The back of the Burstner..... !

Well this was the Boys leaving us on Wednesday to return the Burstner back to the UK and sell it.... they got the ferry from Santander (7 hour drive from our place) to Plymouth. So me and Sienna are home alone in Portugal. At the moment it is fine - I was not sure how I would feel without Lee here as I am a bit stranded (I don't drive), so far it has been relaxing.. it is good spending one on one time with Sienna who is a bit of a Daddy's girl ! Hopefully the boys will be back before long.

A moment after this photograph was taken Sienna made a new friend.. Maria, Fernando's Granddaughter. We have spent hours at the park with her the past two days and she has been great company for Sienna - even though she is 11 ! She is a great kid, full of confidence and very practical. She is fluent in both French and Portuguese and has put me to shame ! I have been trying very hard to communicate with her and she has been very patient with me ! That is Maria above with Sienna ... she is holding her kitten that was born that morning.... or "baby cat" as she calls it ! Cute. We popped into the Cafe in Travanca Do Mondego for drinks and ice cream after leaving the park. i had a well earned beer after having been run ragged by these two playing 'it' !

Things that go bump in the night....

Every now and then there is a bump.. or loud crash in the night and I know Sienna has fallen out of bed.... I go in and pick her up ( she always continues to sleep) and pop her back into bed. Well she has been a bit of a disaster area these past two weeks..

First she walked sideways off a ledge into a river whilst at Roberts birthday party and went completely under in her best frock. Thankfully she was laughing about it when Marcus swiftly pulled her up for air.

Next she walked into a lamp post in Mortagua and somehow flew sideways into the hedgerow with her skirt up. After pulling down he skirt to hide her knickers from two passing (bemused) ladies.. she giggled again.

Well today she was on form. This morning I heard bloodcurdling screams and ran down to find she had fallen face down in the mud with her mouth open. (Unfortunate if you are not a fan of the stuff) I have advised her to close her mouth next time to avoid this. Not 20 minutes later there were more blood curdling screams and she has now learnt that when we said that prickly pear plants are not to be picked up or touched as they HURT, we really meant it.
This afternoon she bit her tongue on the trampoline. Then tonight I heard a crash when she fell out of bed. Unfortunately I didnt help matters when I went in to recover her from the floor and cracked her on the head with the door as I opened it to go in.

Blimey... whatever happened to bad luck coming in 3's ?
Better luck tomorrow Bubba ! x

Tondela Park.

There is a great park in Tondela nearby. It is new and totally immaculate -almost like a virtual park ! There is a zip wire and a great selection of unusual swings and roundabouts.

Us' thirtysomethings' had a great time checking it all out... !

There is a gorgeous outdoor pool backing onto the park which unfortunately doesn't open until July.... not warm enough yet apparently !!

I really want a zipwire in my garden...... : O)