This former fishing town, now tourist mecca, has become our first stop in Portugal. We discovered it last year through Anja nd Micha ( www.reisenundspeisen.com ) and we luv it. We avoided it originally ‘cos we don’t like tourists. Yes, sigh, I am aware that we too are tourists, but that is clearly different, duh.

The great thing about travelling is meeting people and we have met some deevine people on our travels. The bad thing about travelling is having to say Goodbye and moving on to different horizons. HOWEVER, we know where you live and we will hunt you down!

My German husband had never even heard of such “a ridiculous” thing before I stood sobbing waiting for my card and present. I, of course, had a secret card for him and a Valentine's Day Introduction Course planned with the help of an elderly neighbour...

The photo is from me again (better than the last one, but then again, it didn’t take a lot to improve on that!) but the recipe is from www.steamykitchen.com Great blog so go and have a look!

The photo is from me from the Casa Sousa restaurant (sorry not my best shot), but the recipe is from http://www.deliciouswordflux.com/ The photos on the website are way better, so have a look.

This tiny little restaurant was recommended to us by Paul, a sailor we met on the Rio Guardian trip, and it is SUPER to say the least. Do NOT go there if you are on diet (which I permanently am, but I don’t actually/sadly let this stop me…) as the food is true Hip Gold.

The Guadiana River separates Extremadura and Andalucia (Spain) from Alentejo and Algarve (Portugal) and is a favourite area of ours. We stay on the Portuguese side right on the river banks and we go for hikes in the mountains and drinks in the local bar – what could be better?

Well, let's find out!

The Husband and I are on a reduced calorie diet (a version of the 5:2 diet which I will tell you about soooon) and are eating a lot more vegetarian meals and we LOVE this salad. We have it for lunch and this is enough for 4 people (and we are big eaters).

Does this beautiful photograph need any explanations? It was our first day in Portugal with our friends Anja, Micha and Angela (no not, Ms Merkel!) and the sky was magnificent.