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beach

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Things to do in Brighton

October 2, 2013

Last weekend was spent by the sea in Brighton, with my hubby and it was lovely. I really didn’t want to leave! Brighton has so many things to see and do, if you choose to travel there for a “dirty weekend” or just to enjoy the sights. If you are lucky it will be sunny and you can also enjoy a bit of relaxation on the beach, listening to the sound of the waves. I arrived on Friday night and left on Sunday and although we didn’t get to stay for too long, it was enough to see and do a few things. Here’s a few illustrated suggestions of what you too can do:

You can walk along the beach and take in the views of the sea.

Enjoy the lovely architecture on the sea front. Mr D and I are Art Deco aficionados so we end up playing ‘Spot the Art Deco Building’ game.

Watch the seagulls. There’s so many of them everywhere and they are very lively!

Go on the ferris wheel to enjoy a whole new different perspective of Brighton, narrated by Steve Coogan. It cost us £18 for the both of us but as it wasn’t too busy we got to go around a few times and you get to see stunning views like the one below:

Go walking on the Pier (seen above) and get some candy from the old little shops. I love the fact that the quaint shops and the whole structure are still original.

Have your fortune read in the tarot cards while sitting inside a gypsy cart.

Take time to wander the streets and lanes. There’s plenty of interesting details everywhere as well as all types of shops and foods.

Visit the Royal Pavilion, built in the Indo-Saracenic style that was popular in India throughout the 19th century.

Walk around the Pavilion, enjoy the lovely gardens and see the little animals.

Enjoy the beautiful and colourful flowers in the gardens, before visiting the Brighton Museum & Art Galleries. More on that on my next post.

Say hello to nice and beautiful kitty cats. As a future crazy cat lady this is obviously a point of attraction.

 Look for the interesting graffiti scattered around town. There’s lots of beautiful street art everywhere!

If it’s sunny, lie on the beach and take a nap. It’s the best way of recharging your batteries ever.

Look for the pretty pebbles at the beach.

Buy a colourful plastic toy to take home with you as a souvenir!

We didn’t want to leave but the time came eventually. Before you do, take some time to appreciate the beautiful 19th century iron work on the train station’s structure.

There is plenty more to see and do, if you have more time. There are lots of restaurants and bars, with affordable choices that won’t leave you wanting for more. Have you been to Brighton yet? What is your favourite thing to do there?

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Portugal Week part 2

September 6, 2013

Hello again! Here are the too many photos of the second part of my visit. I hope you enjoy these too!

Monday was a pretty relaxed day: we went shopping in town (I got myself a couple of things in the sales, woohoo) had some nice food, relaxed and went to the beach with my friend and her daughters at the end of the day.

Mr D and I got his and hers emergency beach towels at the Chinese corner shop. They’re beautiful.

I wore a light cotton dress by Kookai that is perfect for hot Summer days and my Pucci sunnies (both via TK Maxx)

I also visited a church I had never before seen open. As with most churches (and you can find one on every corner) in Lisbon, the baroque art is very beautiful to look at. You can find a couple more images herehere and here.

We also climbed to the top of the Rua Augusta stone arch. It was a novelty for me as it has only opened to the public recently. I got to see the city from a whole new perspective!

You can see what the main street in downtown Lisbon looks like from above here and you can see what the arch looks like from the ground here.

The next day it was my birthday and I started it in the best way possible by visiting the Lisbon flea market with husband and friends. I did some great finds but I haven’t taken any photos yet. Hopefully I’ll be sharing them over the next few weeks.

I wish I could buy the strange naif style paintings. I really loved the futuristic autobahn one, I wish I had asked for the price. I could always kept it for when I live in my own apartment again…

What a funny coincidence that there were two totally unrelated people selling the same image.

The funny thing about this photo is that the sign is misspelled.

It was so hot this cat was sleeping in the shade, under a car. I can see the ZZZZs in the photo!

I also visited this really good shop called Tesouros de Portugal (Treasures of Portugal). They don’t have a website yet but you can have a look at the facebook page here. I went in there because I was looking for one of our traditional northern scarves and I found it there! They have a lot of goodies, all of them authentic or handmade in Portugal. These days because of the tourism boom there are way too many shops downtown peddling cheap made in China imitations of our traditional arts and it’s a shame that a lot of people who visit don’t realize it is so. So when I buy something that’s traditional I actually prefer to pay a bit more and know I am supporting the artisans of my country.

Later that day I met with my family and we had dinner together. I got all dolled up for the occasion and had my first attempt at an updo. I am terrible at doing hair as I have had my hair short for most of my life! The dress is from one of the H&M Garden Collections and  I got it from Ebay. The see through clutch is from Bershka and I got it on sale the previous day. The sandals are the same golden ones from Topshop and the nail polish is by Kiko and was a present from my friend Sandrine.

The next couple of photos were taken by my sister Ines. She is 14 and has a fashion blog called Fashion Maniac. Most of it is in Portuguese but trust me when I tell you that she is good!

The next day I hauled my luggage back to the UK, making me want to come back soon!

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The top 5 things I miss the most about Portugal

September 4, 2013

I am not one to complain and spend my days sighing for the life I left back home in Portugal (otherwise, why would I have moved, right?) but there are always things that I feelare missing. During my latest visit the other week I thought I’d show them to you, in no particular order.

The bread 

Omg, how I miss the bread. Not that there aren’t nice breads in England but I have to say that the bread that can be found in Portugal is in general a lot better. (sorry!) My favourite is from Alentejo, a region in the South of Portugal and I think the best way to describe it would be that it is a sort of sour dough. When it’s freshly baked the outside crust is brown and crispy and the inside white and soft. It goes well with virtually everything – butter, cheese or  even dipped in good olive oil. Deliciousness!

 The light

The light has to be one of the main things I have been missing in the last 3 years. Not only because photos look a lot nicer when the light is bright but also because of my mood.  This past Winter was hard and long and my happiness levels were crumbling down – it was difficult not to feel crappy when it was cold and miserable for so long… I had never thought how the lack of direct sunlight would be affecting me so much until the Summer arrived and I had an immediate mood boost. Maybe I should get one of those special lamps to keep me perked up through the Winter.

The seafood and the hundreds of ways off cooking salted cod

I think the title says everything. We are a country by the sea with warm weather in the Summer -the best combination for having delicious meals al fresco of all sorts of grilled fish and seafood. Our national dish is also the salted cod and we really have a gazillion way of preparing it, from simply boiled to other more sophisticated and inventive ways with sauces, and side dishes. You really have to go there to try it! The photo above was one of my lunches, of grilled squid, which I never really have the opportunity of eating here.

The fantastic views all over Lisbon

 Not everywhere will have the same view as above but as the city sprawls over a few hills, you always have a different perspective wherever you are. This makes for a lot of beautiful views and there are a lot of view points with gardens and seating you can take advantage of, particularly in the Summer. The area of the country where I am is flat as a pancake and that makes for a fairly boring landscape sometimes. Maybe I’m too used to living in a hilly city, I don’t know.

Friends and Family

Last but not least, of course. I’ve been here for 3 years now and I am happy to report that I still have good and close friends back at home. You can see me and my friend in the above photo – we got the Saudade tattoo exactly one year before we took this photo on our trip to the beach. Distance means nothing when someone is close to your heart.

Stay tuned for the next and last post on my latest trip to Portugal – more adventures and outfits coming your way!

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Week in photos

June 9, 2013

 

After a couple of weeks with no Instagram update, here’s the best of since the last one- the daily life photos as well as images from my week in Florida withe the hubby. I hope you like them!