#next my biggest art opp

[koolaidashley]

Tmnt 04 Ep 2 part 2 💙💙

Baby blues time 2 shine 😁

SIDE NOTE be sure to vote 04 in the tmnt au comp prelims when the day comes 🤗🤗🤗

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[childofhalloween]

A Story With No Name Aka Why You Don't Ask Idoits for Dating Advice

So this was a short little one shot I got an idea for after binging Graystillplays Sims videos for days. If the formatting or anything seems off it's because I wrote it all on a phone. Well this short one shot turned out 9 pages long opps. So I hope you enjoy. Also writing an Austrillis slow burn not really sure where it goes but if anyone is interested let me know. Anyways onto the show! Thomas Alan Wenis better known as Tommy looked down at the paper in his hand. This address had to be a mistake. He had just flown down to Florida to get away for a while, see the ocean, maybe even clear up his depression. He hadn't brought much with him just an old suitcase and what little money he drained from his savings account.

That was exactly what attracted him to the random message board offering low rent living. With the price of rent all Tommy was expecting was a cot in a closet somewhere. Not that he minded as long as he had a roof and somewhere to put his black boots he didn't care.

But this, this wasn't right. Couldn't be right. The place was huge. Probably the biggest house he had ever seen. 4 floors are least and he could see the corner a large pool in the back.

He checked the address of his contact Melvin, and it matched. This had to be some sort of scheme. He knew it was too good to be true, like everything else in his life.

With a sigh he picked up his bag walking to the front door. Maybe they would be able to at least point him in the right direction.

Ringing the bell he sat out on the front step for a moment before the large oak door opened and a man dressed only in a towel and some sneakers opened the door.

"Uhhh hi. I'm sorry to disturb you but I am looking for someone at this address. His name is Melvin." Tommy said avoiding eye contact with the red haired man.

"Yeah that's me! Melvin Eugene Johnston. But everyone just calls me Florida Man." He said holding out his hand Tommy awkwardly taking it. "You must be Tommy!"

"Uhhh yeah. I'm sorry did I come at a bad time?" He said motioning to the towel.

"Huh this? Nah. Just like to feel a cool breeze if you know what I mean." He joked opening the door motioning for him to come in.

The place was almost too much for Tommy to take in but nonetheless followed Florida Man on a tour around the house.

"I uhhh….I hate to say I think I miss understood about the price." Tommy said knowing their was no way he could ever afford a place like this.

"Oh don't stress about it. Just get me the $300 whenever. Everyone here is pretty cool. We all just pitch in when we can ya know? We all take turns cleaning and cooking….well except for Aussie. Fire department said they are gonna fine us for another kitchen fire." He said casually. Tommy couldn't help but wonder what he was getting into.

"Then toss in some cash for some beers or food when ya can. Everyone just kind of does their own thing. You will see all kinds of people come and go. Right now we got a lot of our 'lifers'."

"How can you afford this place?" Tommy said looking at another large staircase.

"Oh it's already paid for. I bought it with the money from my lawsuit with Madonna."

"You sued Madonna!?!" Tommy said, not believing what he was hearing.

“Oh yeah I did. Her show was supposed to start at 8 she didn't go on till 10. I wasted so much money on overpriced water down beer I don't even remember the damn thing. Next thing I know I'm in the hospital. Apparently I fell down 12 rows of concrete stairs trying to get some nachos from concessions." He said casually as he continued. "Then I used the money I won to buy this place but it got lonely & quiet by myself so I started renting out rooms. Made for one big odd family."

Opening a door he motioned to Tommy "So here's your room. Get comfortable. When you're done feel free to head on down to the kitchen, meet everyone."

Tommy had hoped he could even find his way back down to the kitchen. It was going to take a little while to get used to this place. He still couldn't wrap his mind around all of this.

But unbeknownst to him the craziest part was yet to come. His new roommates.

Finally finding the kitchen he saw Floridaman busy having a beer next to a tall man with the most epic red beard he'd ever seen and a smaller but seemingly louder blond wearing sunglasses. And behind them both a slightly deranged looking man with jet black hair.

They all seemed to get quiet as he walked awkwardly into the kitchen.

"I was wondering if you were going to find us." Florida Man said thrusting a Bud Lite in Tommy's hand not bothering to ask if he'd want one. "Boys this is our newest guest Tommy Wenis"

The blond let out an almost mocking laugh.

