busy and cold and wet and happy

26 may 2011


highfield campus this morning. photo taken with my mobile phone.

i started the day with a consultation with my gp, who gave me good news about my health. uhlala! but i still have lots of things to do, and she gave me some very useful hints. she suggested i read about 'low gi diet' and explained why i would benefit from it. dr armstrong is so caring. i told her of things i have been doing in my constant struggle to have some control over my weight. she renewed my prescriptions and said we might consider lowering the already low medication i take to keep my blood pressure under control. i was pleased and surprised to see my blood pressure very much under control today. i suppose it might be a result of my low intake of sodium.

then i went by the accommodation office to pay for my rent fee. what a hassle. my credit card decides not to work when i most need it. i ended up going to natwest for an alternative and got all the problem sorted out in the end. i had to walk around campus and from highfield to avenue under a rainy / wet, windy, cold, bizarre weather. however, it felt quite warm inside the buildings. go figure!!!

e viva o viva

25 may 2011

hoje, agora a pouco, eu estava ali no crown inn almocando com a diana. ai a hilra me telefonou de dentro de um taxi, a caminho da universidade, pra ir para o viva voce dela, hoje ali em seguida. viva voce eh como chamam a defesa da tese de doutorado aqui. primeiro que foi uma peleja pra eu conseguir atender o telefone, porque ainda to apanhando aprendendo a usar o danado. e ai:
- onde tu ta, nene?
- to no crown inn, sabe onde eh? eh um pub entre highfield e avenue (dois campi da universidade aqui pertinho)
- ah, sei nao, oh. eu queria te dar um abraco. to indo pro meu viva agora.
- agora? eita, eu pensava que era so sexta. tava pensando em ti, pra ti mandar um email.
- nao, eh agora. perai, vou perguntar ao motorista aqui se ele sabe onde eh.
(perguntou (conversa em ingles) e o motorista confirmou que sabe, sim, onde fica o pub)

e la eu vejo, de dentro do pub, o taxi passar e estacionar ali na frente. fui ao encontro da hilra, para da-la um abraco grande. maroquilda estava tao linda e chique a caminho de seu momento de estrelato, de fechamento de um projeto que representa tanto.

para mim, na minha experiencia,  essa eh uma conquista que nao se localiza na esfera academica apenas, nao nao nao. eh um processo que sofre / recebe influencias dos sonhos, dos empenhos, das pedras que encontramos no caminho, das alegrias, das curiosidades, das horas incalculaveis (e pra que calcular?) de leitura e descoberta do mundo e de nos mesmos. o processo do phd invade a vida da gente, define quem somos, modifica a gente, parece que nao eh mais possivel dissociar academia e vida pessoal. os momentos de coleta de dados, de investigacao, eu os sinto todos como investigacao de mim mesma, de como e porque faco parte. . . como tambem faz parte, aqui nessa cultura, a mesa de um pub. a mesa de um pub aqui nao eh lugar (so) de vagabundo, mas eh tambem um ponto de encontro, descobertas, fechamento de acordos, entendimentos da vida. . .

eu fiquei muito mas muito feliz mesmo de ver maroquilda achar tempo pra ir me ver para um abraco magico nesse momento inesquecivel da vida dela.

mas foi muito engracado quando eu ia caminhando, dentro do pub, ao encontro dela no taxi, como meu pensamento so me dizia: 'to no crown inn'. e eu pensei: 'conversa de gente vagabunda estar num pub ao meio dia de uma quarta-feira, eh?' talvez nem seja tao mal. foi uma pausa de uma hora apenas. e voltei pro avenue campus com a diana. e ca estou firme de volta no servico. o pub eh um carregador de baterias automatico.

manha tao bonita manha

19 may 2011

i went to bed last night thinking of going for a walk at the park this morning. i woke up this morning feeling my life would get stuck if i didn't go for the walk. i checked out the weather: 5 degrees and a beautiful sunshine. for a moment i felt tempted to stay indoors but it was clear to me i needed and did want the walk.

am thankful to the birds singing to me everytime i walk at the park and i feel so much better, i breath fresh air, my digestion improves right away; the list of benefits is endless. i get answers to some puzzles that have been keeping me company, i clear my head.

tao bom caminhar na manha tao bonita manha.

