.
photos: fruits and vegetables at the market today
underground Alba
the busy market
We continued to explore Alba on foot today and made plans to take a tour of the old underground city tomorrow. It should be interesting.
We had a lunch in an underground restaurant today, coincidentally. The storefront is on street level but once through the door, there are steps down.
The sand sculpture artist from yesterday was back today making an identical dog. I went for a run and passed his spot at 8am. He wasn’t there yet. An hour later when we walked by, he already had most of the dog sculpted. So it seems to be a sand art scam and he will do great with it this weekend, I’m sure.
photos: early morning in the city
pigeon on the back terrace
pigeon on the lunch menu
Today was a beautiful Monday, close to 80 degrees and sunny. We took advantage of the nice weather (it is supposed to rain all of tomorrow) and walked around Lyon for most of the day, checking out some shops and enjoying the architecture and the old city.
It is remarkable how many restaurants, coffee shops, and bakeries are here – one right next to another – and they seem to be thriving. It is a beautiful old city.
photos: 222 steps going up ( and down)
below: peanut butter, apple, walnut toast for breakfast
beautiful old buildings are throughost the city.
We spent the day in Galway, our first warm, sunny day in about a week. What a pleasure to be outdoors without an umbrella.
Once we lucked into a parking space, we were in great shape. We walked all around the city for most of the day. Since it is Sunday, many stores were not open, but we enjoyed strolling through the pedestrian walkways, seeing some street performers, stopping for coffee, and spending time in the fantastic Charlie Byrnes bookstore. Wow, I could have spent hours there – there are hundreds of thousands of books. I bought just one.
photos: above – cappuccino stop
below: Just a small fraction of the bookshelves at Charlie Byrnes bookstore.
The University of Ireland, Galway raises funds for their rowing team today
It is a rainy day in Dublin but we still made the most of it. First, I was happy to see a 24-hour gym directly across the street from where we are staying. I was there at 6am and on the rower for 45 minutes, my first good exercise (aside from a ton of walking) in a week. It’s a nice place and well used. Tomorrow I’ll remember a towel!
I sat in a nearby coffee shop after that and was happy to read my book before going back to the hotel for breakfast. It’s always interesting to see what Breakfast Included ends up meaning, and this was a fine selection of coffee, tea, and cold food.
We walked to Trinity College after that, where my traveling companion/husband saw the Book of Kels (I had been there before) and the very impressive library there. I walked around the city and popped into some shops before meeting up with him again an hour later.
We walked to the river and checked out some places near there, then had lunch as it poured outside. We went back to the hotel where he left me so I could do some work.
photos: above – a pigeon staying warm on a light. below – breakfast; gym rower is perfectly positioned under a nice cool open window
[the toast trolley on the train]
We left London on a 10am train an to Edinburgh. The ride was a little over four hours, past fields and fields of grazing horses, sheep, and cows, plus quite a few perfectly rectangular farms.
We had lunch on board the train (cannelloni for me, fish cakes for husband) and I spent most of my time reading. It was very pleasant.
We checked into our hotel and then walked around the neighborhood a bit before having dinner at a small Italian restaurant. It was a good choice. Tomorrow we will see what we can discover here in this very old city.
9.25
[squirrel lady in the park]
What a nice day it was to be walking around the city. It rained in the morning when we first set out, but cleared and the sun came through.
We dropped husband at the Churchill War Room (I had been there once before) and my friend and I went for tea and talk. It was a relaxing few hours – what a treat.
We picked up husband at the appointed time and by now the line for the War Room/Bunker was quite long so we were glad we had gotten there early. The three of us walked around St. James Park before grabbing a snack at Oree bakery and going back to the apartment for some reading and relaxing.
Sushi later.
9.24
[protestors by the Cabinet Offices]
Still Carrying On 