"Wenis!?! Ya gotta be bloody kiddin me. Bet that must have been a rough primary career. The names are just endless!"

"Don't listen to him, he can be a jerk but he doesn't really mean it." The redhead said standing up holding out his hand cordially. "Names Tim by the way."

"Ahhh I'm just taking the piss with ya mate...kinda. Name's Trevor but everyone here likes to call me Australian Man. Ya know obvious reasons."

Finally the dark hair man with the slightly odd shaped face spoke up. "And I'm Colono. Colono Scopy"

"Uh huh...so is this everyone who lives here?" Tommy said looking at the motley crew in front of him.

"No the girls are off doing something or another. I think they mentioned girls day. I don't know I wasn't listening." Florida Man said, looking at the clock on the stove. "But they should be back any minute."

As if on cue the door opened and the sound of over lapped talking was heard.

"Speak of the devil mate." Australian Man said slightly in awe of Florida Man's timing.

A brunette wearing what looked to be a thrift store tourist shirt walked into the kitchen.

"Hey Whitley come here meet our new roommate Tommy." Florida Man said.

"Hey I'm Whitley " she shook his hand. He couldn't help but notice the slight smell of cheap bottom shelf vodka radiating off her.

Next a woman walked in with the best blond afro Tommy had ever seen.

"Hey Bab this is our new roommate Tom-"

"Maybe he'll last longer then the others." Bab said almost miserably as she walked out the back door not stopping.

"Sorry she's kin-d of…." Florida Man tried to think of the word.

"Manic Depressive." The girl with blonde and pink braids said matter of factly. "Text book diagnosis really."

"Are you a Dr?" Tommy asked everyone just laughed.

"Not in the slightest. Just been through a lot of psychologists."

"Ellis Dee, meet Tommy." Florida Man introduced.

"Tommy Wenis." Australian Man said with a snicker.

"Oh my God do people call you Tiny Wenis?" Ellis said with a giggle.

It didn't matter though because all Tommy's attention was now focused on the tall blond with golden hair walking in. He had never seen anyone like her. She was like nothing he'd ever encountered. She was…..she was…..she was absolutely stunning.

"Whose that?" Tommy asked Tim quietly.

"Huh? Oh that's Beth. Be nice, she's a sweet girl." Tim whispered back.

"Hey Beth say hi to Tommy the new guy." Florida said.

"Hi name's Beth." She introduced herself in a thick Southern accent.

"I….uhh...I'm Tommy." Tommy managed to mumble out.

All the guys exchanged an odd look.

"So where are ya rollin in from?" She asked with a smile.

"....I uhhh… I come from….places. I gotta go." He said, scrambling out of the kitchen to his room.

"That was odd." Colono said all the others nodded.

As the months went on Tommy found he had more in common with this rag tag bunch then he ever had with anyone else. He spent his days joking with Colono, drinking beers with the Florida Man & Australian Man, discussing art with Bab Ross, hitting the occasional bong with Ellis Dee, and pretty much bonding with everyone.

Everyone that is except for Beth. It seemed like every time they had a moment together his mind just blanked. Like it shut down to nothing and he couldn't figure out what the hell to say so he would say something awkward and just excuse himself.

It became apparent to everyone what was going on, everyone that was except Beth as she walked into the living room one day.

"Mind if I sat by ya hun?" She asked. He looked up at her eyes wide.

"I….uhh….murder show…..its over…..here you go. For you." He said, tossing the remote at her feet before running out the room.

"Ouch that was painful to watch." Australian Man looked up from the card game the guys had been playing.

Tommy pulled out a chair and plopped down not responding.

"Hey man, it's0 ok you will get her next time." Florid Man said putting a hand on his shoulder sympathetically….well really trying to sneak a peek at Colono's cards

"Ughhh. It's like everytime I try to talk to her I look like a total ass." Tommy grumbled.

"Yah we know, we all seen it." Australian Man joked as threw another chip in the pot.

"Well what am I supposed to say? Hey I think you're gorgeous, will you have a coffee with me?" He said, causing all the other men to laugh.

"No, no. You're thinking too much into it. What women love to hear is compliments." Tim Horton said as Bab Ross happened to walk past. "Watch this."

