solitude.in.japanese.garden

perhaps it's too early in the season, there's no hananomichi moment this year as you walk towards the japanese garden.
the azaleas is not in abundance, so you're not hold up too long on the way to the japanese garden like previous year.
one thing for sure, you still enjoy the serenity and the tranquility of this cultured japanese garden. it's relaxing, you sat at the viewing platform, let the cool breeze kissed your face and you became less confined with the stress that bothering you the whole day.  going near to the nature helps you to appreciate God's creation, listening to the whispering birds, observing the swaying leaves and suddenly you're lifted (not in the zen way ).

luke 12:27 consider how the wild flowers grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these

psalm 150:6 let everything that has breath praise the Lord

the truth is you're  not worried but stressed by a delayed decision.  but after one round of solitude in the nature, walking in your own pace, mediate on the word of God, you feel much better now, albeit the decision is still not made.  perhaps the Lord is teaching you about patience and that's what is lacking in you.

meeting.the.locals

it's fine to stay in the resort but you're missing the local portugese elements in the resort.  the breakfast is great but only restrict to international thorough fare.  you really missing the local flavors and let alone the local folks.  so you venture out to a mall nearby...

 the mall looks like any typical outlet in united states.  at the food court wing, you found some local flavors and delicacies and decided to settle down at this stall...

 while he ordered a plate of mix grill that comes in generous portion

 you opt for simple soup and bifana combi.  you wanted to compare the taste of bifana with macau's pork bun.  you loved what you ordered and the piri-piri sauce certainly uplitf the entire bifana experience....

 with the smaller portion lunch, you made room for tea and this is what you haul back to the hotel from the mall, two pastel de natal and one hong kong polo bun lookalike bun (in fact taste alike too)

and enjoyed it as your afternoon tea with this view....

life is about beaches

back to your travel tale.
the actual weather seems to be always better than the forecast a day before or even hour by hour forecast for that matter.  you seize your moments here after all, it's only an extended weekend and they are so many beaches,let alone the sun that you cannot pre-order.

So you went to the following:

 castelo beach - compare to coelha beach, you have your preference for coelha

evaristo beach  - you loved this beach with its white glass restaurant, it's pristine,deserted and no real pathway leading to the beach, still you love the solitude here having the whole beach for yourselves. 

Lourenco beach is not easily accessible since there's no pathway, so it's a bit of walk down the slope on the unpaved cliff.  there isn't a cafe or restaurant by the beach, so it's pretty barren and quiet, but if solitude and minimum disturbances is what you want, this was indeed a paradise on earth....

Gale beach - the largest and most commercial beach with many cars, sun tanners and the music of the eighties buzzing out loud from the beach cafe.  it's was really windy when you arrived but still you're able to find a spot for sun tanning, you learned the trick, as long as you are in between the rocks, out of the wind, it's a pleasure to sit, tan and watch the waves go by. the sound of the sea and wave is always soothing to your soul.

the beaches in algarve is superb, well at least not the type of beach that you're accustomed to in asia or other part of europe. you like the fact that there's always a bit of stroll, hike or climb to reach the plateau of the rock. right there you have the overview of the beach and the atlantic sea.

the last few days you have been reflecting about the rock, the plateau is a firm foundation and it symbolized Jesus, your firm foundation. The view or the outlook on top represent the bigger plan that God has installed for you. Without reaching the top, you will never know His divine plan and how you fit into the bigger perspective.

p/s:  the truth is i may have mixed up one or two photo from different beach, but that really doesn't matter to me especially when i have 5 beaches at my disposal within the proximity of 4~5 km from sao rafael. 

wok.family.time

it's been a bit over exaggerating with eating out and feasting, simply reason is fil is in the town.  you went to this wok restaurant in the middle of the country which serves a variety of  cuisine, from wok to teppanyaki, cantonese dim sum to some dishes.

for you, what the highlight is the unlimited serving of crabs, generous portion of salmon sashimi and teppanyaki of sole fish and steak.  and then you will venture to the freshly made noodle made by the chef from china and end with the small chinese snack.

::embrace.milestones::

tonight you celebrated your 12.5 wedding anniversary quietly. it's a milestone and certainly worth the celebration and embrace.  you're thankful for the journey together so far. and you know it's because you both hold truly to Jesus whom you've placed Him as the center of your life and marriage.

 a pre dinner drink at the roof top terrace. it's too windy to sit out there but you're happy with your vinho verde.

 he was unwell, so you decided to stay put and dine in the hotel's restaurant. you had a foie gras as starter, sea bass as your main course and saint honore as your dessert.  the food is good but mediterranean thorough fare
his cod cappaccio and earthy ham/mushroom risotto to tame his upset stomach.
you won't mind you didn't get to celebrate this in an even special way, for it's in good time an din bad time that you will continue to embrace one another.  after all this trip itself is already a blessing to you both.

leisure.hike

after coelha and lunch, he returned to the hotel to rest and you decided to check out the cliff and go for a leisure hike with an aim to eventually do some sun tanning.  the photos are pretty much self explanatory. the view is superb, as you walk on the plateau you know you are standing on your firm foundation, your God is steadfast and steady rock.  at this height, you're able to have an even better outlook to arrifes and sao rafael beaches.  you loved your moments there where you converse silently with God in spirit. you thanked God for this revelation that He is your firm foundation and that He has a greater and bigger plan for you, that you will only see the big picture when you overcome and climb to the top.
you spent the rest of your time at the beach, your body needs some vitamin d and you desperately need some tan too.

::vincent::

this year keukenhof is paying a tribute to the renowned dutch artist vincent van gogh. and this tulip portrait is planted in vincent's image.

and there are several indoor exhibition that remodel after his masterpieces.

this is vincent's room in southern france...

and there are several outdoor painting side that allow visitor to play vincent wannabe or play artists.  you really have the urge to pick up your paint brush again... 

declaration.of.love

in the language of flowers, tulips mean declaration of love.

and you want to declare your love to tulip in this post.  you're amazed by the variety of tulips in keukenhof

and marveled at the elegant purple off white tulips

while admiring the dutch orange color, tulips

you set your eyes on the peony kinda tulips that you first discovered in years...

you loved the layout of the tulips with mixture of different colors, with some tulips have ombre tone

this is a whole big playground for anyone who loves tulips.  lowland is at its best this time of the year....

with spring the weather can be hit or missed,  it was sunny, a little breeze but overall stable during your visit to keukenhof. and you imagine yourself dining under the chandelier hanging on the tree...

blue sky, tulips, windmill... what a dutch glories...
and today you'r thankful to live in this country.

language.of.flowers

a brief pause from your travel tale.
you paid a visit to the dutch world renowned garden - keukenhof this year.  while you visited the tulip fields almost on annual basis, you have not stepped in to keukenhof for a decade or more.  lost in flowers? never! in fact you're ever so inspiring by the different type of flowers and bulbs you saw in dutch garden. it's a playground.  set the tulip aside, you loved everything you see there and the variety of flowers... and as you sorting your photos, you decided to find out the meaning of the flowers. sof for all the flowers in this post, you have referenced their meaning from the book the language of flowers. by venessa diffenbaugh.
chrysanthemum - truth

 muscari (bluebell) - constancy, allium - prosperity

 daffodil - new beginnings, myosotis - forget me not

 hyacinth* - constancy , cherry blossom  - impermanence

hydrangea - dispassion

lily - majesty

p/s: * can't locate the meaning in the book, not for the pink hyacinth anyway, so the constancy is another meaning taken from the search engine.