a step forward

16 may 2011

i met with ros today. lots of negotiations about content and outline for the thesis. many many plans and dreams on what goes where. she wants to meet me more often now. next meeting is next week. told her about my difficulties concerning technologies and that not even an excel spreadsheet i know how to use. she said we'll have a session on this if need be.
oh my!!! all the time i am happy and stuck and slow and happy and stuck and slow. wish so bad i could change this pattern and finally become the productive person i urge so that i can carry on with my phd research in a more relaxed mode.

the original taste

16 may 2011

originally from south and central asia, naan bread has become popular in many other countries. this one from photo i had at the gurkha chef, the nepalese and indian restaurant we went to in winchester the other day. it was so ethnic and special it didn't resemble one bit the one i had before long ago from a regular supermarket.

this is my point: if you want to try something which is new to you, like ethnic food or a typical dish (fish and chips), make sure you have access to the good sources, otherwise you may have a negative experience and think that is all about the dish. i had good / original naan bread a while ago at an indian restaurant here in southampton. it really made me think. the taste was so good it felt like i was having it for the first time. i have had the same experience with fish and chips, a staple in english food. you have to check and find the places / restaurantes where it is cooked fresh and by a specialist.

diana's birthday celebration

14 may 2011

diana and i met uptown, browsed around tkmaxx. she bought herself a pair of shoes. i was glad to find the door hanger for clothes i had been searching for. i was in awe for quite a while at their kitchen utensils section. then we went to specsavers for me to finally collect my second pair of reading glasses.

we went to bella italia for lunch. the day was beautiful, a little cold but not too much. it really felt nice. our lunch was super good. diana had a smoked salmon and asparagus pizza. it tasted delicious. i have eaten bad pizza before there, but this time it was a good choice. i ate insalata pollo e pancetta, which is a whole sliced chargrilled chicken breast, red onion, plum tomatoes, crispy pancetta and baby gem lettuce with creamy dolcelatte dressing (description pasted here from their website). oh my! my salad was excellent.

chat chat chat about travelling, academia, men, life, family, and friends, plus chocolate vanilla strawberry caramel ice cream for dessert. i came back home to get ready for tea later. diana was back into town to continue shopping. as i said in the title of the post, this was to celebrate diana's birthday. she has other celebration in a trip to london with her boyfriend, andrew.

u2b: the accidental journey

12 may 2011


how could we two - it took two - embark on the wrong bus? the consequences were that we went through, undesired at that moment, roads and roads and roads and neighbourhoods when we could not really afford it timewise. thank God everything got sorted in the end and hope it only meant a little, not serious, delay. am glad maroquilda is back and so serene. we need to meet up again for a proper chat and cafe feliz.

academia & pub

10 may 2011

i went to the cowherds tonight with my german students elke and bernd. it was nothing planned. it just happened that we chatted a little after class and walked together because the way to the pub is the same as my way home, and we three ended up at the pub. the pub here is where life is sorted out, where you get into and out of trouble, where you learn and teach. yes, the pub here is more or less where we live.

and it happens that we had a great talk about a variety of topics: housing, here and back home; money; loneliness; flatmates and the oddities of sharing space; and other things. we talked a lot about travelling around the uk. all in all they sort of interviewd me, asking me loads of questions about me and my life. it felt nice to see people so interested in learning about me. i promptly responded to all of their questions. we ate mediterranean food and drank shandy. i had bitter shandy. i love the cowherds because it is very comfortable, serves good food, and is located at the common, a 4-minute walk from where i live.

elke is working on her phd and came to england for six months only as a research student. before coming here she was living in berlin. her study is about the pension systems both here in uk and in germany. she joined the english class to improve her english and also to socialize. she seems to be happy with her accomplishments here so far. elke said i am a very interesting person with a very interesting life. what a nice comment to receive from somebody.

bernd is a violin maker from the germanic bavaria. he has a job in romsey and lives by himself. i keep telling him he needs to socialize more and find himself a girlfriend to keep him company. he is very young and such a nice guy to spent so much time alone. he agrees and we laugh. i love to listen to his stories about violin making. it sounds like a magic profession to me.

le plat du jour: file de frango marinado

9 may 2011

file de frango marinado com shoyu e acucar demerara

fiquei muito tentada a cozinhar o file de frango bacana da Karen e fiz da receita uma desculpa para estrear minha frigideira / grill que promete ser 'a panela' mas que tem sido fonte de decepcao, por enquanto. agora conto como fiz o frango, que ficou moreninho da silva catole e muito mas muito delicioso mesmo. nao medi nada, foi no olho. ate acresencentei um pouquinho de acucar depois e tive a impressao de que exagerei no molho shoyu.

