Portugal-South Africa

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Portugal-South Africa

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What, I just came back from vacation? Are you serious? Yep, thats me right about now. It was four weeks of absolute beautiful madness.

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Now the time for vacation had arrived and I was anticipating a decent summer already, especially after all the packing. We traveled from Montpellier to Toulouse and on the way dropped off our dearly beloved cat, Lexi.

Now Toulouse is quite a big city and has so many, many attributes that I just have to do a full post once I get the chance to fully review her beauty! We went for the cassoulet de Toulouse that was highly rated on trip advisor in a cute little restaurant, Chez Emile. I guess I expected Toulouse to be less crowded, but

I was surprised on how around every corner there was something going on. Restaurants were packed and students were overtaking the promenade next to the river with their drinks in hand. It all looked liked an everyday phenomenon.

The following day we flew to Lisbon, Portugal and was transported to our hotel by a very speedy taxi driver. This time I was glued to my seat, whilst looking at the towering apartment buildings along the highway. My husband and I just raised our eyebrows to signal if we were okay. I was doubting there for a second and just said a prayer for in case. My first impression of Lisbon was a bit untrustworthy.

Lisbon is quite impressive with a combination of modern and old… The streets are lined with cobblestones and the walls are murals of their oh so famous tile decorations which are truly so beautiful to me. We took the train from Cascais to Lisbon which lasted about an hour and on this ride you get to see some of the beautiful landmarks that are clearly visible right along the coastline.

We had to stop over at the Time Out the market in Lisbon which is one of the places to visit for sure (if you love food). There are so many restaurants to choose from like Thai food, burgers, vegan and traditional Portuguese cuisine. It took me a while to come to a decision for what I wanted to eat. I went for the Chicken satay skewers, steamed dumplings and a few bites of a mushroom pizza. For dessert I had the Dulce du leche tart (best thing ever!!.

We stayed over in a smaller village, Cascais which is a more chilled environment if a big city feel is not for you. The majestic Miragem hotel gives a broader view of the white beaches and festive restaurants. This little town gives you everything that a small coastal town should like fresh fish, Sangria, friendly staff and a live band!

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Lisbon is quite impressive with a combination of modern and old…

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After four days in sunny Portugal with heaps of seafood, ice cream and g-strings (who knew ) I was about ready for the heart warming SA (and a few extra layers of clothes please.) Once we arrived the fun never stopped. We hopped over to a new family every three days, so there was not a lot of time to digest everything that we were experiencing. Squashed in lunches, coffee dates and business appointments kind off added to our exhaustion, but also kept things interesting because in the cold Freestate there is sometimes a lack of activity. My husband always says that it’s ideal for the ultimate relaxation (and with my mother that constantly feeds him.) Who wouldn’t love the South African hospitality?

Kumbula Safari’s

We ate, ate and ate some more, something that we are very good at! One of the weekends went to a wildfarm near Boshof called, Kumbula safari’s (we liked it so much we went again, like last year)and luckily got to visit the Freestate cultural festival. After so much biltong, drinking a whole lot of red cappuccino’s, devouring a few pannekoek crepes) and having a few barbecues our four weeks have run out once again. I kissed my parent’s goodbye and with puffy eyes I boarded the plane and looked down on to the naked Freestate landscape. Who knew that I would miss a place that has become so every day to me? It’s been almost three years since my first goodbye and it seems just difficult as the first time. It is really the people and not the place that makes you miss “home”.

Now back in France I’m in a new town, new friends, and new adventures. Lexi is curled up on the end of our air BnB apartment bed and she feels at home already. How does she know? Home is what you make it. After two and a half years of living in one place and then moving again, it should start to get easier, but one thing it does is keep things interesting that’s for sure. Who knows what the next two years will bring? Can’t wait to share all of my new experiences with you, it’s going to be fun!

Have a wonderful week!

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December 17, 2016/by Mariza Ebersohn

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