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🍜 And what a Sunday it was!

We felt marginally better from the stomach bug that’s keeping us on our toes lately and, since the usual trip to the in-laws had to be cancelled due to their Covid infection, we arranged to have lunch with movieStar’s brother and girlfriend.

We met her, and one of our cousins (Gu) at the beach, since they were there with their dogs (tinyMovieStar’s great friends). The drive over was pleasant, and we always feel a little better when there’s sea at the end of the road.

Also, as usual, plans were quickly upgraded. We picked up my brother-in-law and Gu’s girlfriend, and had lunch at a great pan-Asian restaurant in Cascais. Thai Green Curry for me, a couple of Sapporo as well. Yummy!

That part of town has art painted on the street, so the little one was obviously thrilled to be able to sit on blue. And yellow! We also sat on super tall red stools. Great time with colors

After that we walked to the best ice cream shop in the country, and the little one had way too much strawberry ice-cream. Another cousin skated by, and stopped to meet her. This is one we hadn’t seen in a while, he spends most of his time abroad. He will be the little one’s surf coach in a year or two, and she looked amazed by how tall and blond he is. And she tried the skate!

There was a fair in town as well, and a rally to support Ukraine at the same time! Busy, busy Cascais. Foot volley players on the beach, music and a party vibe all over. We didn’t stay long.

We drove to Gu’s place, with more ice-cream in the bag. tinyMovieStar dipped her hand on the cold pool water, and played with the dogs in the grass. By the end of it, surprise, we weren’t feeling that great again, our tummies were complaining: spice food, ice-cream, beer, and churros?? What were we thinking!?

It was worth it!

🍿 Finished Ted Lasso. Trust No One: The Hunt for the Crypto King, The Great Robbery of Brazil’s Central Bank.

🧟‍♂️ On Wednesday, dropped tinyMovieStar off at kindergarten, came back home, went back to bed, and slept four hours. Woke up feeling like a zombie.

🍺 Our usual spot for an afternoon beer is nearly dead. We have a lot of fond memories of the place, and a few relationships that started there. Heck, I didn’t even drink beer before I found about this place!

It was an incredible place. Cosy, filled with great beer and happy conversation. Over the years the owners have proven over and over they were great people too. And then they decided to open a second shop, and somehow ours felt abandoned. Sometimes it wouldn’t even open and, when they did, the shelves seem emptier by the visit.

We kept coming, but the visits felt odd. Like we were the only ones pushing it, wanting it to succeed. The owners were nowhere to be seen by now, their visits far and apart. Soon we’d stop showing up as well.

I get their reasons, to a point. They can, obviously, do whatever they want with their business. It just feels sad that a place with such a cool energy will stop being there.

A couple of weeks ago a friend came to town from the north of the country, we met him there for a beer. The shelves were even slimmer than usual. It was probably the last time we arranged to meet there.

This week we drove to one of the breweries in town, one that makes a beer we used to drink there all the time, and I bought a case. I will drink them at home, with friends, and alone. It will have to do.

💻 A have an assignment on the laptop, waiting to be edited. It’s been two weeks since the shoot.

🎉 We had scheduled a dinner party for some friends. Then covid happened to one of them, the gathering was postponed, then back on. We had a lot of fun, with some beer.

There’s no way to set things up in advance these days. Something always happens in the meantime.

🇺🇦 Friend still in Ukraine, but this should be the last week, he’s probably making his way back home next week. I’ll be able to relax when he’s back here. Just today news appeared about another photojournalist who passed away. RIP.