400 gr de file de frango (o meu tava cortado em pedacos pequenos)
lavei esse frango com limao, ou suco de limao, que a gente compra no ponto aqui.

para a marinada:
oleo (fiquei doida pra botar azeite mas obedeci aa receita)
shoyu (desconfio que exagerei uma coisinha aqui)
acucar mascavo (eu usei demerara, orientacao da chef karen)
vinho branco (eu nao tinha saquê, que eh tambem opcional)
dois dentes de alho em lascas bem fininhas
uma cebola cortada em meias luas (eu so tinha cebola roxa, que nao aconselho)

misturei todos os ingredientes - marinada e frango - em um saco plastico para sanduiche. acho que o pobre do saco deveria ser maior. misturei bem misturadinho e deixei na geladeira um tempo, talvez meia hora.

depois dessa marinada, ta tudo no ponto e comecei a grelhar o frango. tirei o frango do saco e deixei a marinada la por enquanto. fui grelhando o frango no super decepcionante por enquanto grill bem aquecido (acho que deixei o coitado esquentar demais), e fui grelhando os filezinhos de frango muito bem, mais ou menos uns seis minutos de cada lado. fui repetindo essa operacao em pequenas porcoes e devagar para nao encher de agua a frigideira. como achei meio seco e quente demais botei um pouco de oleo. e repeti a operacao ate ter grelhado todo o frango. no intervalo entre as porcoes de frango dei uma limpada com papel toalha na frigideira. como eu ja tinha feito alguma coisa errada no grill ele quis ficar com um pouco do papel,  mas deu tudo certo.

reservei os lindos files de frango grelhados e deitei a marinada na frigideira, que tava la com os sucos do frango, e deixei ali no fogo brando ate ficar tudo macio. ficou super saboroso. a mistura do shoyu com o acucar e a cebola e o frango grelhado eh uma delicia. para acompanhar fiz um pure de batata, daquelas em po que a gente compra aqui. isso mesmo, piloto de fogao, pero no mucho.

new year's curry in winchester

about last night 7 may 2011



photo 1: the starter; photo 2: maudie, marie, and jc; photo 3: the cuties

mike and I met with steven at the train station and traveled together to winchester for our 2010 – 2011 new year’s curry at the nepalese and indian restaurant gurkha chef.

we were ten for the night: from the uk: mike (welsh), and the english ones: johnny, jc, marie, steven, the team leader maudie, and warren; and the foreigners murielle and celine (both French), and myself with my verde amarelo branco azul anil heart. In other words, we were ten people, with four nationalities, and from three different languages.

winchester greeted us with rain, but we carried on walking to fulfil our protocol, which is pub – restaurant – pub. Then, we head home. I want to make a point that now I understand better the itinerary that really gives everyone opportunities to interact with various of us.

the pub was the hyde tavern, a cozy but not so comfortable one. I had diet coke and a small glass of their- not-so-special house wine. at the pub I had a chat with murielle. she is french, from a small island near mauritius island. she is a chemist, lives near here, but will move soon to germany, relocated to work there. we talked about this and also about phd life and about brazil. she asked me how my research is going. i smiled and she smiled back, sharing the inherent sticks and stones we come across throughout the process. a friend of murielle’s came by her place and took away her tv when she was doing her phd so that murielle would have one less distraction and could concentrate properly on the duties. later on the friend threatened to take away her phone if she kept spending hours talking to people. we had a good laugh.

then we went to gurkha chef, the nepalese and indian restaurant. i had pork palak (barbequed pork with pork cooked in spinach, tomatoes and onions) with mushroom rice for dinner. i also tried mike’s food, as usual. it was all very good. at the restaurant i the chat was about travelling, mostly with steven, mike, and murielle.

after food food food and chat chat chat we left the restaurant. murielle and celine went home, the others went to another pub. mike and i walked back to the train station to get the 12.07 train to southampton, because it comes by the train station near his place. on our way back both to the station in winchester and in southampton we walk in the rain again. we waited for a while at the train station sitting in a bench and talking: precious moments. this was a much expected rain that did many things: it washed away my makeup and my blow dried hair, as well as some pollen from the trees. i think the long and quiet rain also cleansed both southampton and winchester and gave them a lighter, greener, and more beautiful view. it was so lovely to walk in the rain.

