Surprise Birthday

Not for our friend, Padre Luís, but for us; just thought we were going for a meal with the Amigos at his house in Vendas Novas. Thankfully, we have a system organised for getting a joint birthday present from the group, which had been done - we just had to pay our share. This sort of thing happens quite a lot to us here, not sure if it's the lack of FB, which the Portuguese appear to use a lot, or something else.

Anyway, because Luís always seems to acquire extra friends wherever he goes, he'd organised for us to celebrate in a roomy restaurant, to give more space (still under the 20 allowed). As ever here, loads of food, litres of his signature sangria, and good champagne brought by Senhor Galileu. And then, another bottle of dessert wine to do an Alentejano toast at five past midnight, when he was actually born - which ends by tipping your empty glass over your head. Thankfully, I wasn't made to tip my still full one, which I left quietly on the bar. 

Slept over at his house, as we're going today to Mora, where we used to live, to do some pastoral visiting, though there has been an outbreak there, and folk are terrified, apparently... 

Gratefuls:
- Padre Luís, this special person, who we are so glad to be friends with
- privileged insights to the culture we live in
- safety on the roads, and beauty to drive through