Now that El Puma has returned to his adopted homeland, it was time to bring out the replacement teddy bears again. But first, time to make use of the sunny weather...

Let the Games Begin!

HB CK!

Sintra

Will also made it to Sintra (big fort in the hills) and Cascais (the beach and FREEZING cold water).

 Plenty of fun had by all, judging by the kicking going on:

Tall Ships

The Tall Ships Race seems to be following me around (or I it) and here they were, docked in the port of Lisbon, but this time in scorching heat but with the same annoying music being played through the speakers (er, My Heart Will Go On??!)...

 And the obligatory parade:

Love in Concrete

Enjoy your life

Not a bad slogan to live up to:

 But on a shower cap packet?!

Stepping Stones

Lisboa

When our stunning summer holiday plans [Cairo-Dar es Salaam-Zanzibar-Nairobi-Juba] had to be swiftly rescheduled thanks to babies and anti-malarials that don't mix so well, we settled on Portugal as a suitably warm, interesting and relaxing option, even if a little less exotic. Actually, I've never been to Lisbon and it ended up being a stunning choice: hot and sunny days but with a refreshing sea breeze, winding cobbled streets in the Bairro Alto (the old quarter(, and wonderfully cheap food and drink. The only slightly odd aspect was the number of men clad all in black who would sidle up to El Puma and whisper out of the side of their mouths, "marijuana, marijuana, marijuana, hashish, hashish, hashish?". He must have the look. 

Good ol' Easyjet strikes again:

 Lisbon:

 The docks:

 The city:

New Officemate

Back to School

Two hard copies of my thesis: so much red pen! September deadline looking tricky...

Girl Power

The class was full of them. First-time mothers in their late 30s/early 40s. And Big Mammas too. I certainly didn't expect to be the youngest and smallest in my prenatal yoga class. Actually, it was the same in my pregnancy pilates class that I joined over the summer in Paris, but that's a city...and everyone was still beautiful. I read this morning that the average age of a first time mother is now 29 years and 4 months, so I'm well past that, but didn't expect my yoga peers to be a decade behind.

Sport on Sunday

Not quite enough laptops to follow the British Grand Prix, Wimbledon AND the Tour...

Sporting Choices

Tour de France vs Wimbledon? Thankfully, no need to choose:

It's a jungle out there...

After one month of high temperatures (well, in the 20s) and almost continuous rain, the garden has exploded:

Boat People

Remember them?

Well, two years on from our last meeting in Montpellier and one successful transatlantic voyage completed (boat is currently in Guadeloupe), Thomas and Adéline got married in the south of France.

We had quite an epic journey getting there. Just 12 hours earlier El Puma could be found doing what he does in front of a few hundred OECD revellers:

This followed around 6 hours of OECD Summer Party, but don't feel sorry for him. He was at least well lubricated with all that OECD champagne. I had to make do with stuffing myself silly on little treats and catching up with OECD friends, who could finally almost all be found on an acre of grass.

I finally had to bail at 2am, followed by a 6.30am start, a 3 hour train trip to Bordeaux and a 2 hour drive via the gîte to the hotel. 

El Puma had even less sleep after staying to clear up the sound system, so it wasn't me who was fading at 1am the following morning...