we finally got into the train and back home sometime around 1am today. What a night.

karla's birthday party

7 may 2011

we just came back from karla's birthday party. later on we're going to our new year's curry celebration, in winchester.

karla's birthday party was at her boyfriend's (thomas) place, in Fareham, a small city located about 10 miles or 16.09 km from southampton. attending the party we were nine adults and a 21-month old cute boy called leonidas, who receives greek input from his father, french language from his mom, and english at the nursery he goes to.

i counted among us seven nationalities, these being the countries: brazil, greece, france, uk, iran, taiwan, and cyprus; and six different native languages: portuguese, greek, french, english, persian, and chinese. this was a great mix and we had a good laugh together and ate and drank and celebrated karlota's birthday.

the food was all vegetarian and delicious. karla prepared a salpicao, farofa, rice, and a very good brazilian feijoada. oh my i loved to have farofa. the girls baked a cake and i made a green salad with rocket, watercress, spinach, celery, cherry tomatoes, grain mustard, caesar dressing, and sprinkled parmesan cheese on top. it was very good and i was really pleased to make it. it has made me think that throughout the years i have been asked by family members back home in brazil to fix one of the dessert plates in our gatherings. a green salad seems to be a more sensible option for me to prepare, i suppose.

back to the raft

6 may 2011

today i finally put my hands and my mind back into my research. i can't believe this day has come!!! no words i have to express my relief for i have been too disconnected with this, which should always be my number one priority. duty priorities shouldn't have to wait for inspiration. they should just be there and i should just face them in the same way i accept and don't neglect my hygiene routine. but no no no! my last days were a mix of despair and guilt for not working on my thesis and on the other hand trying to lead a normal life. this blog has received much attention and this may give the reader the misleading impression that all my writing is up to date. no no no! only today did i actually manage to do what i had been dreaming of for quite a while.

diana came to the office today and we agreed on a coffee / endless chat for later on. she sort of changed plans and accepted andrew's (andrew is her boyfriend) invite to celebrate one of his friends' viva at the crown. i thanked her very much but i was not in the mood for socializing. meeting up with diana is socializing, too, of course, but in very much relaxed terms. since i was not going to the crown inn we just had some cafe feliz at the avenue campus garden, because the days have been warm and inviting for outdoor activities. andrew came by to fetch her to the pub and i was headed home, very happy for feeling useful and productive again, at last. amem!

a luz no escuro

6 may 2011

hoje fiz esse comentario sobre um post da Karen:

que bacana, Karen. nao bacana o medo, mas falar sobre ele, e a reflexao que voce propoe. a ultima frase eh fundamental. eh sim importante

"É preciso deixar que essa impressão se dissolva no quarto escuro e esperar que os sons familiares devolvam o sentimento de segurança, mesmo quando falso." Karen

aas vezes precisamos permanecer no local do medo pra enfim deixa-lo ir ou entao pra entender o que se passa e assim trocar o medo com alguma familiaridade. a vida tem me ensinado que muuuitas vezes o que mais me assusta eh na verdade de mim o que mais me atrai, e por isso tenho procurado ter mais paciencia comigo mesma e olhado pra dentro de mim e me surpreendido com forcas que estavam querendo desabrochar, e se manifestando timidamente na forma de medo. eh um misterio, mas se nos formos bacanas comecando por nos mesmos, ha luz! abraco

music: emily barker in winchester

5 may 2011

emily barker and the red clay halo in winchester

emily barker and the red clay halo in winchester

great show tonight at the railway in winchester. emily barker & the red clay halo. she is a guitarrist and song-writer from australia. it is so good to be close to the musician and really feel them making music. this original experience no cd or dvd will ever provide. the girls so reminded me of the dixie chicks. the harmony of the instruments is magic. once again we were sitting in the first row, right there, in the best place. their song 'pulse' is now the opening theme song for bbc two tv series 'the shadow line', a crime and investigation series. pulse is a great song.

before emily barker harp device played as the support band of the night. the link i found to the band is the right one, but it was a different girl singing this time. they are a new band from basingstoke, a city nor far from here. they write and sing their own songs. there is music everywhere in this country, and there are always people coming to the gigs. it is amazing.