"Hello Bab you are looking positively radiant today!" Tim said, putting on a charming smile.

"Whatever you say Tim." Bab said with a shrug as she kept walking.

This caused all the other men to crack up.

"Laugh all you want but she acknowledged me. That's progress."

"Nah ya got it all wrong mate. What birds really dig on is a badass." Australian Man said getting up walking to the back yard. "This is how it's done boys."

Strutting slightly he slid up to Ellis Dee who was sitting outside enjoying the sun.

"Hey Ellie." He said acting casual.

"Oh hey Aussie what's up?"

"Did I ever tell you about the time I fought off a whole colony of bog frogs?"

"No I don't think you have."

"Yeah I was out with some blokes and came across these wee little bog frogs must have been mating season or something because next thing I know I'm surrounded by the little wankers! So I start beating them off me. Kicking, punching them in their little frog faces. Just throwing them off left and right. Turns out the little bastards were poisonous. Woke up in the hospital 2 weeks later handcuffed to the hospital bed. Turns out those little piss frogs are on the 'endangered species' list. Luckily for me though the judge granted the coma as time served. All I got was probation and I'll be off that by next year." Australian Man said cooly before something hit him.

"Probation…..OH SHIT! My probation meeting!" He said looking down at his watch. "I'm 6 fucking months late! I can not be arrested again! FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK!" he said running into the house leaving behind a very confused Ellis Dee.

All the guys watched as Australian Man ran through the house screaming obscenities as he looked for his cell phone.

"Anyways….what about you Florida Man. How do you talk to the ladies?" Tim Horton asked.

Florida Man shrugged and got up walking to the kitchen to see Whitley at the table drinking a large glass of orange juice.

"Bud Lite?" Florida Man offered holding out a beer. She looked at him confused.

"Its only 11 not even noon. Too early for beer." she said.

"Ok." Florida Man said walking back with both beers.

"Mornings are for screwdrivers." Whitley said to herself pour more dollar vodka into her drink.

"No, no I am sure I called. Yeah right when I landed. No I made sure I message with a Shelly? Or maybe a Jan? Or was it a Steven? I'm not sure. Mighta been a new?.....oh maybe a temp! Bloody hard to find good help huh? I'm sure it's there just check the last few months. Ring when this is all cleared up." Australian Man said, hanging up his phone not waiting for a reply on the other end. "Bloody cunts..….so what'd I miss."

"That's it. That's the only move I got." Florida Man said with a shrug.

"You guys are hopeless. No wonder I'm the only one in a relationship." Colono complained before turning to Tommy. "Tommy don't listen to them they are all going to die alone."

"Hey!"

"Fuck ya too!

"That was rude….but true."

"Women, they love romance. You can sweep a woman off her feet just by words. Just watch my example gentlemen." Colono said as he sauntered out the door to Flo Cane who was watching tv.

"Oh there she is mi amor. I was looking everywhere for you." He said sliding next to her.

"What is it? On no! Are you having issues again? Is the burning back? Have you been taking your meds? Do I need to call the Dr for you again?"

"What!?! No! That's not it!" Colono said in a panic as the sound of laughter came from around the corner.

"Hey don't listen to them. You know stress makes it worse." Flo comforted.

"It's not that!" Colono said frustrated.

"Are you sure? I know how cranky you get when you forget to take your meds."

"I'm not cranky!" Colono yelled as he stormed off.

"I'm making you an appointment just to be sure! I know you are scared of making phone calls." She shouted after him as he stormed off.

The other guys were currently in a huge pile on the floor in total hysterics none of them were able to stand. It took almost 10mins for them to calm down to breathe.

Finally collecting himself Tommy stood up straightening out his clothes. After all that advice he had finally figured it out. He knew what he had to do. Mustering up all the courage he could he moved forward before he could chicken out.

"Where are you going?" Florida Man asked as Tommy made his way outside.

"I'm going to do what I need to." He said walking out into the back yard where the girls currently huddled together talking about how weird the morning had been.

"Hello ladies. Can I talk to Beth alone please?" He asked.

Suddenly a lot made sense as they gave each other a knowing look.

"She's all yours." Whitley said with a l knowing smirk.

Silence still overcame the 2 as they sat there totally obvious to the group of 8 peering around the corner.

