Change gear

This was on hell of a weekend: 4 babes on the road towards a weekend of beach, sun and picnics in British Allgarve.

But not for the best reason, you see, Helena, will de leaving us Monday heading back to Toronto.

In fact, it was just the other day that my parents realized we don't financially depend on them any more and that we are all grown up. It's a bit awkward to think that as of Monday, they'll be living alone in that huge house and each one of us have our own, separate and independent lives: Helena in Canada trying to become a medical lab technician, Luisa in Coimbra finishing her thesis and working with a scholarship, Sandy in the UK with a fantastic job in a cultural association and me in Lisbon, doing whatever it is I do.    

We all turned out just fine. 

The trip wasn't a walk down memory lane. We just wanted to be together and have some fun. In fact, the only moment we truly were reminded of old times was when we played the card game Signal. When we were kids we would pair up (Luisa and I, Sandy and Helena) and play Signal for hours and hours. That and Crazy Eights.

Algarve isn't Portugal (and historically speaking it never was!). But it isn't that bad if you can erase from sight the horrible coast architecture, the herds of British trying desperately to turn red, the English speaking Portuguese restaurants and, of course, erase Albufeira all together from the map! Undoubtedly, the best Algarve has to offer are the beaches and a couple of amazing spots near Lagos. Not that we saw it all, of course!

After this weekend, I can also check off 2 more items on my list: #1 - road trip with my sister and #10 - smoke a joint with Sandy. And here I was thinking I would become high and hallucinate... so disapointing!
Also, Helena created a blog which I will keep a close eye on: Mete a Mudança
So, my dear sister, just a few last words: VAI, MAS VOLTA!