catching up at the crown inn

4 may 2011

diana and i had not met in a while, both because she hasn't come much to the office lately and now because of the easter break, when she traveled back home. she came by the office today and we walked together to the crown inn at 6pm to eat and chat, and we did chat. i ate a burger with pineapple and mushroom and new potatoes (not chips). she ate a spicy burger. and we talked about her recent trip to romenia and about relationships and life and plans and academia and frustration and expectations and dreams and money and how it is rare these days. maybe because of its location the crown inn is a magnet for folks from uni. we saw many people we know there; and today was the german and french day. loads of them. hello hello hello hello

we talked a lot but didn't really stay at the pub very long. then, we walked together to highfield campus. she lives behind hartley library, and i was headed to the interchange to get my bus back home.

six plus three

2 - 3 may 2011

. . . and listening to radio 6 and eating shepherds pie, deliciously cooked by him, and sticky toffee pudding and drinking lemonade with orange juice and then watching the new tv series 'the great outdoors' they celebrated, at his place, nine (six plus three or six plus one plus one plus one) months together. . .

on the road: hamble

29 apr 2011

Hamble is a small village located 6.2 miles southeast of Southampton. its official name is Hamble-le-Rice. there was aircraft centre in hamble during ww ii for planes.

we walked around the village, by the water front at river hamble, had an ice cream, and were headed to the hamble common. there were many people at the pubs and at the Common celebrating the royal wedding. after that we walked in the other direction, towards the port hamble marina, where we found many beautiful and expensive yachts.

river hamble is home to sailing yachts, and all types of recreational boating and motorboats. They have a school of yachting there. i was much impressed by the boat taxi and the ferry to warsash, another small village just to the other side of the river. if the boat takes you from one river bank to the other it is a ferry. so far i had only the idea of a ferry as in the large ferry boats which go to the isle of wight or the one i took once from salvador to itaparica, in bahia, brazil.

the small and beautiful village is very close to southampton. it is a nice place to spend a couple of hours walking around. in the summer the village attracts many tourists to enjoy the water.

i will

29 apr 2011

my tv is still not working. i watched the royal wedding at mike's place, and found the official protocol for the ceremony very beautiful. i was impressed to see various members of the church celebrating the wedding. i loved the sermon the bishop of london made. he said many important and true things about marriage and how every wedding is a royal one for the groom and the bride are the king and the queen at the occasion; and that this represents the beginning of a new life, which will flow through them. it was moving.

it is the Church of England, not a Catholic Church, but in my ignorance i was surprised to see them say Our Father prayer, which for me was Catholic only. maybe it is a Christian prayer. the bride was astonishingly beautiful and elegant. the groom looked concentrated, very handsome and and nothing nervous. Kate and William looked very much connected to each other.

they had nearly 2,000 guests for the ceremony at the church. then, 650 guests for the reception at Buckingham palace afterwards; and even fewer guests for the evening reception at clarence house, offered by Prince Charles. Kate and William are now the Duchess and the Duke of Cambridge and will live in Wales, where he works.

i took many photos from the tv screen while watching the wedding and chose this one because it shows another sample of the protocol they follow: when they pass by the Cenotaph, William does the military salute and Kate lowers her head, in respect to the war soldiers. the Cenotaph is a monument and represents an empty tomb in honour of the people who died and whose remains are elsewhere, i.e. soldiers from a war.

that was i, witnessing history.

groupon pizza

27 apr 2011

thank you so much fo the groupon voucher, ines. we went to chambers and had the two pizzas, two portions of chips and two drinks. mike and i liked the drinks best. we both found the pizzas a bit hard, but not too bad, and ate them all. it was a fantastic present and we are very very thankful to you for thinking of us for your voucher. we had a great time at chambers. this was the first time i made use of the groupon voucher, a great idea for both customers and sellers, i believe. it was our first time at this pub. it had quite a few people eating with the voucher, which has apparently been a big success. in brazil 'groupon' is called 'compra coletiva'. oh the internet and its endless possibilities.

alo, cambio

25 apr 2011

alo, cambio, nene

                                                                                          

- vida - ferias - vinda- medos - belezas - viagem - sol - memorias - saudades - familia - ida - mar - amor - tristeza - brisa - areia - alegrias - contatos - gargalhadas - mae - paz - encontros - despedidas

cambio,

e aguardo sinal para cafe feliz,

saudosa maroca

in an easter state of mind (?)

