My friend Anja is staying here for a few days. We’re going on an adventure, looking for a little lake that was recommended in the newspaper, the Diário de Coimbra. It looked like a fairytale in the photo, but on the way we suddenly see something else fairytalish. Abandoned and neglected houses are quite normal […]
Abandoned and neglected houses in Portugal Read More »
I had to go to Tojeiro this week. For parts for the boiler. You probably have no idea where Tojeiro is, dear readers, but the best part is – I didn’t either. The senhora of the shop had very kindly sent me a link so that I knew the way. That I wasn’t dependent on
Signage has completely lost its way Read More »
I read in the newspaper that the Netherlands is counting its wasps. There is a national wasp count, a scientific event that has existed for two years. Its goal: to know if the wasp is thriving, and to improve the image of the wasp in general. Wasps have a bad reputation – no justification for
“We’d rather not take a photo” my Israeli guest says upon departure. I asked if I could write a blog about them. They may want to come and live in Portugal, so who knows, that might help them find a place. Israel is not a very relaxed place to live at the moment Everyone understands
Visit from Israel and beach art Read More »
The first thing she did was carry the garden table and a few chairs to another place, behind our kitchen. I suddenly saw them sitting there, mother and daughter, both with hair down to their waists. Son Remi also wants to let it grow again, and when I first met father Erwin, he also had
The eye and the hand of the Master Read More »
It was the week of unexpected visits. Randi suddenly came by. We have known each other for a long time, from rare encounters. We’re not BFF’s, but people who like and respect each other a lot. Randi is Norwegian, and was married to a Portuguese man (emphasis on was), and has a Portunorwegian daughter. There
Portuguese foreigners and foreign Portuguese Read More »
The building we live in is more than a hundred years old. The core was built as a bathhouse, with fifteen bathing cubicles. The water is medicinal and good for skin diseases. It was done according to good old Portuguese building traditions That building tradition is called: piecemeal. First the core, the bathing area. It
Portuguese building traditions Read More »
An orange light came on on the dashboard. Our Citroen is a beautiful and nice car but is in poor health. Burning lights on your dashboard are never a good sign Now I know from my incomparable brother-in-law that orange is never a reason to stop immediately. If it’s red, then yes. Then it has
Okay, then we’ll go to Roady Read More »
Did you know that there are more than 30,000 saints? I would never have thought of it, pagan that I am, if I hadn’t seen a pop-up shop in one of the small alleys in the heart of Coimbra, selling beautiful kitsch clothing. Specially for the occasion of one of those Saints birthdays, it seemed
“I’m now at about three and a half thousand kilometers,” René says nonchalantly, and I almost fall backwards. That doesn’t seem to be a big deal for a passionate cyclist; last year it was six and a half thousand. René is the first guest via Friends on the Bike – dutch organization “Vrienden op de
Friends on bicycles Read More »
