Tuesday 16 October 2012

Holidays in Portugal


I almost wasn't able to go to Portugal last September. My cat Fofinho has been very ill,demanding constant care and attention. This time, we couldn't ask our neighbors to take care of him. Too much work and responsibility...

So, my husband stayed here with him and I managed to go to Portugal  to visit my mother, the family and a couple of  friends.

My mother's health has been worse - she has many difficulties to walk and a lot of pain in her back and legs- and I wanted to spend some time with her and take some measures to make her life easier and comfortable.

I arrived in Portugal very tired since I hadn't been sleeping very much due to my cat's situation. I wasn't feeling very relaxed either, fearing that something might happen to Fofinho while I was in Portugal and my husband would have to deal alone with some unpleasant and painful situation. The expectations given by the vet were very bad...

My stay in Portugal was a bit depressing since I found some of my friends and relatives facing serious economical troubles.Every year I go to Portugal, the economical situation looks worse than before. Some of my friends have lost their jobs, other needed to close their businesses, etc, etc...

Meanwhile, we almost lost Fofinho during my short stay there, but since I arrived to the NL, he looks better.Let's see how it goes. I keep going with all the treatments. Soon, I will write a post all about it.

I have so many things on my mind now- I feel like I have two lives, one here, one there- that my mood for blogging has been very low.I 'm now trying, for example, to understand all the new rules and taxes of the Portuguese State Budget 2013, so I can explain to my mother in the best possible way how she will be affected by all this mess. The economical situation in Portugal is critical than ever and this time, she will lose a considerable deal of money that could be used, for example, in thermal treatments or to help paying someone to take good care of her at home a couple years from now.

Nevertheless, Portugal is still for me the most beautiful country in the world, and for some moments, I was able to forget all my fears and worries...:-)

Portugal, September 2012

Alcochete

From Férias Portugal 2012

Cascais

From Férias Portugal 2012

Galapos, Setúbal

From Férias Portugal 2012
 Lisbon, Parque das Nações

From Férias Portugal 2012

5 comments:

restlessjo said...

Hope things get better soon, for you and your country.

Margarida Elias said...

Tenho de ir a Alcochete - estou a ver que é uma falha na minha cultura. Bjs!

Presépio no Canal said...

Jo, Thank you very much! :-)Bjs!

Margarida, Vale muito a pena, acredita. E uma vila cheia de Historia, com muita vida (muitas esplanadas nas ruas), com muitas tradicoes, e com uma fabulosa vista do Tejo e de Lisboa. Bjs!

Sami said...

Hope your mom is getting better and Fofinho too. Is he old? One of my cats has been having bladder infections but I have now switched from dry food to canned food that is apparently much better for cats.
I also noticed when I went to Portugal in June that things were getting harder for everyone in Portugal compared to when we left 5 years ago. Portugal has so much to offer when it comes to great food, beautiful scenery, lovely people, cheap life, great beaches...so I truly hope things improve in the near future!

Presépio no Canal said...

Sami,

Thank you very much! :-)

Fofinho is 16 years old but he doesn't look like :-)) He has kidney problems. I must write a post all about it. These last months were very demanding and almost we lost him more than once.
I agree with you- Portugal is a great country- and I hope - we need to- that better times will come. Bjs! :-)