Nine days in Portugal taking care of hilltop villa, two dogs (Charlie and Dusty), 4 chickens, 4 cast and a pond full of fish. Once again, it was great to settle in for an extended stay, somewhere we could unpack and feel settled. Alice loved that there was a full kitchen, and not the basic hotplate we usually encounter at airbnb.com accommodations. The result were several very tasty meals. I even cooked a couple of times.

We spent our days reading, taking hikes each day (either up in the hills or on the Atlantic beaches), cooking, occasional resturant visits and a few tourist excursions . The weather was warm during the days, but cool at night. We stoked the wood-burning stove and watched English speaking TV for the first time in about three months. I got my fill of CNN, BBC and the Universal Channel. Lots of old Law and Order and NCSI episodes.

We also took advantage of a good Wi-Fi connection and talked via FaceTime and Skype to friends and family over the holiday season. We also caught up on our blogging responsibilities.