Getting away...

For some, travel is all about going somewhere new. About knowing nothing of the destination and taking in its surprises and quirks. This kind of travelling is slightly alien to me (what a surprise!); I like to go where I know and have spent years, both in my childhood and adulthood, returning to places I love. Holidays have to be restorative, especially now that life is at such a frenetic pace. So returning to well-trodden paths has a soothing quality, it restores me and in the familiarity, my mind is able to dwell on new concepts and new ideas to be applied when I get home. It's just the way I am.

As a child we spent summers in Florida and that place will always have the most special part of my heart. The Atlantic separates me from it and whilst every year we talk about going back, we haven't been there since Boo was three. Now we opt for closeness and ease, and head to the Algarve in Portugal each summer. My husband and I took our first ever holiday together there when we were 19 and 23 respectively; turning up with nothing but a backpack and some local currency. Since then, we must have been back nearly twenty times, a pilgrimage each summer to that place.

...a rogue cloud...

We frequent beach bars and have sandy toes. The children paddle in the waves after dinner; moonlit. We eat sardines and calamari and so do they. We drink fizzy Rose wine that tastes divine because of the heat. We watch the fishing boats come in. I take endless photos of the water, beach, sand, trying to capture the whole feel of it to save up for later, rainy days when we are home. We sleep in, our rooms with shutters, keeping out the light. We see our holiday buddies; the family we go with, who are like our opposite numbers; their family and our family match. We will be taking time to do nothing - exactly as it should be!

A long-awaited break...see you soon!

Lou xxx