"What did you want to talk about?" Beth asked looking over slightly confused about what had been going on. From what she heard it's been a very confusing day.

"I…..I…." He took a deep breath before blurting out quickly. "I think you're absolutely gorgeous and would you like to get coffee with me?"

It took Beth a moment to even figure out what he had said and then another for it to really register.

"You, you think I'm pretty?" She said shocked no one had said anything like that before.

"Gorgeous actually." He said his face was burning red. "Look if I offended you, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-"

"Yes." She cut him off.

"Huh?"

"I would love to get coffee with you." She said as a big smile crossed her face.

"Ok when?"

"Now?" She suggested.

"Sounds great." He said getting up offering his hand to her. "I know a great place."

They both walked right past the group of the gawkers so invested in their conversation they didn't even seem to notice.

"Oh my God that is the sweetest thing I've ever seen!" Whitley gushed.

"Guys are never that romantic. She's so lucky." Flo said wistfully.

"Man I wish I could find someone who thinks like that." Ellis mused.

"Yeah it was pretty nice." Bab said in her bored Bab tone.

"Are ya fucking kidding me right now!?!" Australian said, throwing his hands up in the air as he stormed back inside.

"Seriously? That? That's it? Thats romantic?" Colono complained following behind.

"Wow guy did have some skills after all." Florida said patting Tim on the back sympathetically as Tim mumbled to himself annoyed.

"What's their problem?" Bab asked.

"Men are weird." Whitley said all the other girls nodded in agreement.

[rottenxroses]

Get to know me uncomfortably well. (I’ll answer cuz I’m bored)

1. What is you middle name? Rose

2. How old are you? 27

3. When is your birthday? August 9th

4. What is your zodiac sign? Leo ♌️

5. What is your favorite color? Black

6. What’s your lucky number? 4

7. Do you have any pets? 2! A cat Billy-Bob and a fish Azül.

8. Where are you from? Newburgh, NY

9. How tall are you? 5’7, and the shortest of my family 😰

10. What shoe size are you? 10 😅

11. How many pairs of shoes do you own? 5-7

12. What was your last dream about? Some shape of water silliness

13. What talents do you have? A few, I can manage to burn oatmeal. Lol

14. Are you psychic in any way? I trust my gut.

15. Favorite song? Vermillion part 2-Slipknot

16. Favorite movie? I have so many, I can even begin to list.

17. Who would be your ideal partner? My darling husband 🥰

18. Do you want children? I have one! A baby boy, maybe later down the road I’ll have more.

19. Do you want a church wedding? I did, until I eloped against my father’s wishes. (Oooo so bad)

20. Are you religious? Raised Catholic, I don’t really believe in anything anymore.

21. Have you ever been to the hospital? Multiple times, for good and bad.

22. Have you ever got in trouble with the law? HA! Yes. My family had a grow opp. But since it’s going to be legal soon all our charges were dropped. We got busted a week after I got married! Lol

23. Have you ever met any celebrities? No 🙃

24. Baths or showers? Shower

25. What color socks are you wearing? None! To dang hot

26. Have you ever been famous? Rofl a local celeb when we got busted #freetheweed #freethenapolis

27. Would you like to be a big celebrity? Nooooo. Too shy ☺️

28. What type of music do you like? Metal, Classic Rock, 80’s hair bands, nu-rock. Give me my rock n roll, nothing else. Lol

29. Have you ever been skinny dipping? You mean chunky dunking? Yes lol

30. How many pillows do you sleep with? 2

31. What position do you usually sleep in? On my left or in my husbands arm 🥰

32. How big is your house? BIG

33. What do you typically have for breakfast? Oatmeal, water, coffee. Spice it up sometimes with a fruit! Lol

34. Have you ever fired a gun? Yes!

35. Have you ever tried archery? I have. It was fun! Liked it better than shooting a gun

36. Favorite clean word? Balls

37. Favorite swear word? Bitch

38. What’s the longest you’ve ever gone without sleep? I have a baby, you tell me.

39. Do you have any scars? Yes, some By mistake, some I’m not proud of and some by being a dumbass

40. Have you ever had a secret admirer? No...I’m not that attractive. Or they never told me? Who knows? Then it wouldn’t be a secret then would it?

