The Brennans have gone to Portugal

 Good afternoon It has been about a month since I posted anything. The reason is we have done nothing. Not that there is anything wrong with that. Both Trish and I have had new colds and have had difficulties getting rid of them. We have had a lot of rain and some wind which put a damper on everything.  We do have company. The Henrys and the Pettits have come to dinner, and the eight of us have gone out for dinner.  Tomorrow night, Friday, we are all going to the pub by Henry's townhouse. They have just moved. On the subject of moving, we moved on Monday, no, that was changed to Tuesday, no Tuesday was changed to Wednesday. We are now back in our original home. There are fewer leaks now. Trish and I do not think we will come back next year. This is a problem. We cannot go to the States, and I fear the Caribbean is too expensive. It is set up for one-week stays, not one-month visits.  If anyone has a suggestion, we are quite prepared to listen. Last evening, er sat ou...

 Good evening First let me say our friends from the other London have arrived. Jeff and Cathy Petit and the Henry gang joined us for dinner. We went to Innamorato, the Italian restaurant by the Henry's. It was just as good as the first time. Trish, Kelly and I shared a Tiramisu.   Today, we found a swallow's nest at our front door. At first, Trish and I thought it had just arrived, but looking at it, it looks as if it has been there for some time. Other than that, I have nothing much to repor t. I have been to the driving range but have not played golf. Here is the picture of the nest.

 Today we went to Olhão, a fishing village a little west of Tavira. It was a beautiful day—so nice that we sat close to the water and had lunch. It is much larger than Cabanas and features a fish market. The large red or maybe brown building is in some of the pictures. Ron Austin is here, and we have talked about golfing but have not arranged anything yet. I believe Jeff and Cathy Pettit arrive on February 15th. I have not played golf, but as I said, John Henry and I did hit some balls in Spain. Here are some pictures of Olhão.

 Yesterday, we went to Monte Gordo, which is almost in Spain. We were still looking for Dry Vermouth but did not find any. Our search did find mint and a very nice restaurant on the ocean called Cuica.     The mint is for the lamb we are serving the Henrys tonight. Here are some pictures of Monte Gordo and a video of the beach at Manta Rota. We took Sophia to this beach when she was three months old. Sophia, I don't think you will remember it. VIDEO The video is not here. I can not get it to work, but will keep trying. Sorry

 Good morning Today, we are off to find mint or mint jelly to serve with lamb. We have invited the Henrys over for dinner tomorrow night and are having lamb. Trish thinks we may find mint at a garden cent so that is where we will start. If you would like to go back in time and look at our other blogs just click on the link below.     https://travelswiththebrennans.blogspot.com/

 Yesterday, John Henry and I went to the hotel to hit golf balls. The old system of just walking over to the pro shop is no more. You have to walk up the road, around a bit, then to the pro shop. We decided to go to another country, so off to Spain.  We hit some balls, did some chipping and John took a couple of shots from the sand trap. We wrapped up the day with some putting. Once home, we got Trish and Kelly and had lunch by the pool. I have included pictures of the course and the pool,

  Good morning Last night, I took a picture of the sunset. It is not as colourful as back in Canada due to the fact there is no pollution here.

 Good afternoon. Today, we went to Almancil and Albufeira. Cabanas is very nice, but I would like to be closer to a golf course. There are several on the map in Almancil, so off we went. I was clearly a couple of levels above my pay grade. Just past the course we had entered into the GPS, we found ourselves in a development of homes. The homes were very modern, large, and clearly quite expensive. I guessed they were in the millions. Driving twenty minutes to Spain really isn’t that bad. Next, off to Albufeira for lunch. It is a port with an opening to the ocean, which appears to have been blasted. You will see the entrance in the pictures. Lunch was supposed to be at the Irish Pub. We ordered coffee and waited for the menu. Finally, we asked if we could have a menu, only to be told their kitchen was closed. We could order from the restaurant next door. We ate it, but it wasn't much. Driving through Fero, we took a shortcut to the ocean, but it was a dead end.   I believe ...

