Breakfasts, Beaches and Bougainvillea

I have been in Hong Kong for 5 days now, but somehow I already feel like I need another holiday. Markets are all over the place, London is plagued by "shopping-mall" looters and in Europe 'Super mice' resist most poisons :) , what happened to a quiet month of August? On a more positive note, yesterday I went to see THE Red Hot Chilli Peppers in concert which was absolutely amazing. These guys have such incredible energy and presence on stage. Nuts!!! 

Anyways I have so many posts left from the holidays cannot wait to share more of them of with you.

After spending 5 days in Spain with my parents we went on to join my husband's family in Portugal. Quinta Do Lago in the Algarve is a magical place that has managed to escape the fate of the overbuilt and tourist infested South of Spain. Time there has a different pace, the air smells of pine trees, freshly cut grass and the sea.

There is a long road, punctuated by roundabouts, that leads you to a UNESCO protected lagoon where the tides come and go every 6 hours, changing faces: from shallow marshes full of birds and kids looking for crabs in the morning, to a full powerful unrecognisable river in the afternoon. A wooden long bridge crosses the lagoon, taking you to the white sandy dunes that hide an eternity of blue; the powerful and seemingly endless Atlantic ocean. Unlike the Mediterranean, the Atlantic feels bluer, colder, cleaner and much more powerful.

Every morning here we have a perfect brunch; with fruits, eggs, fresh baguettes, ham and cheese.  Then after reading some papers and lazing around everyone heads down to the beach.  We are always many: my husband, his parents, the sisters of his mom, the cousins, his brother and all the friends. We swim, fool around, scream, chat and shout and then we have a long afternoon nap lulled into deep sleep by the sound of the ocean and watched over by the endless blue skies.

As the day draws to a close, it gets a little cooler and the beach gets emptier, we wake up from an afternoon nap and head home. We cross the bridge back to the other side, leaving behind us the peaceful dunes and the roaring ocean. We head back to house we snack and chat more and then it's time to change for dinner. I love these relaxing easy days that fly by too quickly.

My husbands family are an incredible bunch that deserve a very special mention in the next post.

P.S. The beautiful lady in the photo sitting down is his mom, the one laying down is her sister.

{As for the outfit  I bought this dress on sale in a small shop in Portugal it's by American Vintage, the sandals are my new Bimba & Lola sandals they are the softest, most comfortable shoes I have ever owned. Bag Alexa Mulberry, sunglasses Prism.}