The cold is steadily getting worse and worse now. I'm pretty much bed bound today and have no plans to leave the flat if I can possibly help it. My body has held on until I got here and now my immune system has had enough. I was really impressed that I managed to avoid all the bugs going round the office but the combined germs of the shopping centre and downtown have done for me.
I really don't feel like writing much today so I'll be brief and then I can return to my pit of self pity and scrunched up tissues.
Yesterday was a nice relaxing day with the in-laws again. It somehow (raised eyebrow here) got back to S's mum that I had a special liking for the way she cooked ribs so that was what we got. I feel very guilty because the I was also the one responsible for us having lamb for New Year so I really need to stop dictating what is cooked for us.
As expected the ribs were amazing, this time in some sauce with hints of garlic and tomatoe and of course served with plenty of punched potatoes but also this time with some creamed spinach and more carrots that I'd eaten in a long time. I love to heap on the vegetables at times like this. I was well looked after as I think S's mum thinks I've lost too much weight and so she was piling on second and third helpings. S's dad also opened a bottle of something rather interesting, a red vinho verde which was sweeter than I normally like my reds but fruity and went well with the meal. We just had a bit of fruit for desert as I think everyone was feeling the festive excesses and we had other plans...
After dinner we went down to the little cafe, Mimosa, near their flat for some coffee, pasteis de nata and to meet some friends. This was the first time I had met F, her husband and children (who were adorable!) but F had given me lots of advice in emails before I came. She's British and moved here about 15 years ago, works here and married a Portuguese man. She's given me lots of tips on finding work and settling in. I wanted to thank her and have a chat. I managed the first but the second was soon forgotten as we were entertaining her 6 year old daughter with origami and magic tricks and the sock monkey that S had made for her.
S learnt an important lesson there - the sock monkeys she makes might be made with love and care but they have to be pretty damn strong to survive the love of a 6 year old.
After the coffees and goodbyes we decided to go to see S's aunt and uncle who live nearby and who wanted to wish us congratulations. It was very touching how pleased they were for us and they'd even made a desert for us. The don't speak a word of English so communication was a bit stilted but I understood most of what was being said, it was just frustrating that I couldn't join in. I got to meet the huge cat they have too, although she seemed a bit grumpy at being woken to meet this strange Englishman. We stayed for about 20 minutes but it was getting quite cold, I was quite snotty and we were tired so we headed back.
On the way home we decided to stop by Parque Eduardo VII to see the Christmas tree which was still up. Last time I was in Lisbon before now was the day before they put the lights on so it was nice to see it in its full glory. we got out of the car and had a little walk, bought some chestnuts and sat on a park bench eating them. It was really a lovely moment despite people trying to sell us flashing neon necklaces. I can't wait to go back there for the book fair.
We got back in and S fancied watching something so we streamed some new American series called True Blood. It was ok, watchable but I don't think particularly memorable other than having Vinnie from Home & Away in it and having quite a lot of sex scenes in it. (Amusingly S had originally seen this with her dad.)
Right, I'm off to have a hot drink.
Showing posts with label Cold. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cold. Show all posts
Monday, 5 January 2009
Saturday, 3 January 2009
Survival of the sales part 1...
Typical! I manage to go for months through the driving rain, the burning cold, the whipping wind of Manchester and I finally get to Portugal and I catch a cold. To be fair though all those people who expressed jelousy at my change in cilmate really should visit here in the winter. Never before have I experienced such poor forward planning for winter, most windows are single glazed, there's no central heating anywhere and the houses are designed to let the blistering summer heat out which in winter creates the strange phenomena of it being warmer outside than inside. I have to wear a jumper all the time indoors now.
My cold could also have something to do with the sheer number of people I was around yesterday and the miriad of germs they were carrying. We decided to brave the sales and I know S was missing her retail therephy (I don't think I've met anyone as well dressed as S, in an understated way). I was very poor but in desperate need of at least one more pair of pants and some shoes so we headed to Colombo, a huge city centre shopping centre next to the Benfica football ground.
One thing Portugal is not short of is shopping malls. The Portuguese are mad about these palaces of consumerism and I've even had C raving about ones such as the Vasco da Gama centre (with waterfalls over the glass ceiling - which just look like they're being washed constantly). To me they're all the same, the same shops just in more or less confusing arrangements.
There are just about two clothes shops in Portugal I would shop in (for some reason the Portuguese H & M is rubbish) and that's Pull & Bear and Springfield. One of my long running comments on the Portuguese is that they dress in such a conservative fashion. Walking down the streets you do get the impression that their mother's choose their clothes, sometimes this is true in people up to their mid 30s. Added to that all the clothes look brand new, there's not a scuff mark, stain or rip (with one exception today!) in anyone's clothes which often gives the impression of either being in a film or a Daz advert. I've had a little think about this and can only assume that Portugal being so poor for so long has issues with apparent poverty. I will always remember a comment made by a Portuguese friend regarding my favourite pair of converse which had been lovingly tended to a state of near collapse and it was remarked that I could wear them to park cars (a common job for the homeless is finding parking spaces). I've had numerous conversations with Portuguese friends about this and it's just a cultural different that's difficult to understand.
