Just enjoying the sun

Easy days really, mostly spent relaxing and catching up with matters relating to Car Insurance where for the first time ever my car insurance bill has come down by an amount not to be sneezed and I only hope they have not made a mistake. The trouble is when you get a little older they assume you have an intelligence of an ant and cannot see where you are going. My recent eye test within the last year showed 20/20 vision which is good if only I knew what it meant. Ha... In my life I have driven in the following countries and so far without issue. 

UK of course, Ireland, Norway, Sweden, Holland, Germany France, Italy, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Austria, Belgium, Spain, Portugal, Gibraltar, Denmark, Malta, UAE- all states, Kenya, South Africa ,Hong Kong, Taiwan, Korea, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, Chile, Mexico, USA and Canada and Seychelles and so a reasonable amount of experience driving on either side of the road and in some countries wherever you can find a space. In addition to Left and right hand Drive cars together with automatic and hand change I have covered just about all driving habits you can find.

I have only received one speeding ticket and that was n Hong Kong when they changed the road speed limit whilst I was away on a trip from 50 down to 30 and also one in Portsmouth where the road sign was covered up .Not bad for driving for 65 years.

Anyway that enough of that. We took a walk down the road and and watched a few people having a look at the Ayrton Senna memorial sculpture and then headed home for an early tea. Uual eveing watching TV and have seen some of the George Clark series where people convert historic buildings into homes and the nightmare they go thro but well worth watching although perhaps 14 years out of date.

Feeling a little better

This LARS issue is very demanding and mucks up your day totally. This is not helped that my Gall bladder was also removed so when I get a little bit hungry  I feel nauseous and so have to eat something pretty damn quick and so this was my day today. However by late morning I was recovering and so we went int to town to do some shopping. Well its actually not a town but a small upmarket mall which is very nice an where the Irish Pub is and also several other restaurants. 

We did our shopping and then returned for an early lunch of salmon salad which was nice and then Noel was working on the Broadoaks Estate issues where the Management Company say they cannot pay the bills to suppliers  like the gardeners and tree guys and so where has all the money gone???

Noel spoke to his Brother n law in a care home in Oxford via the Call Genie which is great but not like meeting face to face and so we will plan a visit shortly after we return to home. The Mid East war issues rage on and we hope they can get is sorted before we all run out of petrol. 

Politicians are basically all liars, eg all the promises Labor made prior to the last election none have been fulfilled and they have screwed up the country big time in the year and a half of power, most other governments take a lot longer. Now the local election are arriving in May the mud slinging starts particularly form the current Governments as they can sea themselves losing hundreds of seats and so the opposition are racists, or they will double your tax and sell off the NHS which in the meantime trying to pass the UK  over to the EU again which of course would restrict the power of the PM. But these moves are  against the will of the British people who voted to leave so the PM has no legal right. Clearly the worst ever PM and Government this country has ever experienced.

Anyway that's my moan for the day

Not a good day

Not sure what happened to Noels body today but he was suffering with a number of things which I wont describe but it meant he weas grounded.  On the plus side when checking the TV we found they had Sky Sports and were showing the Chelsea and Manchester City game. In the first half we did not do too bad and missed at least three good chances to score. In the second half, City scored and the boys gave up. Also the usual playing out from the back failed again with unfortunately Caicido getting mugged after receiving the ball from Sanchez and that was another goal.

Chelsea 0 MAN City 3333333!

I really don't understand their way of playing, pretty much always from the back and having to run the complete length of the field hoping to catch the opposition out, this works if your team can run faster than the opposition but they cant, so its pointless. When I used to play we kicked the ball as far as we can up field and put pressure immediately on the other team. Also nobody tries to shoot from outside the penalty area except when their is free kick. I wish I could be in their dressing room and tell them what's for.

By the evening the writer was feeling better and trying to analyze what went wrong, it could have been a number of things over the past 24 hours so difficult to pinpoint.

In the evening we watched some of our usual You Tube travel channels. And thus to bed

A quiet day again

Following a long day out we decided we would stay and have a quiet day just relaxing  as the weather is beginning to improve again after the cold patch.

Noel did some investigations on Car Insurance as our is due at the end of April and he wanted to get an idea of market prices to compare against the current provider NFU, who are very good but on the expensive side. The trouble with the NFU insurance is they build the AA, which I already have with Lexus and some legal stuff which again I am not sure we need. Anyway lets wait and see what NFU quote. In the meantime I did some checking and got quotes from £ 1300.00 up to £ 4800 (Tesco)

We had sirloin steak and salad for dinner which tasted OK although the writer had some challenges later with it??

Usual evening watching stuff on TV and then to bed

A trip to Sagres and back via the Coast Road

An early start for us and we were ready to leave the apartment with lunch sandwiches made at about 0945.  We had previously decided that we would take the faster route their and then wend our way back along the coastal route, where a road exists as there is a lot of National Parks on the coast.