41. Are you a good liar? Noooo lol

42. Are you a good judge of character? I like to think so.

43. Can you do any other accents other than your own? A few? I goof off 🤪

44. Do you have a strong accent? An American one? Lol

45. What is your favorite accent? Russian 😍

46. What is your personality type? Uhhh what?

47. What is your most expensive piece of clothing? Uhhh idk? I don’t but expensive cloths. All about comfort

48. Can you curl your tongue? Yes! I can do many things with this tongue 😝

49. Are you an innie or an outie? Innie lol

50. Left or right handed? Right

51. Are you scared of spiders? Not at all.

52. Favorite food? Sushi!

53. Favorite foreign food?...sushi? Lol

54. Are you a clean or messy person? I’m a hot mess.

55. Most used phrased? Aww bitch! (Any context lol)

56. Most used word? No. (I have a kid so.. lol)

57. How long does it take for you to get ready? About an hour

58. Do you have much of an ego? Depends on the situation

59. Do you suck or bite lollipops? Suck sucka

60. Do you talk to yourself? ALL. THA. DAMN. TIME.

61. Do you sing to yourself? Yes 😚

62. Are you a good singer? I used to be, I don’t sing much anymore.

63. Biggest Fear? Heights.

64. Are you a gossip? Loose lips sink ships sweetheart 😉

65. Best dramatic movie you’ve seen? Ah jeez I can’t think at the top of my head.

66. Do you like long or short hair? Medium length.

67. Can you name all 50 states of America? Right now??? Uh no? Lol

68. Favorite school subject? Art!

69. Extrovert or Introvert? Introvert

70. Have you ever been scuba diving? No

71. What makes you nervous? Omg everything, mainly public places

72. Are you scared of the dark? No, I’m afraid of what’s in the dark.

73. Do you correct people when they make mistakes? Depends, I try to let them figure it out on their own.

74. Are you ticklish? Nope

75. Have you ever started a rumor? Nah, to much drama, no thanks

76. Have you ever been in a position of authority? I’m a mother and a wife. I am authority. Lmao

77. Have you ever drank underage? Psssh I started drinking at 14

78. Have you ever done drugs? Weed is a plant, and I don’t consider that a drug. But harder stuff, yeah once or twice

79. Who was your first real crush? In first grade, his name was Douglas and he despised me. Rofl

80. How many piercings do you have? 8

81. Can you roll your Rs?“ yes

82. How fast can you type? Decent? Not really slow but not super sonic speed?

83. How fast can you run? Ha! Running? What’s that??

84. What color is your hair? Mouse brown

85. What color is your eyes? Blue/yellow

86. What are you allergic to? Strawberry milk

87. Do you keep a journal? Yup, since I was 22 I’ve always had one

88. What do your parents do? I don’t know what my dad does, my mom is a car saleswoman

89. Do you like your age? Not at all. Ahh to be young again.

90. What makes you angry? Naive people, mooches, liars, my father, rudeness, bad table manners, rap and country music. I’m just angry. Lmao

91. Do you like your own name? Eh, it’s aiight

92. Have you already thought of baby names, and if so what are they? I have a baby, Damien. And if we decide to have another and it’s a girl, Syrinn.

93. Do you want a boy a girl for a child? I have a boy, I want a girl next.

94. What are you strengths? Make people laugh, raising a baby, team player

95. What are your weaknesses? Nice try. 😉

96. How did you get your name? My dad was into Mariah Carrey (it was the 90s ok?)

97. Were your ancestors royalty? My maiden name means “too poor to afford shoes” so no. Rofl

98. Do you have any scars? I answered this??

99. Color of your bedspread? Black

100. Color of your room? Beige

[theglamfemme]

Although I have done some traveling before, lately, I have let life keep me grounded to home-base more than I had planned to. So this past summer, when opportunities arose for me to do all the globe-trotting I had ever dreamed of, I took them without a second thought, even when I wasn’t sure how I would pull it all off. But in the end, it was all worth it and then some.

Since traveling was such a huge part of my life the last couple of months, I decided to blog about my latest and biggest trip, an 11-day food and wine tour of Portugal.

Porto

When the plane landed in Porto, Portugal I was exhausted from the flight but so pumped to be in Europe. Since it was a group tour, most of the itinerary was planned out but that day was pretty free until the Welcome Dinner that night. So, despite my curiosity to explore, I fell asleep thinking about all the food and wine I would have that night and during the 10 days to come.