24 apr 2011

Easter Mass at St Edmund's Church, 24 apr 2011

 i went to the Easter Mass today at 11am at St Edmund's Church, my local Catholic church, which is a 7-minute walk from where i live. i have been alone for about four days now. this has made me enter into an introspective mode, sometimes it is as if i am not here. at church today it was clear to me that my mind was elsewhere. it was quite intriguing and fascinating to observe myself becoming distracted from the Father's sermon and everything else that was going on around me. i felt as if i were in a bubble, isolated from the other people from church,  and my thoughts had only room for my brother Venicio, who is in brazil.

every time i visit a historical place, an old building, an old church (any new church around?), or i see any important piece of art i think of venicio and my thinking is that he should be there in my place. i must say i appreciate art and history just as much, i really do, but am not as knowledgeable as he is regarding these things. this was the first excuse that came to my mind about my absence of mind at church, but in reality it goes beyond this obvious association. it is sunday Easter today and i feel sad for being alone and so far away from my family. venicio came to my mind only as a token for my connection with my family. he was sort of floating around in my thoughts for quite a while. parallel thoughts were of the many great easter days we've had as a family in brazil, there included spending the whole day together, eating the best food (always some cod made to an original portuguese recipe that my sister kassandra masters so well) plus the chocolate eggs and the warmth that cannot be translated into words. i am crying now. thank God i did not cry at church.

the venicio thinking was gone for a moment and i then thought i was doing good, for i had been there for a long while and still very patient and relaxed. what a strange state of mind. what happened to me? when we were to light our candles i lit mine and offered to light three other people's candles. for this i received some grateful and sweet smiles, from the three men i helped out plus two ladies. these were smiles that warmed up my heart.

i was not exactly back and forth in my 'elsewhere' mood, but i was never totally present to the church service today. towards the end of the mass the Father said everyone would go home with an Ester egg, which was to be distributed on our way out. my heart jumped and i thought to myself: 'life is fair afterall'. i felt like going home at that very moment. nobody gave me an easter egg this year, which is not bad at all, truth be told. i was at once filled with hope, anyway. my hopes did not last long. on my way out i shoke hands with the Father, who said 'Happy Easter'. he had a basket with some small easter eggs in it. i asked for mine and he said i would have to be wearing shorts to have one. he should have made it clear the eggs were meant for the kids only. i felt like saying, 'nice to meet you, my name is frustration.' it was kinda obvious that the church could not give eggs to everyone, as we were such a crowd. whatever! i decided i deserved easter eggs and bought myself one from nestle and one from guylian, the belgian chocolate.

i came home and cooked and ate, but i don't want to write about it now. the day is finished and it was nice that in the afternoon i went for a walk at the common and it helped me relax. my walks at the common are magic. after the walk i was sitting on a bench for a while. there was a funfare at the park today, together with the predictable crowd it always attracts, especially in a gorgeous spring day like today. i am now in a scarlet o'hara mood: 'tomorrow is another day'. but i am fine, much better than it may look like from the post. i called brazil and spoke with my mom, my sister kassandra and my nephew joaquim. i tried to reach venicio but his landline phone might be out of order or something. well, couldn't find my brother who occupied my thinking today at church. i feel ready for the coming week.

how was your Easter? how have you been these past days? please, tell me tell me :-)

partout

22 apr 2011

what are you doing this day? if it is a beautiful, sunny, spring day, i would like to have a barbecue at the park; but i will be just as happy to carry on with my immense load of work at home and (fair enough) have a pint at the end of the day. it might not make sense to go to the office because it will be an official holiday and the office might be sort of empty, which is not at all appealing to me.

as for the Royal couple, Prince Williams and Kate Middleton, hope they have a wonderful day and a fantastic and long life together, always with renewed joy, peace, good health, love, and enchantement. the most important bit i think is that they learn not to be (so) bothered by the insatiable press, or whatever is on their way. making a marriage work out is a lot of work already.

cheers to love!!! cheers to William & Kate!!!

happy easter!

about yesterday, 20 apr 2011

the italian restaurant la margherita, by the town quay marina was a perfect choice for our Easter meal. mike went to wales today and for this reason we decided to celebrate it before he left. we had pasta, wine, a delicious dessert, and a beautiful view of the water as our table was by the window. so inspiring. . .

