as hot as it gets

30 jan 2011

this is what january is like: wintery, cold during the day; and colder at night. sometimes i surprisingly manage well the chill, most of the times i feel like staying indoors. i can't wait for the spring. please don't get me wrong, this is not a complaint. this thougher days are gone already and we started having daylight until sometime around 5pm, which is really nice. this change towards longer, brighter days signal the change of the seasons. to me it anticipates spring, with its renewal of life atmostphere.

on the road: Christchurch

30 jan 2011

the sun came early to say good morning and made the day bright and inviting for an outdoor activity. we decided go take the road and visit somewhere nice. the pick of the day was Christchurch, this small and beautiful city, with the river Avon, the many boats, the numerous people enjoying the sunny hours in this long winter, the nice and clean streets and the various streams which make up for charming walks around town.

the church, built in the 11th century, is amazing. i love to visit old places and buildings and churches. it feels like they are so impregnated with life and history to me. yes, of course they are. i really love to visit historic cities. see that around the church there is a cemetery. i find it impressive to think that people at that time located the cemeteries around the place where they prayed. why was that? was it because it would be difficult to move a heavy coffin elsewhere? was there a strong religious belief the dead would be better looked after (really, after) if buried in the church surroundings? i would like to know more about it. also, there lots of homages inside the churches, i have seen the same thing in other churches as well, to people who died; amazingly, in most cases town people who died at an early age. it gets me wondering if sneezing could be fatal.

le plat du jour: mix of protein and carbo

29 jan 2011

it is, as it has been lately, very cold today; and i felt like staying in all day because of that. since this morning this light from the poste in our building car park is switched on. the photo is of how i see it from my bedroom window. it may mean the day is so dark it automatically requires extra light. and in i stayed all day. to eat i sliced this fresh and delicious white bread from Waitrose, fried an egg, fried sausages, and added green stuffed olives and wild rocket to them in a plate. ah, passed butter and cream cheese on the bread. scrumptiously delicious. i don't know why i have craved for eggs so much so often. it was comfort food to me and tasted fantastic, like a brand new recipe.

le plat du jour: thai food

28 jan 2011

dinner last night was at Mango, this Thai restaurant on Portswood road. we left home and met midway to the restaurant on Lodge road, walking through the cold night to meet up with the significant other. it was so cool and romantic. booking a table in advance did not help and we had to wait for a while as the restaurante was quite busy. i was surprised to see it full on a thursday night. food was good, but my dish, which i did not expect to be spicy was spicy. mike's was very very spicy, right the way he appreciates (Thai) food. i had the delicious chicken panang once more, with coconut milk and sticky rice. after dinner we walked to mike's in the freezing cold night. although food was very good at Mango, i still prefer Sara's restaurant, this other Thai restaurant, also on Porstwood road. something thing i notice especially in Asian restaurants is that they don't play their original (Thai in this case) music. oh yes, they do a little at Sara's, and i dearly enjoy it. last night they played just normal western music, including Ray Charles, who i love, but i'd rather immerse in the same cultural experience altogether, i.e. food, environment (decoration) and music all from Thailand.

sharing solitude

26 jan 2011

thanks, Denise.

on the road: portsmouth

23 jan 2011

today we went to Portsmouth. nice trip, beautiful city. we visit the old part of the city and then walk around going to the gun wharf. impressive view of the ferries the botas the shops the sea. despite the cold temperature of 7degrees Mike and I had ice cream because i was craving it. lots of offers in the shops. i bought myself a jumper. Porsmouth is a very charming place.

after much walking around and doing some shopping we sat at the 'waterfront cafe' to appreciate the view of the boats at sea from inside the cafe while treating ourselves to something nice. Mike had cappuccino and coffee cake and I had latte and teacake. it was a very nice and relaxing programme. on our way back we passed by Southsea. I liked the sea front. it must be very nice there in the summer.


Portsmouth 23 jan 2011



le plat du jour: leaves

17 jan 2011

le plat du jour today was this super fresh veggie salad of crisply leaves, wild rocket, ham, boiled egg, tomato, celery, with parmesan cheese and olive oil. very very good!!!

on the road: lyndhurst

16 jan 2011

we took a great trip today to Lyndhurst, this small and very beautiful city closeby, in the New Forest. it was very cold and i didn't want to walk at the common because i think i am getting a cold. we decided then to go visit Lyndhurst for cream tea. we visited the museum, walked around the main road, found a tea room called 'good food' and there we had tea with scones and coffee cake. a special and delicious treat for the end of a chilly sunday.

cafe feliz M&S

12 jan 2011

i got back here in the UK from Brazil last night to find an invite from hilra to have our luxurious breakfast today at Marks & Spencer. yes, of course. all in all we met sometime before 10am and said bye bye around 3pm. we had the always good food, chatted there sitting and ignoring that maybe other customers needed the sofas to sit and have their breakfast, browsed around the shop, bought food, and walked to the bus stop. the content of the conversation is highly confidential and protected information. i doubt wikileaks will ever have access to it.

ah, am very happy to be back in the UK and to what life holds for me here.