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The days continue to race by. Any thoughts of homesickness are just way off target. I had a train of thought, today that began with me thinking about our hire car, the Citroen, and some of the really good bits like the diesel engine being so grunty but economical, the satnav, the reversing aid and the on-board computer. None of which we have in our cars in NZ. Then I moved on to our cars in NZ, that they both need warrants of fitness and road licence. I swiftly moved to thinking I have a few days after I get home to sort out the cars before going back to WORK. I suddenly felt really depressed. The idea of going back on shift seems so awful. I have reverted to a regular sleeping pattern of staying up late, often well after midnight and waking up at 07.00. All so different to being back at work as retirement is looking a very welcome prospect
We are very close to finishing our main spell in mainland Europe so Ros and I went to Lisbon for the day to find out the drop-off location and book in the return. We took the opportunity to have a good look around Lisbon. It's a beautiful city but you can see how Portugal lagged behind other parts of Europe, economically, as it has a slightly run-down look to it. There are beggars and homeless people who look genuinely in trouble. There is much renovation going on and the injection of European Community funds is clearly visible. The city still looks old with only a small amount of high-rise buildings. It will be on our list of places to return to
The traffic was much easier than I expected as the Lonely Planet described it as "heavy, chaotic traffic with maniac drivers". Perhaps after 2 months of narrow streets, Italian drivers, I've got into the role of maniac driver, too. Whatever, Lisbon driving was ok. The motorways in and out of the city look so empty, they're a dream to drive on. By and large, motorways apart, Portugal's roads are much poorer than the rest of Europe, with lots of potholes and chaotic repairs,.The climate and topography of the bits of Portugal we've visited is so changeable. The Algarve, where we are, is typically Mediterranean with sunny and 32C but a bit further North, the proximity to the cooler Atlantic means more rainfall and lower temperatures. We saw the first cattle since leaving Austria as well as sheep and green fields.
Yesterday we took Doug and Angie to the airport and there was a tear in the eye as we said our goodbyes. We had such a great time, visiting small towns, having meals at home with lots of wine. All very low-key but so enjoyable. I'd never really noticed how Doug and I are so much alike. Don't know if that's a good thing but we had so much fun. I took some opera CDs for our trip and it turns out Doug and Angie loved listening to them, too. We played it loudly every night to accompany our dinner and to drown out the dogs barking (won't miss those dogs).
We'll be sorry to be leaving the car, as it's been so valuable along with Mary, the satnav but looking forward to ctching up with friends in London.
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