It took us about 90 minutes to get there and out target was the Pousada Do Sagres Hotel which seemed to have a good reputation and on the top of cliff overlong the sea and islands. By the time we got there at about 11.15 the writer was in need of the loo and so we found it and to my shock and horror not only was the light for the loo not working but a note on the door note to use toilet paper in this historic building as it blocks the toilets, so what do you do, take it home.? So we then went to the other hotel we had noted and this was chalk and cheese and this a super hotel which we would like to stay at some time in the future called Memmo Baleeira Hotel Sagres and this a lovely place.

We sat on the veranda outside the main restaurant and enjoyed a cup of coffee before heading down to the fish port where we parked up and enjoyed our sandwich lunch. So Jen got out our Portuguese Road map and we plotted our way back to home via Luz, Lagos, Portimao, Albufeira and eventual back in to Quinta Do Lago where we stopped at the Cheeky Pup Irish bar for dinner in the early evening sunshine.

We went back to the apartment an watched the final episode of the Michael Jackson story on BBC Iplayer

Not great weather

We awoke this morning to find it raining, together with dark clouds and a temperature of around 12C, We did not come for this...

So we hung around in bed until about 10.00  is before getting up and having a late breakfast and then spent most of the day catching up on emails, reading and generally lolling about. By mid afternoon the weather had improved and we had sun and a temperature of around 16C which was a lot better but  no great when West Byfleet was experiencing a heatwave. Oh well not much we can do about that.

Noel did some emails to the Managing Agents of estate as they have failed miserably to manage if correctly and are are many months behind on issuing a set of accounts to show where the money has gone. My opinion of the Managing Agents has not changed in five years and fact it seems to have got worse. 

In the late afternoon we did a half an hour walk around the estate before dinner which was Burgers with potatoes and vegetables, doesn't sound great but was really good.

In the evening we started watching a documentary of the rise and fall of Michael Jackson which is most interesting and with one further episode to go for Friday night.

Tomorrow we plan a trip out for the day to explore and area we have not visited before

A quiet day in downtown Quinta Do Lago

Following all the rushing around the previous day and the issues with the car, we decided to take a much easier day and also the weather was a bit off this morning.

In the late morning we needed to do some shopping and decided to visit the supermarket chain shop Pingo Doce at Vale Do Lobo which was right next door to the medical surgery we visited yesterday. We had noticed this supermarket when visiting the Doctors and it looked bigger than the one we usual use nearby. So off we went and thinking the parking would be easier we woz wrong and we had to drive around for a few minutes before finding anything. To be fare, it was lunchtime and the store and an inside/outside cafe which was very busy with local workman having their coffee and food.

The choice in the supermarket was slightly different to the one we normally use but we were able to obtain all we need.

Tonight Jennifer mad some stir fried pork and vegetable rice which was excellent and washed down with a nice glass of agua.

WE then watched some videos on you tube and early to bed.

The day did not start well

So this morning |I thought I would try and get an appointment at the local Doctors so resolve the health issue and rang the local guys at 0930 and they said come at 10.20, it is only ten minutes approx away  and so we took a fast breakfast and then went downstairs to go by car.

Noel got in the car and all the lights came on , then they started flashing but the car would not start. So turned everything off and nothing would work. Thats all I needed as I have a Doctors appointment in 20 minutes time and that was the only appointment  available this morning or until very late afternoon. So we rushed down to the reception to get a taxi as I thought they would know they quickest way to get one as in the panic I forgot about UBER, a big mistake. The estate reception said don't worry the taxi will be here  immediately  but she was not but eventually it turned up and I got to the Surgery about ten minutes late. I filled in the form and went to have my blood pressure and other vitals checked and needless to say my BP was high. The cost of the taxi as it come from a few miles away was rather expensive and they charged 18 Euros.

I met with Doctor Kaiser and lovely guy from Nuremberg who had live in Portugal for over twenty years and prior to that he lived in Redhill, would you believe. Anyway I explained the problem and whilst checking he noticed the recently arrived wart on my forehead and he said I can get rid of that for you whilst you are here, which he did. For the other bit that needed attention I obtain some special cream to apply twice a day and the problem should go away. If it does not come and we we will a further look. 

The cost for this was Euros 220  which I did not think was to bad considering the speed and efficiency. We took an Uber back to the apartment s and the cost was a quarter of whet they person charged. Now to sort out the car. Not sure what is happening but it will not let me open the doors???although the trunk opened. So I obtained the number of Lexus Europe and they will send someone in the next few hours.

This is the first ever problem with my car for s many years and now think that when showing the guy my car on two days ago something got left on and the battery has discharged ... Anyway the Lexus support guys turned up and ten minutes we were ready to go an so spent about 50 minutes touring the area to get the battery fully charged.

Tonight for tea we head some pasta which was good as usual. Now waiting for World War three to start???or not as the case may be. So the end of an exciting day.

