From Heels to Wheels!

Today has been another great day! We started the active part of our day by heading to the market to gather fresh fruits, vegetables and fish for our supper meal. The sun shone warmly as we walked the 12 minutes to get there as and as we walked, we noticed more of the local charm that is all around us....today's 'feature' was the sight of 3 old guys sitting at a sidewalk cafe having morning 'coffee' (about 10:30 AM) which consisted of a bottle of red wine, bread and freshly cut oranges!! It made us laugh and ignited a conversation about the 'similarities' and 'differences' within cultures!! :). I soooo wanted to take a picture of these old guys but, I did not want to be disrespectful nor did I want to interfere in their morning routine and relaxed banter.

The market was wonderful.....FRESH, FRESH, FRESH everything!! Strawberries (picked this morning)....garlic....tomatoes.....eggplant....fresh herbs.....

We gathered our daily needs and have a strong sense of what we will come back for tomorrow! We showed one vendor our pictures of snow, from home, and she excitedly called her (??) daughter over,from another booth, to show her "the snow"... But stated in Portuguese! Funny!!

Here is Lawrence consulting the translation book as he prepared to choose fresh fish for supper.

We enjoyed a tasty, light lunch at the street cafe that is just outside our door. Here you will see the cream of carrot soup, bread, cheese/olive plate, freshly squeezed orange juice (the OJ is OHHH SOOO GOOD...like unbelievable good!!) and a custard tart (these custard tarts are a commonly made pastry and I can honestly say, they are to die for!!)

 

Businesses, here, know what is important......they take a 2 hour lunch break!! Everything, except restaurants, close from 1:00 - 3:00 PM!! Siesta time! Today, we, too enjoyed a wonderful siesta as we listened to African-Portugues music, and felt the sun and light breeze flow through the sheer curtains on the balcony doors of our cozy apartment! :)

Then, at 3:00, we got our wheels!! Yep!!! ...... we rented bikes and began exploring farther from 'home'!!! Such a rush of excitement....we felt like kids again, with the sense of freedom and adventure that only bikes have to offer, when you are a child! Riding bikes on the cobblestone streets makes for a very bumpy ride and there really are no 'rules of the road' related to where bikes can go! We scooted off and on sidewalks/streets, as cars came along or when we had ramp access, because the streets are very, very narrow. When I wasn't worried about having a collision with a vehicle (as in, when the street was empty of moving cars), it felt quite 'playful' to meander here and there! :) We definitely noticed a positive difference for our poor aching feet, at the end of this day....

We finished the light-filled hours of the day by sitting in the garden square with all the other old geezers, reading our books and savouring ice cream comes. (I had fig-almond ice cream with big hunks of fig & nuts and Lawrence chose pistachio) ....both sooooo yummy!!

 

 

 

Then we made a great supper and chose to settle into our suite,without walking tonight, because tomorrow is market-in-the-morning and take-the-ferry-to-Ilha de Tavira day!! Can't wait!! Ciao! :)

 

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