31 December 2011 HAPPY NEW YEAR Saturday

If you let 2012 be the year of new experiences it cannot but be inspiring and create new growth, which is fundamental to our wisdom and understanding of all around us.

30 December 2011 GRANT-SMITH GAMES Friday

Definitely a competitive day of gaming from start to finish.  Doubles tennis this morning, I made sure I was on the winning team - with Greg!  Of course, there was the customary lunchtime barbeque and swim.

The evening games were initiated with Jenga and finished off with Rummy.

Even though this trip for Al and I was our choice, it would be a gross misnomer to think that we wouldn't miss our children terribly.  Having them join us heightens our already-sharp awareness to enjoy their company and relish in their exuberance for life.  Their enjoyment of our company and pleasure in participating in our kind of fun is immeasurable.

29 December 2011 VALE DE LOBO Thursday

I do believe this is the most grocery shopping the boys have ever done with us, it's not usually a family event.  However, it does mean that certain food groups are given priority that wouldn't usually feature on the shopping list at all.  Having said that, it was Greg (! Yes, Greg), who refused to allow any of the three of us the pleasure of buying a cake of any description for a last pigging out before the New Year.

Lunch barbeque's are such a treat because the patio area is drenched in sunshine that is not too hot, just perfect.  After warming up in the sun and by the fire, the pool is right next to us and is equally warm to soak in for a while.  Well, sort of soak, if the boys don't land on us when they jump in from the balcony, or spray us with gigantic waves - which is fun when you don't get to do it too often.

Tonights game of monopoly ended with Al and I bankrupting our boys (serves them right for near-drowning us in the pool), and Al taking the final victory!  I tried to get a decent photo of the 4 of us playing monopoly and this is what came out....

It makes our family feel so young again with such old fashioned fun going on.  I highly recommend it!

28 December 2011 VALE DE LOBO Wednesday

The four of us had a wonderful walk along the beach and across the Ocean golf course with some pretty sights along the way.

This was meant to be a family shot!

Our hire car  ; )

The sun compelled us to have a lunchtime barbeque and the obligatory siesta in the afternoon.  However, our evening was very fruitful with a round of rummy (I WON) and monopoly - which is still going.



27 December 2011 DINNER Tuesday

Yayayay Matt is here safely!  At Faro airport we had to wait outside because the arrivals hall is being renovated and, after quietly threatening to run inside while security's back was turned, I was politely asked to cross the road further away from the exit/non-entrance! Seriously!

We found two namesakes on our walk to the local grocery store in the estate:

Al was very obliging wasn't he!

Hope you enjoy our dinner recipe - we did.

Seafood Paella

 

Ingredients (serves 8)

• 60ml (1/4 cup) boiling water
• 2 large pinches of saffron threads
• 3 x 375ml ctns fish stock
• 60ml (1/4 cup) water
• 60ml (1/4 cup) olive oil
• 500g thick firm white fish fillets (such as ling), cut into 4cm pieces
• 8 (about 500g) baby octopus, cleaned, halved
• 1 large brown onion, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 440g (2 cups) arborio rice
• 3 large ripe tomatoes, coarsely chopped
• 2 tsp smoked paprika
• 16 (about 400g) small black mussels, scrubbed, debearded
• 150g (1 cup) frozen peas, thawed

Cook's tip: Don't stir the paella in step 5 - this allows a tasty light golden crust, known as socarrat, to develop under the rice. If your paella is cooking unevenly, gently stir the edges of the rice a little before adding the seafood.

26 December BOXING DAY Monday

Wow, we had a very active day today.  The morning was dedicated to a round of tennis, in which Greg whitewashed both Al and I.  Phew, we were quite puffed after that.  Greg plays really well, for those of you who don't know, he used to play comps and he coached tennis for a good few years.

In the afternoon, Al and Greg went off to play a round of golf for a good few hours, and really enjoyed themselves.  In this glorious weather, you can't help but enjoy anything and everything that you do.  I stayed at the villa and had a wonderfully warm swim in the pool.  I did a few laps and decided to get out before it got cold, but then remembered to pull the cover over.  I got straight back in to do this and was coaxed into staying a while longer by the warm invitation of the water.