Vila Gale Porto, hotel

  Welcome Dinner – Arroz do Forno (Porto, Portugal)

The Welcome Dinner was the ideal start to an awesome food-and-wine-focused trip. It was at a restaurant called Arroz do Forno. Even though we had just arrived in Portugal, the people and the environment were so warm and welcoming that I instantly felt at home.

Oxtail with green beans and sweet potato mash

Apple dessert

  The next two days in Porto were beautiful. It was a perfect balance of rest, sightseeing, and free time. Plus, the food was delicious and the wine kept coming, as our tour guide promised.

Just one example of the street art we saw in Porto

SIGHTSEEING IN PORTO

Our group went on a bus tour of some neighborhoods, monuments, and other sights in Porto. The city of Porto is known for its port wine and sweeping views. It is referred to as Portugal’s second city but some say with it’s charming, magical atmosphere, it is beginning to give Lisbon a run for its money.

    Along the tour, we made a stop at a cafe for a pastry and coffee, two other things that we had a lot of and enjoyed during the trip.

Café Guarany

Pastel de nata

                  Carmelitas Church

                After the bus tour of the city, we went to the Douro River on a boat cruise where we learned about the history of Porto and the River itself.

FOOD & WINE IN PORTO

After the tour, we had a five-course lunch and all the wine we could ask for at Restaurant Dourum. My favorite dish was the codfish fritters but all of the food was excellent.

                                              Later that night, after some free time, we went back down to the Douro River, where many restaurants and cafes scattered the riverside, to have dinner. This was our first taste of pasta in Portugal and we would discover that it wasn’t only flavorful and well-made in this restaurant but Portugal has great Italian food, in general.

We ate next to the Douro River again for lunch on our free day after a long and slightly adventurous walk along the narrow, cobble-stone streets of the town. We chose a seafood restaurant and paired our appetizers and entrees with a yummy red sangria.

  The night of our free day in Porto, we found a cute tapas place where we had another superb meal.

And of course, there was the wine. We visited a winery that specializes in port wine, Ferreira Winery. We learned how port wine is made and tasted three different types of the robust, sweet wine. 

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  Overall, my absolute favorite part of Porto was the Douro River and the scenic views that surrounded it.

Evora

Our next stop on the tour was Evora, the historic capital of Portugal’s south-central Alentejo region marked by its Gothic and baroque architecture.

SIGHTSEEING AND FOOD & WINE IN ÉVORA

Temple of Diana

Also known as the Roman Temple of Évora, the Temple of Diana is located in the main public square of Évora and is believed to have been built in the first century A.D.

                Cathedral of Évora

Ruínas Fingidas

Capela dos Ossos (Chapel of Bones)

This 16th-century chapel is made out of real, human skeletal remains. The reason behind the odd construction of this building was to remind patrons that life is only momentary. It was meant to inspire people to contemplate their existence. It was pretty cool but also just as creepy as you would expect it to be.

Giraldo Square

On a free night, we had dinner at a traditional Portuguese restaurant in Giraldo Square called, Mr. Pickwick. Everyone’s favorite meal was this savory seafood stew.

The rest of the food and wine in the Alentejo region did not disappoint. We experienced a tour, a wine tasting, and had lunch at Herdade do Esporao.

Herdade do Esporao

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Not only were the grounds beautiful, but the food was delicious and one of my most memorable meals in Portugal.

Douro River Valley

Next, we traveled towards Lisbon and made stops along the Douro River Valley. On our first stop, we stayed at Vila Gale Douro.

Vila Gale Douro

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Dinner at Vila Gale Douro hotel was very festive, as it was our first night in the beautiful accommodations and our whole group was excited.

SIGHTSEEING AND FOOD & WINE IN THE DOURO RIVER VALLEY

Our first day was spent on a tour of Casa de Mateus, which was nothing short of a castle with extravagant gardens and even its own, private chapel. It is located in Vila Real in northern Portugal.

Casa de Mateus

The chapel was reserved for the family of the house so they did not have to venture out to worship with the rest of the town.

The house is currently still occupied by descendants of the family who built the palace in the 18th century.

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The gardens were just as magnificent as the castle was and provided multiple photo opps.

After the tour, we had a wine tasting on the grounds.

