Carmel Brennan

The plot thickens. I woke around 6 o’clock this morning, filled up the cat dish and put it back outside. At 8 o’clock I decided to get up, look out and the cat dish was empty again. No sign of BC. Then while filling up the kettle, I noticed outside the side window, two cats…

The advantage of longer trips is that time limits are not a barrier. You can sit with your coffee and croissant and just watch people. I am at Por Do Sol, which is listed as a cafetaria e artesanato, which is a cafe and crafts place. I haven’t seen any crafts, just post cards and…

On waking in the middle of the night last night,I noticed that BC, the cat, came in chattering loudly. I realize now he was probably cursing, because when I looked down this morning, feeling a very warm lump at the end of the bed, this was a very wet cat. There was a huge storm…

Today was a quiet day. I went back at the watercolours. I’m trying to forget all the rules about watercolours and just experimenting and playing. I don’t do rules well! I’m a little happier with the results. It’s testing my patience to keep waiting for paint to dry. I’m also not good at patience.I’ve now…

I’m in another coastal area in Almograve. It’s just unbelievable. What I love about this Alentejo coastline is the fact that you’ve got miles and miles of nature – no resorts (unlike the Algarve). It’s just nature; that’s why I guess it’s preserved to maintain the wildlife and natural resources. Every cove opens up to…

This feels like such a lazy day. I’m sitting out here 11 o’clock in the morning. The sun is beaming down on my head. It’s absolutely beautiful today; slowly the temperature is increasing from that few days of real chill nights. It’s so nice and quiet here without the neighbours, chattering away. I’m beginning to…

I was looking forward to seeing this little bakery praised by Lonely Planet, a few kilometres north of Vila Nova de Milfontes. It was hard to find. I followed the directions, but it wasn’t where I expected. I drove up several different driveways and had no luck. Then I asked two women on the side…

Central heating is on my mind today, as I wake to the early morning sun streaming through the window. Living in North America we become so accustomed to feeling warm in our houses in winter and then we cool them with air conditioning in the summer. If you have a fireplace, it’s not really for warming…

This was a much quieter day than yesterday. I didn’t lose the car. I don’t think anything out of the ordinary happened.BC came for his breakfast. I was doing laundry. After a shower and getting dressed, I went out to Sao Teotonio. When I came back I went down to a couple of different beaches…

Some days I wonder whether it would be better to stay in bed. The plan today was once I got up and had my tea, I would start trying to top up my phone plan which was going to be ended tomorrow. Finally after a half an hour of trying, I got somebody on the…