A niggling itch

Its one of these things that does not really bother you until it begins to make you aware of its existence. Some while ago in last few months I developed a 'spot' next to my ear which over the last few weeks  have unfortunately chipped away at every morning when shaving and now it started to go OFF. So during the day I took stock of the situation  and will decide to speak to the Doctors tomorrow. 

The weather today was quite mixed with some rain, only light, then cloudy for  mist of the day and its forecast to be the same for the next week it appears, a bit like when we were hear last year year. So we had a quiet day in the apartment and planned to have burger's an veg for tea but before then we went for a short 25 minute walk and got back to the apartment around 17.45. I also called my brother in law in the care home for a chat which worked out well as he was wide awake.

The burgers, from Costco Seville, were very good and went down well and then an evening o TV. We have been watching a BBC series called 'The Capture' but frankly the torture and violence shown was to much for us and so we watched something less harmfull.

So note to myself call the Doctors...

Another quiet day with a walk

It was quite warm today around 23C and very little humidity which made it rather pleasant to be in. We both spent time reading and relaxing and then decided to go for a walk around an area  of the estate we had not previously visited. Its all part of the same ownership , a British Company based in Cheshire, who have developments in other areas of Portugal and also UK and Florida.

Just before leaving I was passing my Lexus NX car and a German guy was admiring it and saying he wanted one like it and so I opened it up for him to sit inside and we spent a few minutes and then he left. 

Thy apparently own the Aintree Racecourse and so its a large company that has been very successful. I must say going for a walk and with the steep hills , going up is not to bad but the coming down is tough and so I used my little mobile scooter.

For an late lunch we enjoyed another Costco sirloin steak and salad and tested a bottle of Portuguese red wine which went down well but cam back to haunt me later in the evening.

We watched the second part of a BBC series called 'The Capture' which is very good if you can understand it and then caught up with a couple of video bloggers travel updates. Then to bed

Man and his Porsche

We awoke this morning with the Estate What's App group alive with comment regarding a guy who had arrived in a Porsche at about 06.30 and then over a period of several hours moved around the estate and parking in peoples driveways including ours. A neighbor or two did approach him to ask what he was doing and apparently he said was a policeman working undercover in a voice that indicated he was on something more than wine gums.

So everybody was getting their cameras out and filming him and after a couple of hours of strange behavior calls were made to the Police who initially did not seem to be in a rush to assist. However once he started prying in to residents cars and ringing door bells it become a bit more urgent and then as described by one resident ''half of Surrey Police turned up' and they guy was arrested and put in handcuffs and taken away. Sometime later a truck turned up along with forensics and the car was taken away. So quite an exciting start to the day.

We had started planning a few days earlier our route home as we wanted to go to Salamanca again to see the town and also return to Evora which is s short distance away from a historic town on the border with Spain called Monsaraz Castle but we still have four days to fill. So after listening to Noels colleague from the previous day and and looking at Hotels en-route we have decided we will not stay in Sagres but visit from our current location and we will spend an extra two days here. Then when we leave here we will head for a place called Sines up on the west coast for two nights and then off to Evora. 

The rest of the day was spent enjoying the weather and then Noel watched the Chelsea vs Port Vale Qtr final of the FA cup which Chelsea comfortably beat them 7-0. The rest of the evening was spent on videos of one type or another.

A nice walk and visit from old friend and collegue

It was a lovely morning and the temperature is forecast to be about 23C which is lovely and the skies are a lovely color blue .

Following breakfast and email catch up we went for a walk around the enlarged estate which also includes Lakeside Village on nice quiet street but generally very small apartments and or houses. from there we walked back to the main road called Ayrton Senna drive and on the other side and looking up you can see some rather more large and very expensive places which are as per the attached video. All rather modern and quite nice as they say.

We returned to the apartment and enjoyed brie and had a read for a while until an ex colleague Sean arrived on his Honda bike as he now lives part of time in a place called Portimão and has full residency status which he obtained about ten years ago when regulations were easier. We were have a good long catch up and talked about each others health problems as he experienced nearly the same as me with bowel cancer. We then chatted about business colleagues and what we have been doing for the past twenty years and then enjoyed a snack tea and suddenly it was just about nine pm and as he lives an hour away he left.

We watched some videos on you tube and then went to bed.

Another day in the sun

Well, the weather has been great so far and we re looking forward to even more nice days. Following breakfast we went for a twenty five minute walk around the local roads to get a bit of exercise a and noticed quite a few UK reg cars parked and covered up for the winter no doubt pending the arrival of their owners.

The estate seem to be getting a little more busy due to the Easter holidays and whereas quiet in  the last week its been quiet, but now we have kids enjoying swimming in the pool.

WE had a light lunch and then took it easy until early afternoon when had his Zoom call with ex business colleges from around the globe. This meeting happens approx every three months and this one should have been in early March but many people were not available so hence the delay.

Following the call we both read for a while until dinner when we had stir fried pork and rice and then an evening of TV. We watched, again, a film called the proposal on BBC which is quite humorous and worth watching.

And then to bed