When we left Vila Gale Douro, we continued along the valley, heading towards Lisbon. Our first pit stop was a quaint little village in Amarante that was filled with pastry shops. We admired scenic views of the countryside and explored a few shops.

Confeitaria Lailai

Then we stopped in the Dao Region for a wine tour and lunch at Quinta do Medronhero.

Quinta do Medronhero

As we made our way to Lisbon, we visited Almendres Cromlech, which is 2000 years older than Stonehenge.

We also took a tour of a cork farm and learned how cork is grown and harvested. If you look closely, you can see the cork growing near the top of the tree. Towards the bottom of the tree is the area that has already been harvested. Harvesting occurs every 9 years but it can take up to 25 years for a tree to produce cork.

Lisbon

We finally reached Lisbon, the capital city known for its global, cosmopolitan atmosphere, on the 9th day of the tour. It definitely lived up to its reputation as a metropolis, being the home to many people from all over the world who had come to Portugal for education or business.

SIGHTSEEING IN LISBON

Instead of participating in the guided tour, the small group that I traveled with decided that we wanted to explore Lisbon on our own. So we decided to go to the beach. After asking around, we chose to go to Costa da Caparica, a short taxi ride away from our hotel. The sand, water, and weather were beautiful and we had such a fun and relaxing time. It was the perfect daytime activity to end our trip.

Costa da Caparica

FOOD & WINE IN LISBON

On our first day in Lisbon, we had lunch at an Italian restaurant where the pasta was made fresh on the premises. It was appropriately called La Pasta Fresca. It was absolutely the best pasta I had ever had! The dessert was also to die for.

On our last night in Lisbon and our last night of the trip, we had one of the best experiences of the whole trip. The group participated in a cooking class at Kiss the Cook. It is stationed in a trendy part of Lisbon called the LX Factory, which used to be the site of an old fabric company but now houses cool shops, cafes, art galleries, restaurants, and other entrepreneurial initiatives. The streets were filled with unique art. 

Kiss the Cook

I’m not sure whether it was because it was the last activity we would do as a group, because it was our last night in Portugal, or because we consumed more than 25 bottles of wine by the end of the night, but the cooking class at Kiss the Cook was such a lively and awesome experience.  

We were asked to partner up and get ready to prepare two Portuguese dishes together – apples with chicken sausage, topped with a glaze and a stew that featured potatoes, onions, peppers, tomatoes and the staple fish of Portugal, codfish or Bacalhau.

Although everything was laid out or given to us in perfect portions by the staff, we did have to chop, cook, and assemble all the ingredients into what would be our final meal in Portugal.

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Voilà! Or in Portuguese, “Aqui!”

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  As I look back on my trip to Portugal, I am truly grateful for the chance to travel to a place I had actually never thought of visiting before. It was amazing to experience a new culture, absorb the beautiful landscapes, and try all the tasty food and wine Portugal had to offer.

This trip inspired me to keep traveling and it opened my mind to other places that I could see myself spending a lot of time in, writing and getting my creative juices flowing, besides my family’s home country, Jamaica and other Caribbean islands. It reminded me that there are other countries around the world that could be welcoming to someone like me who needs a break from all that I reluctantly call home in the US. It has motivated me to prioritize travel (locally and abroad), no matter how busy I get, knowing that is is a form of my own self-care.

  Travel is the Spice of Life – My Trip to Portugal Although I have done some traveling before, lately, I have let life keep me grounded to home-base more than I had planned to.

[wanderlust225]

