more things learned...

• the Portuguese make toll roads as well as do the French
• the Portuguese are also as good at road signs as are the French!

We found an amazing beach and spent yesterday afternoon there. It was just wonderful, soft, fluffy sand that was white and clean. The water was clear and cold. The water went out some distance at the same depth and Ana was able to play in confidence and it was great. To me, that is why hot weather was invented...

We are having a tired day today. Everyone is on the grumpy side of rational! Not good in the heat! We are running some errands at six pm and it is still too hot to move properly! In the Uk, we don't really know what the word "summer" means!

The language is coming along, I am learning to conjugate verbs, which makes having people understand what you are trying to say that much easier!

One thing that we did find out on our little excursion yesterday was that the Portugues countryside is very picturesque. Despite the fact that we have been here for a week and a half and have seen no rain, it is very lush and green. I found it very appealing, although, as I said, the meaning of the word roadsign, must have gone astray with all of the motorists trying to find there way around whilst not on a toll road!!!

I realised that there is so much that I take for granted. The freedom of having both a car of our own and the means to run it are indeed great luxuries. I thoroughly enjoyed going off on an adventure with the children yesterday, into an unknown by myself with them!

I also learn more of the weaknesses within, those that we push so deeply into ourselves that we can indeed forget that they are there! Being here is indeed soemwhat of a refiner's fire, but that is not necessarily a bad thing!!!