We had an early evening barbeque, as can be seen by the new moon and evening star highlighting sunset.

One more sleep till Matt's arrival, so goodnight all.

25 December 2011 CHRISTMAS Sunday

Merry Christmas everyone!

It was a very different one for us this year.  The first time our little nuclear family was apart for Christmas and the first time we have gone out to a restaurant for Christmas lunch.  Missing loved ones, too, was very apparent in our celebrations.  In spite of these winds of change, we had an enjoyable day and exquisitely prepared lunch both aesthetically and flavourful.  Of course, it was WONDERFUL, to have Greg with us to add a touch of joviality to the occasion!

So much for being classy - my bon bon was a trumpet.

I guess you could say I was blowing my own trumpet!

We did have a wonderful time getting in touch with our extended family and friends, either by phone or skype.  It's always a buoying experience to chat with familiar friends and family.

After lunch we took a lunch-settling wander around the estate, and who should we bump into?  None other than the infamous.......

SANTA

Looks like he's being arrested for breaking and entering, to me!

And so ends a ubiquitous Christmas - I hope it was enjoyed by all.

 

24 December 2011 VALE DE LOBO Saturday

NEWS FLASH:  I forgot to mention last night we played a few games of rummy, and guess who won!!  ......NO, not Al, ...........ME, ME, ME!

After a morning of great activity, grocery shopping at a new highly exciting grocery store full of delectable fresh food and scrumptuous junk food, we flopped, exhausted into our deck chairs for a lunchtime barbeque.  That, too, proved to be challenging and our various resting places beckoned invitingly.  I think, by now, you are beginning to see a pattern emerging.......it's good.

2 More sleeps till our youngest son joins us - can't WAIT!

Tonight we played a few rounds of rummy again, and well, yes, yes HE won again - my victory was short lived.

Christmas Blessings to you all.

23 December 2011 VALE DE LOBO Friday

So as not to repeat yesterday's totall relaxation session of doing absolutely nothing, we roused ourselves to take a leisurely stroll along the golf course and to the edge of the beach cliffs.  We were thwarted, however, by an overzealous security guard who assured us, he only had our safetly at heart, so we were not allowed to venture near to the cliff edge.  Greg vouched for the dizzying vista as he got a chance yesterday when the not-so-zealous security guard was on duty.

On our amble past the golf course, I found a tree made just for me



Just to prove we really are at Vale de Lobo

And of course, after such a strenuous walk, a touch of R & R was required

To those of you who might not read the blog again before Christmas:

May you have the gladness of Christmas, which is hope;

The Spirit of Christmas, which is peace;

and the heart of Christmas, which is love.



 

22 December 2011 VALE DE LOBO Thursday

This day will go down in history as the FIRST day on our trip, that we have stayed home entirely and not gone out to see, do or buy anything!

Total relaxation, reading in the sun.  Lunchtime barbeque and general chit chat into the evening.

The Villa

21 December 2011 VALE DE LOBO - THE ALGARVE Wednesday

Greg at Faro Airport - Portugal

After waking up to glorious sunshine, we made our way to the beach just 2 miles down the road and walked along the soft, silky sand, studded with the most perfectly formed shells I have ever seen.  Heaps of them - I wonder if Sydney customs officials will notice my pockets bulging with seashells?
No wind, no rain just brilliantly bright sunshine - nothing wrong with that!

Beachcombing

Our GPS has this crazed idea that she must take us on the most obscure roads possible to any destination we require of her.  So, after trying to find our way to a grocery store - Supermercado - we found ourselves quite by accident in front of an Aldi store - what a bonus.  That'll do just fine.

We stocked our carboot with the good stuff, said our obrigado's and off we went!

Our side patio at the villa gets the afternoon sun, so, like the good holidaymakers that we are, we all three, held a bottle of liquid in one hand and a book in the other, in the sun, till we were satiated. Aaah.

20 December 2011 ENGLAND TO PORTUGAL Tuesday

Yikes, an extremely dark, cold, wet and early start at 3am to get to Luton airport for our flight to Faro, Portugal.  The flight itself was pretty painless and our arrival to a sunny and warm climate made up, in leaps and bounds, for the chilly start to our day.

