Lazy Sunday

Today was the first opportunity to take both Laurie and Patricia to one of the local gypsy markets, specifically Santa Catarina da Fonte do Bispo!  Ask us how much fun we have saying that over and over quickly!!

It was another gorgeous day and both Marc and Diane opted to stay at home which permitted me to whisk the others away at 10 a.m..

The market was not as well attended as previous ones, despite the warm and sunny day.  That said, because neither Laurie nor Patricia had been to a market yet this trip, they enjoyed it immensely.  Because I have been to several I settled them into the market grounds then I headed off for a long lovely walk in and around the village.  I love exploring.

Bougainvillea of almost every imaginable colour was available today.

Love these, which were being sold in bundles.

I enjoyed my wanderings and found the village was empty and quite tranquil.  People were either at the market or at the mass.

A view in through the cemetery gates. I did go in and wander around but I don’t usually take photos in there out of respect.

I loved these yellow flowers, just popping open, against the yellow balustrade

This plant is growing out of the tiniest of cracks in the window frame. I love it!

My first passion flower of the season. Soon they will be all over the place but I never feel blasé about them.

I loved this angle and the way the various parts stood out.

A flower bed near a building being renovated. It contained wild gladioli, the first time I have ever seen them growing outside a mountainside environment.

Just for the colours!

Something about this combination of colours against the blue sky captivated me. I must have stood and gazed at this for a good 10 minutes

A magnificent bottle-brush tree in bloom.

Now that is a redbud!

I wandered for an hour or so then headed back to the market grounds to see how the “potential” shoppers were doing.  As I rounded the corner heading into the grounds, I spotted them and Pat, Gary, and Dawn had arrived.

Both Pat and Laurie had had some success with their shopping and had one last thing to do before we headed off.   I enjoyed a walk around the grounds but did manage to catch them in action without their knowledge.

Marvelous morning!  The three of us headed into Olhão to pick up a few things at the grocery then home where we discovered Marc had prepared lunch for all of us…..what a treat.   From there the four of us, with Diane in tow, headed down to visit Pat, Gary, Joan, and Dawn for a good rowdy card game of Oh Shit!!!!!!

Pat’s and Gary’s beautiful back garden. What fun to simply hang out and enjoy the balance of the afternoon.

Joan and Gary getting ready to play KingsCrib….a new game Pat M brought with her.

Life passes by so quickly for all of us with the many activities, get togethers and the intoxicating heat of the daily sunshine.   Tomorrow we are off for a hike that we’ve been wanting to do again (we’ve done it in years past).   Hopefully we all sleep well tonight!!