When we left this afternoon, it was 18C in Lisbon. When we landed at Schiphol, it was 6C. Glad to be home, GG is already sitting on the coach with the pets circling her to find the right place on her lap or under the blanket depending on their preference. They are all making various barks, meows and grunts to catch us up on the week. I have a feeling that Lientje is saying “Let me tell you what those dogs have been up to”.

I think we are done travelling for the year. At least via airplane. That’s okay by me, even if I keep getting emails that it is only so many more miles to the next level 😉

Last night, we had one last dinner with Mariana at a vegetarian restaurant in a park, which was delightful. So much of what I love about Lisbon is how the city has all of these pockets of surprises, little uneven courtyards with trees and benches and succulent plants. You can’t help but feel that you have disappeared into a little time warp.

During this past week, we also caught up with Big C for drinks overlooking the city. The cafe was built on the back of the ruins of the Carmo Convent (built circa 1400). Before the earthquake of 1755, it was the primary place of worship in the city. After the earthquake the roof caved in and it has sort of been standing in ruins ever since. It’s breath taking. See for yourself…

We also had the tremendous good fortune to meet her husband and spent a great couple of hours over Indian food and Portuguese cherry liquour. That evening and this whole week reminded me again of how important spending time with friends is.

Tomorrow, the Lean In circle I am part of is meeting at my house… I am still not quite sure what I was thinking when I volunteered to host… probably something along the lines that we would have moved somewhere new by now. 😉

I’ve also got to get cracking with my banjo because on the 6th of December, I have to perform “Shady Grove” at my Wednesday night class. I really hope that no one knows how the song is supposed to sound, in case it goes awry.

Okay, time to unpack and tackle a week’s worth of Web Summit laundry. I wore my minions socks many days in a row since George eats them and well, they are overdue for a wash!