The Little Island, with big plans - Singapore

What a cool and interesting little island. We arrived in Singapore in the early evening and, as one would expect, the airport was super secure (the first time in my life there was an x-ray machine as you exited the plane) and very efficient. We grabbed a taxi and headed towards Tiong Bahru, where Amy's friend Sarah and her boyfriend James live, and where we would stay for the weekend. Singaporeans are known for being extremely friendly and our driver was no different and answered all our initial questions about development - the street we rode on was under construction for a better F1 track - for the famous nighttime Spore course. My immediate thought was that the city was insanely clean - it made West London look like dirty downtown SF. (I was later told that Sing employs thousands of government workers to clean the sidewalks and streets, but honestly, I think they've just found some way to technologically eradicate dirt -- or maybe the trees get fined if they drop leaves?). Sarah and James' apartment was a traditional Singaporean art-deco style, in a neighborhood that was desparately trying to retain its small-town style in a city where skyscraper, new-build doorman buildings are the norm. I absolutely loved their simply beautiful concrete floors, they open-air kitchen, lovely balconies (2x!) and meticulously organized Asian-sized bathroom. They are both Googlers and had a bit of evening meetings with the West, certainly the downside of being an expat for an American company in the East. Amy and I left them to their meetings and headed out to dinner at Sarah's (and then our) favorite mediterranean with an Asian twist restaurant called Artichoke. After so many days of Korean, HK dim sum and then Balinese rice and noodle dishes, I was so excited for bread, olives, salads and chick peas! They had a kale "salad" - in quotes as they had partially baked / fried the kale so I'm not sure it should be allowed to retain the healthy name of a salad. After dinner we headed to the Fullerton Hotel rooftop bar, Sarah's suggestion for a gorgeous view of Fullerton Bay - and it was! Also of note, we had our first interaction with the ridiculously priced Sing cocktails - ~ SGD 24 which is equivalent to ~$17.50 - needless to say we only had one. (It seems the exorbitant prices are due to taxes - it's easier to control alcohol intake at those prices.) Despite the crazy-priced drinks, I am very happy we went as we caught Intel practicing a drone show over the harbor which was super cool. What is a drone show you ask? It's when you put lights on drones so they look like fireflies and then program tens (or hundreds in this case) to do a little aerial dance. It was the epitome of the type of thing I expected from such a high-tech city. The next day we found Tiong Bahru Bakery which is an institution, and headed for coffee and breakfast. I was extremely excited to find granola and ordered it along with a yummy latte - yep, still indulging in my Western food fix. Then we walked through the city to the Botanical Garden which houses the National Orchid Garden. We thought the city seemed very empty until we realized that, like Floridians, people who live in Sinapore are just smarter than walking around in the heat of summer. We were not that smart, but brushed off our SF weakness and embraced our FL and DC humid heritage. The gardens were lovely. Originally the land was a rubber plantation but in the early 1900s they decided to transform it into a city garden and it had grown up as such since then. As you would expect, most of the plants were tropical / rain forest and as such there were splendid colors. I was surprised to see how gorgeous the flowers of a ginger plant is - with a large, bright pink stem. Then we got to the orchids - literally thousands of them. There were beautiful orchid archways, little pagodas with orchids forming flower walls and, my favorite, little photo opp areas where there was a little stone seat that formed your own little flower throne. Besides the familiar outline, nothing was standard from size to color to petals. There was also a VIP Orchid garden, which I thought housed the rarest plants. Nope! It was literally the garden they kept orchids they named after famous people who had visited (mostly British, mostly dignataries). Princess Di had a gorgeous white orchid and William and Kate had a white and speckled pink flower. It all made me very sad that after almost 2 years of tending to my orchid in SF, I haven't been able to encourage it to bloom again -- I'm sure it has to do with the humidity, and not my black thumb. Finally we headed back - but not without some excitement - when we came across a giant lizard in our path! We swalowed our fear...and after running away from it, were told by a nearby garden keeper that they don't typically move very often. Oh, right. Later that day we headed to Marina Bay Sands which is a grand hotel and casino in the newly formed beachfront property in Sing (yep, that's code for landfill). We didn't try, but apparently you need your passport to get into the casino because if you're SIngaporean they charge you SGD 100 to enter (~$70) -- a fee to discourage gambling of course! Instead we headed to the top for more overpriced cocktails but, most importantly, an incredible view of the city. Most interesting to me was the shear number of huge cargo ships - I'm used to seeing tens waiting in SF, but there were hundreds here. Woah! It was also a great people watchig point; people who decided a bathrobe (MBS is a hotel) was suitable attire for the rooftop, family picnics and too many selfie-sticks to count. (Side note: I really hope someone is reading this 50 years from now and asks me what a selfie-stick is. Though I am really nervous to hear what may replace it.) After our view we met Sarah and James, and their friend Logan and her new golden retriever puppy (!!!) in Little India for some dinner. Although the biggest ethnic group in Sing is Chinese (75%), there is a smaller but significant Indian population and a smaller still Malay (muslim) population. We sat outside, which for a SFcian is such a pleasure, and enjoyed our food with Tiger beer. Yum.