Trip to Algarve continued...

The next day we rushed through breakfast and set off to zoo marine park. To her delight she received a call from our friends and their little ones in Chennai to wish her happy birthday in advance!

On reaching zoo marine, we were not disappointed. For such a crowded place, the people were polite, the toilets and shower rooms were clean and food was more reasonably priced than even outside!

The young one went for her Dolphin emotions experience where she made the dolphin dance, she swam on top of one and kissed one and had a whale of a time. There were only 5 to a group and it was very well organised though expensive.

A gentleman proposed to his girlfriend by using a dolphin to give her the ring.so that was sweet as well..

We then stood in a queue for half an hour only to dodger we were standing for the wrong ride. But we still enjoyed the gentle Jurassic ride and went for the pirate shoes, the dolphin show ( though we have seen the Florida one, the Barcelona one, the Dubai one  etc this one was still ballet like  and mermaid dance like and different) the sharks and sea anemones and water dragons etc. Dad and daughter then spent some time on the artificial wave beach..we still were not done with the dolphins and went for yet another little dolphin 4d show. We had crepes and orange juice and then towards the fab end, we went back to the sea lions and the young one raced with them very cutely.. calling out from this side of the glass fence every time they roared, ‘ No, no, don’t complain..I won this one fair and square!’  ;)

We then went to a Michelin starred restaurant as K wanted to try the fish there and the wine. We were happy tired and crashed in the hotel once back.

The next day was the big 2 digit birthday so the young one woke us all up at 3.40 a, suddenly having woken up with the excitement of having turned 10! Lots of fun and blessings later , time to pack, have breakfast and leave. She told everybody and anybody who would listen..I am a big girl and have turned 10 today!

The phone was buZing from the morning with wishes for her from everybody!

Back home to a surprisingly boiling hot  city, noodles and subway for lunch for the happy birthday babe, cake, a little prep for the mock the next day and off to sleep!

PS

The young one loves Calvin and Hobbes. So, when 2 years back,her friends R and K gifted her a lioness soft toy in Singapore, she immediately named her lily rose and treats her exactly like Calvin treats Hobbes. She has conversations with lily rose, takes her cycling, treats her kindly, takes her to bed etc.

At Algarve, lily rose got dunked in the sea and buried in the sand and sadly her eye came off. Typically, ( very practical and happy go lucky) the young one said, never mind, I am always going to love her and let’s just get another friend for my double digit ages!

But K was not going to spring for yet another soft toy, so he super glued the eye back once we were back home. So now, Lily rose is back by the young one’s side, the beach dunk and burial merrily forgiven;)

Trip to Algarve

For the young lady’s 10th birthday we went on a 4 day trip to Algarve, Portugal. We love Portugal and its people so much that this is our third trip to the country. We are seriously thinking of buying a property there as we are yet to see a more friendly, respectful and secure people anywhere else. And we have been to and lived in a few countries, to say the least.

On day one, we reached the 3 h b fales@ia hotel in Olhas d agua. It was an 8 am flight so we reached at 11. Our conscientious young one finished her Kumon on the flight. So, as soon as we landed, it was straight to the pool. The hotel was positioned on a cliff over looking the sea, so the view was quiet good. The weather, as expected was boiling hot in the high 20s. After the pool,  some pizza from the snack bar and changing in our spacious and clean room, we tried walking down the steps to the beach. However it was pretty late by then and people were coming back, so we decided to just take a rain check.

Though we went for the standard room, it was spacious and pleasant. The sea facing rooms were not refurbished and those blocks did not have a lift so it all worked out good.

K had fever the previous few days, but still had been at work..I had been running around sorting the new uniform and my Diwali stitching and the young one had badminton camp for the previous two days, where she played for 4 hours each so, we were all knackered.

Also, with a lot of effort from all of us, the young one had made giant leaps in her scores in the k.  Sol last mock test and the inspire mocks 7, 8 and 9 , so we were in a well deserved rest phase ;)

We went in to town to have dinner at  taste of Punjab, where the food was tasteful enough. 

After a restful sleep, The next day we had breakfast overlooking the cliff. We love the food in Portugal usually, but the standard here was  not as good as Madeira or Lisbon but still higher than any other country’s Hotel. The fruits especially were of a very high quality. But no variety of nuts for my porridge or hash browns for the little one.

After taking a few snaps, we went to the beach, played a bit and then we set for our dolphin watch to Albufeira..  we were supposed to go horse riding but that didn’t work out. Though the boat trip was pleasant enough and we saw the cathedral caves and the secret caves formed by rocks that were more than 20 million years old and we loved the submarine and Sphinx rock formations, we could not spot a single dolphin.

We had a quick lunch nearby and also lots of pastries at the famous cafe creek cafeteria ( nothing extraordinary but reasonable enough)and made our way back to the hotel. Dad and daughter went for a swim, I read my Good earth yet again and then went down to join them for the walk to the beach. I took my usual morning my walks in the beach while they rested and played in the waves.

They went for Thai dinner while I had the remains of their pizza from the pool and read my book.

Letters to my young lady 10

Dear Kannamma

You are at the grand old age of 10! You are so proud of this that you mentioned this to all whom you met at the restaurant and airport on our trip to Algarve.

 Though you achieved a distinction in bharathnatyam grade 1, singing grade 2, lamda grade  2, bikeability, swimming silver  and badminton county selection for under 12s this year and piano grade 1 ( the year before last) is already in your kitty..we have taken stock and decided that you would like some other instrument and not piano, bharatnatyam is not what you want and acting lessons and stage coach is what you would like to go for this year. While continuing singing, lambda, badminton and swimming.

You have worked really hard for your eleven plus this year, only to gauge your standard as we already passed the exam to the school we want to go. In maths , you have found a way to tackle time pressure. You now choose only those sums that you know you can do relatively fast and you get them all right. That way despite leaving out one or two sums, you are still scoring really high! Well done Kannamma.

This is typical you. Not getting bogged down by problems but figuring out a way that does not require you to compromise your basic nature. Resilience, perseverance and an intense joy in life are still your core characteristics.

Love you to the moon and back pattu. May each year of your life be happier and filled with more joy and kindness and love than the year before!

Bless you my bundle of joy!

Love
Amma