... still in Constancia, Portugal

I'm enjoying reliving our holiday myself.... who wanted to come home? ...not me.... well, actually, in all fairness nobody did...but, we did have to get back to reality eventually.

Today here at home it was at least lovely and sunny and some of the snow on the shady sides of the house are even melting.  I tried to break down the 3 foot pile of it on the front lawn...most of it shaded by a huge spruce.  If I don't move it...I bet it won't melt for weeks.  I shovelled and tossed lots of it onto the warmth of the sidewalk, the road, and even onto the now bare grass nearby that is in sun for more hours of the day.  Tomorrow is supposed to get up to a whopping +15C..... oh, I hope so.  That'll get more melting happening. I'll try to  break up more of the pile.  The south and west facing yard is bare and dry now.  Woohoooooo..

Of course, in Portugal it is at least this lovely and even warmer I'm betting .....sigh....................

Open windows... plants in pots... definitely somebody home....

Washing hanging outside ...a common sight.... not many people have dryers...I'm not sure about washers..but, probably not in tiny places like these.  Life is simpler... slower... and easier in some respects.  In others... maybe not so much.....




















You already know I'm partial to old worn doors and windows.... but, look at this beautiful old keyhole and is that a tiny doorknocker? ...

And, this place was very special.  We saw the light sticking way out there.......the intriguing wrought iron gate ..... and went straight up the steps for a better look.                                 
Not sure if the door out front belongs to the same house..or what..... it seemed strange to also have a huge gate and pathway leading around to the backside of things...or maybe the real front is actually behind ...




















Looks like Tuscany through there..... cypress trees?... a winding path....

a hidden balcony back there...this guy defiitely had the right idea.  Imagine a tiny table for two set up on the balcony...overlooking an orchard of some sort....ahhhhhh.... bliss.

No...I wasn't brave enough to jump the fence...just put my camera through the fence and took a shot.....  no for sale sign on this one..... I guess not!  Wish I could have seen the balcony side of it though ....

Oh, dear...then there was this poor thing.....  better days are long gone.  No roof left... totally crumbled...




















...and through the door's criss cross metal strips... ahhhhh.... what a shame..... not much left of all of it now.

Down to the bottom and a cup of coffee was in order.... at a little riverside shop.....

Oh, and...we had a brief chat with Luís de Camões ...  ... a great poet.... and considered to be Portugal's Shakespeare.