Greetings friends and family,
I hope this finds you in good health. We are doing well here.
Sometimes I struggle to write because I let the news consume me, and these days, it's particularly bad isn't it? I'm trying to find ways to keep my spirits up and not let the shitshow in the U.S. take me down.
Here in Portugal, as you have probably already heard, the people have spoken and, with the largest win in history, António José Seguro of the Socialist Party (PS) won the Presidency with over 3.5 million votes, a record for a presidential election. Picture me sighing with relief. And today, March 9th, he has been sworn into office.
Though we're back to some rain today, we have experienced some lovely sunny days here in February. Spring is in the air with the tulip trees in bloom everywhere. On Valentine's Day weekend we treated ourselves to a stay downtown at a new boutique hotel, Hotel Kodawari Flores, located on Rua das Flores, which was named the coolest street in the EU this year according to Travel and Leisure magazine. Located close to São Bento train station, the street is filled with cool shops, bars and restaurants and has a great vibe. The hotel itself is a small but really lovely and specializes in a great night's sleep, with custom horsehair mattresses made by Hasten and fabulous weighted blankets made by blanky here in Portugal. We actually own two of the weighted blankets ourselves. They delivered two silk sleep masks, three sets of eye hydrating masks, and two pairs of their signature socks to our room. And we were greeted upon arrival with not one, but two glasses each of Graham's Port Wine 🥴. If you ever plan to visit Porto, I would highly recommend this hotel. Also located on Rua das Flores, is what I've always thought of as Dildo Square. I'm not sure what these statues are supposed to represent but that's what comes to mind whenever I see them. 🤭
Now that the severe rain has passed and the Douro River isn't spilling over and dirty, as it was shortly after all the storms, we've been down to the waterfront a few times to enjoy some sun and some wine. I captured what I think is a cool photo there recently.
I will end with a few thoughts of my own. Yes, I am sad to see that the U.S. military has been and will continue to use the Lajes airbase in the Azores to refuel on their way to Iran to, conceivably, kill everyone in sight. The U.S. and Portugal have had the agreement in place since 1951 and they don't intend to upend that agreement now, even though the Portuguese government isn't thrilled with this new war. And it is a war, make no mistake about it. Hopefully, this war isn't going to spread but hey, look at the two dummies running this and ask yourself, what are the chances of that? Honestly, the potential for additional wars all over the map is stunning and all brought to you by the guy who believes he deserves the Nobel Peace Prize. I think that ship has sailed. Finally, I will share one of my favorite posts seen recently on Instagram; "Call me crazy, but I think the president of the United States and the dumbest motherfucker on earth should be two different people."
Stay safe and stay healthy.
Adeus, abraços e beijos,
MaryLou