My dear husband is back to driving on the wrong side of the road and wrong side of the car, but this time, with the added complications of gear changing in a manual and foreign language roadsigns!  He is remarkable.

Fortunately, the resort was not too far from Faro airport and we arrived at Vale de Lobo in the Algarve, in one piece.  Much to our delight, awaiting our arrival, was a heated swimming pool, luxury accommodation and service none-too-shabby. We are here for two whole weeks, no moving about and, did I happen to mention, we have our oldest son with us? Wonderful.

19 December 2011 LUTON Monday

Greg arrives this afternoon - we can't wait!

Before leaving High Wycombe, we just had to do a touch of shopping.  I appear to be heavy on handbags, as this is my third one since we've been on this trip. Oh well, what can a girl do?  Also I think I might embarrass myself and admit that I bought new pyjamas - a onesie! HAHA - it's too cute.

We left for Heathrow to collect Greg a good few hours ahead of time and were ready and waiting with eagerness second to none.  It is wonderful to see him again and enjoy his company.

Straight after Heathrow, a quick "hi" with Uncle Tony and Aunty Verna in Harpenden and on to the next hotel in Luton.  Greg just had to have a good old English pub dinner and pint, which we all enjoyed heartily.

18 December 2011 GREAT BEDWYN TO HIGH WYCOMBE Sunday

A late wake-up and huge brekky after spending a very late night catching up with Kit and Daleen.  Then we all four left to go to lunch near our next hotel in High Wycombe and Kit and Dal's home.
After checking-in in the early evening, we returned to have dinner with Kit while Dal worked and drove back to High Wycombe on icy roads in -1 temperatures.  The GPS took us on the backroads through a maze of winding roads, in the middle of suburbia!  All we could see was a narrow piece of tar surrounded by shrubbery taller than the car with only a metre or two of headlight shining in front of us.  It was bizarre, like being in a driving-maze, not a walking one. However, we got home safely.
One more sleep till Greg joins us! Yippee! Then one week till Matt joins us! Yay!

17 December 2011 GREAT BEDWYN - MARLBOROUGH Saturday

Cheers to Frankaborough Farm, we had a wonderful time, be sure to look it up online if ever you travel to southwest England.

A fair weather drive today with sun shining most of the way, thankfully.  We did a spot of grocery shopping in Marlborough and arrived at Mason's Yard cottage in Great Bedwyn in the afternoon.  A cosy place with everything we need.  We had a quick fresh, walk and then settled indoors while we wait for our dear friends Kit and Daleen to arrive - yay!

Great Bedwyn is an historic village with evidence of Celts, Romans and Saxons having been here.  Where we are staying is the old Lloyd's stonemason's yard, established in 1790.  Next to the old stone-yard is the Post Office where Lloyd's stonemason's art can be seen.  A wheelwright, undertaker and rope-maker once plied his trade in the yard behind the Post Office.
Photo's tomorrow.

16 December 2011 FRANKABOROUGH FARM Friday

Surprise, surprise - back to Launceston today for a check-up on Al's flu and all good.  We continued on to the next little village, Tavistock for morning tea/coffee at Cafe Liaison and to book the next destination for our trip, with Kit and Dal joining us.
Too much rain to visit the calves this evening, but a good wine and fire induced relaxation with a bit of dominoes thrown in and yes, YES, Al won again - blah, blah good on him!

15 December 2011 LAUNCESTON Thursday

Back to Launceston today, for groceries this time.  We had random pockets of small hail falling sporadically through the day, but nothing too dramatic to drive through - especially not from the passenger seat!
We visited the calves at feeding time again and found Cuddles being hand fed by the farmer because he has only just been weaned and is still learning to use an artificial teat.

Meet Jo-Jo the sheepdog - very good at herding e v e r y t h i n g !

A pleasant evening of wine and dominoes and, okay, Allan won fair and square.  Well done rah, rah - WHATEVER!