So I'm left with these two shops, neither of which are great but which do have some good lines. I don't buy a lot of clothes, that should be emphasised at this point but I do have set ideas on what I like and back in the UK this usually led me to vintage or charity shops or shall independant shops, with the occassional visit to Topman, H & M or Primark for essentials. Now the charity/vintage shops here are practically non existance. Their lack is merely emphasised by the fact the the one or two that do exist will no doubt be pointed out to me. The same is true for the independant shops but these seem to consist of 'boutiques' in Bairro Alto that charge €40 for a t-shirt. There's just no equivalent to Pop or its ilk, or if there is then please please point me in its direction.
Saying this though I was rather pleased with my purchases. I got a pair of gray cord trousers and some smart(ish) trainers which will be perfect for work. It wasn't too painful and they were under €40 for the lot. I spent a long time having a shirt pushed on me by S but in the end I declined, I fancied being a bit more colourful but there was nothing that caught my eye.
Happy with my clothes purchases we decided to do a bit of food shopping as there is a massive Continente supermarket there but as it turns out we didn't end up buying much. We were disappointed with the quality of the meat and most of the other stuff on our list can be bought either cheaper or of better quality from our local supermarket - Pingo Doce.
By the time we got home I was starting to feel a bit ill and very tired. Ashamedly I fell asleep through the film - Last Year In Marienbad - much to S's amusement as it's her who is normally guilty of that. I woke up today feeling a little horrible but I'm medicated up and prepared to face the sales downtown now!
My cold could also have something to do with the sheer number of people I was around yesterday and the miriad of germs they were carrying. We decided to brave the sales and I know S was missing her retail therephy (I don't think I've met anyone as well dressed as S, in an understated way). I was very poor but in desperate need of at least one more pair of pants and some shoes so we headed to Colombo, a huge city centre shopping centre next to the Benfica football ground.
One thing Portugal is not short of is shopping malls. The Portuguese are mad about these palaces of consumerism and I've even had C raving about ones such as the Vasco da Gama centre (with waterfalls over the glass ceiling - which just look like they're being washed constantly). To me they're all the same, the same shops just in more or less confusing arrangements.
There are just about two clothes shops in Portugal I would shop in (for some reason the Portuguese H & M is rubbish) and that's Pull & Bear and Springfield. One of my long running comments on the Portuguese is that they dress in such a conservative fashion. Walking down the streets you do get the impression that their mother's choose their clothes, sometimes this is true in people up to their mid 30s. Added to that all the clothes look brand new, there's not a scuff mark, stain or rip (with one exception today!) in anyone's clothes which often gives the impression of either being in a film or a Daz advert. I've had a little think about this and can only assume that Portugal being so poor for so long has issues with apparent poverty. I will always remember a comment made by a Portuguese friend regarding my favourite pair of converse which had been lovingly tended to a state of near collapse and it was remarked that I could wear them to park cars (a common job for the homeless is finding parking spaces). I've had numerous conversations with Portuguese friends about this and it's just a cultural different that's difficult to understand.
So I'm left with these two shops, neither of which are great but which do have some good lines. I don't buy a lot of clothes, that should be emphasised at this point but I do have set ideas on what I like and back in the UK this usually led me to vintage or charity shops or shall independant shops, with the occassional visit to Topman, H & M or Primark for essentials. Now the charity/vintage shops here are practically non existance. Their lack is merely emphasised by the fact the the one or two that do exist will no doubt be pointed out to me. The same is true for the independant shops but these seem to consist of 'boutiques' in Bairro Alto that charge €40 for a t-shirt. There's just no equivalent to Pop or its ilk, or if there is then please please point me in its direction.
Saying this though I was rather pleased with my purchases. I got a pair of gray cord trousers and some smart(ish) trainers which will be perfect for work. It wasn't too painful and they were under €40 for the lot. I spent a long time having a shirt pushed on me by S but in the end I declined, I fancied being a bit more colourful but there was nothing that caught my eye.
Happy with my clothes purchases we decided to do a bit of food shopping as there is a massive Continente supermarket there but as it turns out we didn't end up buying much. We were disappointed with the quality of the meat and most of the other stuff on our list can be bought either cheaper or of better quality from our local supermarket - Pingo Doce.
By the time we got home I was starting to feel a bit ill and very tired. Ashamedly I fell asleep through the film - Last Year In Marienbad - much to S's amusement as it's her who is normally guilty of that. I woke up today feeling a little horrible but I'm medicated up and prepared to face the sales downtown now!
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