switzerland - uk, flying back home

about mon 11 apr 2011

public transportation in switzerland (or in the cities i have been to and used them) is punctual, modernised, and the service is excellent; but too expensive. the way it is planned makes it very easy for a novice in town to use the service, because it is very well sign posted. they have trams!!! i love the trams, especially the very old ones, like the ones i saw in vienna.

well well but time arrived for me to fly back home to the uk and there we were again on the road. fran took me back to the airport of geneva and stayed until the very last minute she could before i had to go to my departure gate, which was B34. the airport in geneva is small and it all went smooth and easy, despite the long queue for security control. they have a passport control there, too. went through all these and got to my gate, ready to fly, very happy for the unforgetable trip. i flew swiss, and was pleased with this excellent airline.

i had bought a ticket to travel back from heathrow to southampton with national express at 6.30pm, as i knew my flight was scheduled to arrive in london at 4.05, and the time we spend there until we get our luggage is unpredictable. i was so lucky everything went again so smooth i got to the airport central bus station in time to get the 4.30 coach to southampton. i went to the coach platform and handed my ticket to the driver: 'your ticket is for the 6.30 bus. i can't take you.' he said
'why not? oh please take my in your bus'.
'no, i can't. you'll have to wait for your coach.'
i insisted: 'really? you can take me in your coach now.' i knew the bus was nearly empty. the driver asked to wait aside for 10 minutes and then he would see if he could help me. i said 'yes, i'll wait here and you please don't forget me.'
less than three minutes later he turned to me and said 'come on, love.'
you can imagine my grateful smile to the man. i was in southampton about 6.45. yes!!!

switzerland: nyon

about sunday 10 apr 2011

after montreux didier, fran and i visited Nyon. nyon is a beautiful city 25 kilometers from geneva. its population is of about 19,000, and it is located between lausanne and geneva. it is very close to cheserex, where fran and didier live. fran goes to work in geneva monday to friday through nyon, where she gets the train.

beautiful and cultural city, again, with much history to it. because the days have been sunny there are lots of people everywhere. no one wants to stay indoors when there is the light of the sun. i like it very much. we walked around and had a drink at a bar, of course, outdoors. they have a jazz festival in nyon every year. fran told me you have to be very clever to get tickets to the concerts because they are sold out shortly after they are made available.

the signs.

switzerland: montreux & cooking

about sunday 10 april 2011

l'amour au bord du leman
one more thing about montreux i would like to share here: the countless couples who spend hours by the lake, some in silence, some chatting, some cuddling, some eating, some dreaming, all in love.

le plat du jour
we went back home and to eat le plat du jour. it was a very sophisticated grilled lamb with mushroom sauce and risoto and vegetables on the side, all prepared by my dear fran. the woman knows the tricks! red wine to help taste the banquet and to spice up our chat.

fondant au chocolat was the dessert. God save my soul for i have been in sin. amem!

switzerland: montreux

about sunday 10 apr 2011
it took me long to decide on the few photos from the trip to montreux to post here. the whole trip, the amazing cities we passed by on our way to montreux and the city itself are incredibly charming and beautiful. oh, so beautiful! yes, nature was generous to switzerland. i will now post the photos here so that they translate a bit what i experienced on the 10th of april with my friend fran and her husband didier:
- a taste of the place where the famous music festival has happened for decades - beautiful people - a gorgeous sunny day - breathtaking mountains - a long and relaxing walking by lac leman - and some refreshing ice cream to wrap up. what a trip!!!

this is the Nestle head office. we passed by it on the way to Montreux.



the Grand Hotel du Lac is very charming. it is close to Lac Leman in Montreux.




view from the car. getting to the lake front we can already appreciate the swiss alps.



people everywhere enjoying the sunny day. one of the cafes by the lake front.

fancy a boat ride?

 

these flats face the lake. i sent out the papers to rent one for the summer.

 

Fran is an old and very good friend of mine. we probably met around 1992, when i started working at yazigi as an english teacher. she taught french there. she had already lived in switzerland as a young girl with her aunt raimunda. she has now been living in switzerland for a good number of years, but every time she went back to brazil and i was there we got together. we have followed up on the events of our lives all this time. she has three kids: martina, who lives in geneva and studies law, and igor and gabriela, who are now living in brazil. i had a great time catching up with my friend and travelling around with her and her adorable husband, didier. martina is doing great and  speaks an impecable french. fran and didier live in cheserex - in a lovely and large apartment - with didier's two boys from his previous marriage.