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Road tripping to the Algarves – day 7 in Portugal 

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This is home sweet for the next four nights. A villa in Burgau, just outside of Luz, just outside of Lagos. 

Quinta da Liberdade

Five minutes away, we picked up groceries to prep our own meals. En route to the south of Portugal, we took a scenic (more scenic) detour, into the hills, to Monchique. Fire fighters helicoptered in, likely from assisting in other parts of the country. Monchique …may be worth the time out of your way if it’s your goal to mountain bike or go to the town’s hot springs. 

Most mesmerising were the views from just outside of our villa. 

Hypnotizing water views from he cliffs are just steps from our garden. This view was so special. We nearly had to pinch ourselves. 

We brought wine to share, olive so, cheese and good company. Despite eating and drinking constantly, with lots of good hydration, we are balancing that indulgence with lots of walking. I could definitely get used to this breeze and beautiful sights at every turn. 

And a great fire to grill some steak from the butcher, with a fresh medley of tomato and zucchini. 

Sweet dreams! See you tomorrow.

Day 4 in Portugal – from rooftops in Lisbon to Wildfire And a city of light and colour in Porto 

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It’s so warm here that two outfits per day seems reasonable. We lounges by the pool on the roof before packing to take a car to Porto. 



Wildfires are sweeping Portugal and our drive to Porto was smokey.  We didn’t know, at first, what was happening- not being tuned into current events in Portuguese on the radio. The brush fire I being   Fought by firefighters from all over the country. 

We stopped at a roadside place called Ars (I know) and managed to accidentally select a 17 Euro meal (of suckling pig); who spends a total of 30 Euro on a gas stop lunch. Lol.

 We are safe and sound; the city looks beautiful and dreamy. We are staying in Maia, just outside Porto. 


Lisbon – day 3: tuk tuks, sangria and pasteis de Nata 

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A day of food and sight seeing. 

After walking the heat soaked streets we stopped by pink street for some refreshing Sangria

Pineapple mint rose sangria 


Tuk tuk to Torre de BelemRelaxing with wine and chocolate. Why cans we can’t I get a bottle for 2 Euros at home?

How does this keep happening ? 

This is, apparently, a dinner for two. 
Sol Douro restaurant. The end of day three. 

Lisbon, day 1

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Fado music. Night to day, out of order, but still a pretty good capture of day one: we ended with late night Fado music at Esquina de Alfama. So animated and authentic; it was recommended by our host at the final apartment we will stay at when we return; we enjoyed a hot pot of fish and shrimp. Mode of travel: we walked the streets, taking in the sights, over 6 k in total – through bairro alto and Alfama. 

To start we enjoyed tuna salgadinhos and pasteis de natal. 

Our hotel. 

A taverna set in a building from the 1700s. Tried some white port. 

What if God was one of us?

Late lunch at Zero Zero, after the indoor market. 

Where it all began: This is going to be a daily ritual. 

Eve and Gwen: See an icon, or two! Summer to-do: day 31

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  We are both longtime fans of Ms Stefani and seeing her with Eve as her opener held the promise of live versions of their decade old collaborations. We were not disappointed.  Gwen Stefani held thousands rapt and eager for more at Toronto’s Molson Amphitheatre. All views, whether lawn or seating, were powerful and the pop (formerly punk) princess was regal as ever.    

    
    Rich Girl was a highlight and I surprised myself ( and Allia) by knowing all the lyrics to Eve’s rap breakdown. 

   Stefani’s candour and gratitude to her fans was charming and sincere, hinting at how much her career has helped get her back to a place in the sun and onto her feet after quite a dark year; maybe this is part of her appeal- she may have it all, but man,  she has been through the ringer, clawed her way back and, as she always has, proved she is still a business woman, an artist, a brand in her own right, and she is still, thirty years into her career able to put on a killer show../ and she can hustle. 

It was also wonderful to see Eve step back into the spotlight. What a great duo to share stager one.  I can’t believe how many songs of theirs I know, and how many have been part of my own journey. 

  Shake your tambourine!   

  Always lovely: At Toronto concerts, you are as likely to see cuddly queer couples as you are to see straight folks, all snuggled and sprawled amidst families and groups of friends on picnic blankets. At left: a hugging pair of punk rock gay boys who clearly came out to support E. V. E.      

 Show footage

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Anythaaaang I waaaaaant

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Inside Cirque du Soleil

Art, Indulge

  
Cirque’s newest show premiered in Toronto and Luzia was spectacular, magical and breathtaking. It was everything I could have hoped for under a big top. I don’t know if a performance could be better.  

Contortions, trapeze, pole, juggling, flight, strength, balance, ropes, swings, hoops, grace, beauty, water and magic. Let the pictures speak the thousand words. And see it, quickly, before the magic is over.

   
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

The show didn’t stop once you stepped outside the tent; Mexican wrestling, red carpets, wine and champagne, celebs and magazine editors …under the night sky.   
    
        
  

Up close and vert yet personal; “Wanna turn around for the good picture”

 

   
    
    
    
 

Theatre – day 167

Art, Indulge
Theatre - day 167

Two shows for two lovebirds.    My lovely wife and I had a stroll in the garden before the show. 





  The Shaw Festival is our go-to theatre experience. With a wide array of beautiful, sensual and vibrant shows in their season, it’s the perfect date location – especially when you see a lunchtime production of Adventures of the Black Girl in Her Search for God. Spectacular. Period.    

  We followed it up with an evening show of Sweeney Todd.  

 

Sweeney features powerful voices and a dark, decaying and gothically beautiful set. 

Summer to-do: day 10- see some live theatre

Art, Indulge

So, maybe you don’t live near Niagara on the lake. And maybe you’re thinking, ‘why is she telling me about a show that is so awesome, but so far away, that I will never see it…no matter how much I’d like to?’. 

That is exactly the point: you would like it. I left the theatre after “Master Harold and the Boys” (admittedly a title that needs some selling), with a lump in my throat and some not very well-concealed sniffles. Set in post-apartheid South Africa, this three-hander is funny and intimate, then built consistently towards its climax -the painful, wrenching altercation that closed the show so poignantly and resonated intensely in the light of current events.  As evidenced by the deep conversations following the show and an eager standing ovation, it was moving 90 minutes. Still in previews, this play is incredible already and has me super excited to hit the festival next week to see “Sweeney Todd” and “A Black Girl in her Search For God.”

The set is a 1950s cafe and with the audience on three sides, it feels so close and it’s quiet moments are kept understated.  
 And what better way to end the afternoon than at Carlotta’s Gelato, where they can hollow out the centre of your cup and laddle warm chocolate hazelnut into the mix. Seriously. 

Try it. You will fall in love.  Get out support local artists, festivals, live theatre and shops!