Ola....

So I figured that trying to learn one language wasn't a big enough challenge and that it was time to pop off to another country for a week, hence a fun week was spent in Portugal - a country I had never really thought of visiting and knew next to nothing about (apart from their pastries thanks to Sweet Belem in Petersham....mmmm! And Alex, Sweet Belem still has the best Portugese tarts I've ever had)

Taking advantage of the beautiful proximity that Europe provides Chad, Andrea, Marlys and I jetted off to Lagos in the south of Portugal for a week of beach bumming. On the train there we were approached by a lovely guy who offered the 4 of us a flat in his building for €15 each a night, so we had our own flat complete with kitchen, veranda and rooftop....

We met a great guy from New York, Jon, on the train. He fitted into our little posse straight away and became the fifth member of our little band of travellers. While most of our time was spent wandering along the cliffs from one little beach enclave to the next and enjoying home cooked meals and copious quantities of extremely affordable local wine at the flat, we also managed to fit a day trip on scooters to Sagres into our busy schedule. The south-western most point of Portugal, Sagres was at one point thought to be the end of the world... and it felt like it, it was freezing cold and blowing a gale, but absolutely gorgeous.

The ride along the coast was stunning and even better from the passenger point of view, we had a fantastic day driving along, stopping at beaches, swimming, eating and then motoring on a little further (after spending ten minutes trying to get all the bikes started).

However, the week of fun and frivolity eventually had to end and I'm now back at work. I'm currently at Petit Bois in Cosne d'Aller, which is apparently the 'bellybutton' of France. Halfway through my Amvil stint and the work is starting to become a little repetitive (don't get me started on the food) but every group of kids is different, so I'm still having fun (apart from having a kid throw up on me and then showing me a piece of half chewed candy with his tooth stuck in it the next day). The site here is based in an old chateau with a tree lined driveway full of crows. The chateau is supposed to be haunted by the philanthropic owner who left the chateau to the town and who apparently is a friendly ghost with a sense of humour... no sightings yet, but will keep you posted....