 Good evening to all The Henry's have arrived and now are in their own home. They are a little north of us, about a ten-minute walk. While today was not hot, and the sun did not come out much, I took my sweater off for a bit while Lawn Bowling. Kelly and I went for a walk at 4:30. She insisted we go. There were few people out and around, and overcast. As we walked, I saw a number of flowers, so I thought I would send you some pictures. I have not figured out how to make it neater. SORRY

 Good morning It is now February 1st, so there is an additional cost for viewing this picture. In the spirit of cooperation with our neighbour to the south, I have put a 25% tariff on the blog. Trish reminds me that 25% of nothing is nothing, but I still wish to be in sync.  We see the bird below several mornings but do not know what kind of bird it is. If you know, please put a comment on the blog.

 Good evening Yesterday, I went to Faro Airport and picked up John, Delores Henry, and Kate, Delores's sister. They had a good flight but were tired. Last night and tonight, they will stay with us, and then on Saturday, they will move into their new place.  Today, I played lawn bowls in beautiful weather. The sun started out a bit cool but warmed up quickly. Over the last few days, it has been getting hotter. The sun has been shining with not a cloud in the sky. So far, we've been quite prepared to do little. I've bowled, and every couple of days, we go to The Contenente to shop. So far, we have been quite prepared to do almost nothing. I have bowled, and every couple of days, we go to The Contenente to shop.  We will try to think up something interesting to do.

Good evening. It is just after 6:00 in Toronto, and you will be getting ready for the Bills' great win over the Chiefs. We will watch the game tomorrow morning.  I’ve been having a lot of trouble with Blogger. You may have seen a post saying there were pictures, but nothing showed up. I believe I have the solution: I need to use Chrome, not Safari. I will send this out tomorrow or on January 27 with a better picture of the ocean.  It’s Sunday morning now, and I know Buffalo lost — such a sad story. It’s raining, but in an hour, it will stop, and the temperature will rise to 20°C or 68°F.  Yesterday, I bowled against a woman from Montreal who is here for five weeks. We should have her over for dinner.

 I have been told the blog is boring. It needs more talking, so here goes Boa Tarde We have been in Portugal for two weeks now. The weather has been colder than we are used to, mainly because we have never been here in January before. When I say it is colder than we are accustomed to, I should mention that most days it reaches above 60°F, or about 15 or 16°C. I have lawn bowled five or six times. Yesterday, while bowling, I alternated between having my jacket on and off. Once I put the jacket away, I was comfortable for a while. Then I needed to take my sweater off; it was too warm. When the sun went behind a cloud, I put the sweater back on. I have been bowling quite well, but the people I bowl with in Portugal are very skilled. Kelly and I have taken several walks along the boardwalk. We have worn sweaters and, at times, light coats, but we have never been cold. The village somehow seems neater, perhaps fresher, than it did five years ago. In 2020, some construction was taking pl...

Good evening! It is now Thursday, January 23. I have been searching for dry vermouth. Everywhere has the dark red bottle and the light green one. Some places even have orange vermouth, but not the dark green bottle of dry vermouth. This evening, after a trip to Spain, I went into Tavira in search of a liquor store. The places we had been looking were grocery stores, which all sell liquor. I finally found a liquor store just across the Roman Bridge. It's called the Roman Bridge because it was built by the Romans. They had the red bottle, the light green one, and the orange vermouth, but no dry vermouth. I asked the man who appeared to be in charge, and he said they had a Portuguese dry vermouth suitable for Martinis. I bought one thinking it would be less expensive because it was Portuguese. I was wrong. I can finally have a Martini, but the bottle cost 41.30 Euros. My Martinis now taste mostly like gin, but they are still Martinis. The moral of the story is if y...

  Good afternoon. It is a beautiful day. The temperature changes depending on whether you are in the sun or not. In the sun, it is a little hot with a sweater on. I have sent some pictures of flowers, but they are not really out yet. This post includes a  cactus, which I want to include because we do not have any at home.

 Good evening, today it rained, then the sun came out, then it reigned, then...... well, I think that's enough. Kelly and I walked by the Lawn Bowling, and there were actually bowlers out. We then walked down to where the Hedgehog had lived 5 years ago. It was not a perfect day, but I did go to our roof and took a picture. It is not very clear, but in the distance, you can see the ocean.     

 Good evening As some of you know, we have had some problems. On Sunday night, we got about one-fifth of a year's rain, which caused several leaks in our home. As always, the people here were helpful and had us move to a new home. We are now in the house. I have included pictures of the new home.

  This is the little grocery store. Most of the time we go to Tavira and the Contente.