Monday 21 January 2013

Back in Portugal

Well, this has been one of my most adventurous trips yet! If I were planning surfing or mounting climbing I could not have planned a bigger rush! Weather has played havoc with our trip from the start. Our plane was an hour late in departing, not due to the snow in England, but I believe the "high disruption due to wind" on the Portuguese coast.

In air, our flight was fairly uneventful. We managed to get a few winks in here and there. When it came to landing however, we had quite the ride. The winds were blowing so forcefully the plane was bobbing and weaving like Mohammad Ali! Most passengers were not so sure we were going to continue to fly like a butterfly and were bracing for a sting. I was between my mother in law and husband, neither of whom took the bumpy ride very well. I was trying to get each of them to breathe a bit slower and relax. After one and a half attempts to land, the pilot let us know we were heading to Faro and we would reassess the situation from there.

After two hours on the tarmac we were told the weather in Lisbon "dramatically" improved and we would be taking off shortly. Most of the passengers would have rather been told they were bussing us back or we would spend the night in Faro, but we were in the air soon enough. The anxiety of the many passengers was laid to rest within an hour. We witnessed a lovely sunset and landed with gusto, but safely. The runway in Lisbon seemed quite short as he hit the brakes and we all slid forward in our seats, but the round of applause from the passengers showed that no one minded.

I had only one thing on my mind...chicken nuggets! I was brewing a migraine and it had been at least 6 hours since I had eaten anything. I was hoping like most airports a Burger King or McDonald's would be around. I was wrong. As we went about the typical airport activities we had no problems, luggage arrived promptly, SIM card for iPad very simple, and rental car, though a few in line ahead of us, easy peasy. However, no chicken nuggets.

We got in the car and saw a Burger King but we were in the far lane and it would have been a challenge to get into. So we decided to pass it thinking we would see another one along the way. Again, we were wrong. 58 miles later we pulled off the motorway and turned towards the grocery store. As my husband and I were trying to remember where things were, I realized this was one of THOSE migraines. I told my husband I would wait near the car while they went into the shop, but we didn't make it that far. I had to make my husband pull over at a bus stop and i wasn't catching the bus. At least I felt better after my stop, but I couldn't get near the fish counter.

After getting a few necessities we headed to the villa only to find the windy winter storm had knocked the power out in the village. We had a bite to eat and got settled in by the light of iPhones and iPad and headed to bed hoping for improvements with the light of day.

Thursday 3 January 2013

Happy New Year

Yeah, I'm a few days late, but nothing new here on that end. I still enjoy life at my own pace! Just a quick post to run down the last year as one of my resolutions is to write more.

So 2012 was a busy year I visited 7 countries (including my home countries of USA and UK)

I sadly lost 2 dear felines. One large, one small. The charismatic Keera the panther that touched and taught so many about the plight of the Florida panther. And my beloved Isis the little Manx black cat that went everywhere with me. They both battled cancer and both loss the battle, sadly I was on the opposite side of the Atlantic when each passed, a heart breaking way to loose an animal. But there was good news too!

We welcomed my new baby niece into the world

I saw the queen twice, once in York, and once in London!

I spent one week in Portugal

I spent 2 weeks on a ship in the Mediterranean

I crossed the Atlantic 8 times with 4 visits to the states

I spent 3-1/2 weeks in PA

I spent 7-1/2 weeks in FL

We bought a house in FL!

My husband experienced his first tropical storm, Debby was not that impressive.

I rescued 3 animals in Florida, 1 hawk, 1 box turtle, & 1tree frog, all released back into the wild!

We spent 2 weeks giving my parents a whistle stop tour of England

My sister visited for a week and we watched the USA women's soccer team win a gold medal!

I walked my family to the points of wholes in their shoes around England!

I watched one Frankel maintain his perfect record with lucky win #13 in York

We have painted miles of walls in both of our houses and we are still painting!

Wow, and that's only the highlights!

To a happy and healthy 2013!