14 December 2011 FRANKABOROUGH FARM Wednesday

Nothing much to report today, Al has a touch of flu so we drove to the doctor just 7 miles away in Launceston.  Back to Rose Cottage on Frankaborough Farm for a bit of R & R.  No calf visits today, however, these are the three French breeds in front, with 3 day Cadbury in the background because she is the only girl amonst these boys.  They are 1 week old and from left to right:  Frenchie (for his kisses and lashes), Costa (for his coffee colour) and Sprite for his impish behaviour.  The light brown one on the extreme right is a different breed but I can't remember what.  He is also only 3 days old with the softest fluffiest coat and his name is Cuddles.

13 December 2011 FRANKABOROUGH FARM Tuesday

A rainy drive to Okehampton, only to turn back onto the A30 to Launceston and then those infamous farm roads to Broadwoodwidger and Frankaborough Farm.  It is a working Dairy Farm with 4 cottages, ours being Rose cottage.  We were warmly welcomed by the owner, Linda and herded off  to our cosy, comfortable cottage by Jo-Jo and Benny the sheepdogs.
We wasted no time getting cosy.

This was our wake-up view every morning

and then there was snow on the mountains

6pm is cow milking and calf feeding time, so we donned our farmer Joe gear and presented ourselves at the milking shed. The very enormous cows were quite enjoying their dessert while being mechanically milked without any help from us, so we enjoyed the experience from the outskirts.  Very eagerly we followed the farmer to the calf nursery, where, to our udder (sorry) delight, we found calves that were 1 week old and others that were 3 days old.  My absolute fave is a flaxen coloured boy who I named Frenchie, because he french-kisses anything and everything in search of milk.

 I only found out the next night that he actually is a French breed - I should known with those romantic long lashes of eyes,



12 December 2011 ST MICHAELS MOUNT Monday

Today's visit was also just a couple of miles from Penzance, but in the other direction to Marazion where we visited St Michaels Mount.  It is a castle built ontop of a small island to which there is walking access at low tide across a cobbled path.  It was quite a unique experience to be able to walk across a kind of natural moat.  For those interested, I have pasted a timeline of the castle's construction.
Tomorrow we leave for Okehampton near Dartmoor and we might not have wifi, therefore no blog, because we are staying on...............a working dairy farm in a cottage!!  I am soooo very very excited.

By the by - Hotel Penzance has a resident cat, Jerry, who very kindly escorted us up to our room today



From around 350 B.C. – The Mount was a key port for the trading of tin to the rest of Europe
495 A.D. – A vision of the Archangel of St Michael appeared on the Mount
Around 1070 – The Mount was granted to the Benedictine monks of Mont St Michel in France
1135 – The first stone church was built on the Mount by the French Abbot, Bernard le Bec, and later consecrated by Robert, Bishop of Exeter, in 1144
1193 – The Mount was seized by Henry de La Pomeray (on behalf of the Earl of Cornwall – later King John)
1473 – Mount seized by Earl of Oxford

1588 – Mount beacon lit to warn of the arrival of the Spanish Armada
1873-1878 – Victorian Wing of the castle built (where the family live now)
1954 – Gift of St Michael’s Mount with large endowment fund to the National Trust

11 December 2011 MOUSEHOLE Sunday

We've heard about a teeny tiny hamlet called Mousehole - pronounced Mowzil.  It's only 2.5 miles from Penzance, but as it was raining, we caught the bus instead of walked.
We found out that it is called Mousehole because it's harbour entrance is so narrow that a fisherman once referred to it as a mousehole.

 This is a photo of the entrance with a gate across it that I took today.

This postcard shows the entrance from above more clearly.

This last photo is a house that belonged to a man by the name of Keigwin who fought the Spaniards in 1595 when they burnt Penzance and Mousehoule, it is the only house that remained standing.

10 December 2011 KING ARTHUR'S CASTLE - TINTAGEL Saturday

After checking-out of The Mill House, we finally got to visit King Arthur's Castle just up the (one-laned) road to the village.
The Castle was built across two hills, but the centre has collapsed and down on the beach is Merlins cave (which I feel certain was used as a secret entry because the exit was just a short way under the castle), I went in by myself and saw heaps of hobgoblins - look for them in the rocks, you'll see!!

 See how the walls are just compacted rocks.

We drove on to Penzance where we saw the Pirates!