Hi,
Happy Birthday Onyx! Our labrador has caught up with our husky and is now 5 years old. But don’t worry, neither of them is slowing down. They still love to get out and explore, even though they are now middle aged. Such troopers!
This past Sunday we all went to a market in a nearby town. The market is called ‘Feira da Tocha’ (868W+2C Tocha, Portugal) and it is the largest market we have been to yet (taking up the grey areas in the central triangle on the map below). Until now, we have only gone to Christmas Markets, but this was an every-Sunday market with everyday items for everyone. We, in particular, were looking for a beaded curtain to hang in front of our back door so that we could keep the door open while discouraging flies from entering the house. Having the back door open is important to Opal, allowing her access that the door generally denies her. It is important to us (because we want Opal to be happy) and also because the weather is beginning to warm up and having a breeze blow through the house would be nice.
We thought it would be easy to purchase this item. We checked out several outdoorsy stores – LeRoy Merlin and Brico Marche (Portuguese stores like Home Depot and Lowes) – but could not find anything like what we were looking for. Baffled by this, we had to do what nobody likes to do…ask for help. I asked our landlady where we could go, and after a brief translation problem, I finally figured out that she said beaded curtains are only sold at markets. Thus, we traveled to Tocha to find us a beaded curtain at the Sunday market.
The market took up several blocks in the center of Tocha, and was quite busy. We got there around 11am, and it had been open since 6am. Stalls and stalls of clothing, shoes, crockery, roasted chickens, sausages, fresh fruits and vegetables, and – yes, we found it – a stall that sold outdoor tools and beaded curtains. I was so happy! Unfortunately for you, the video cut out before we found that stall, so my less-than eloquent discussion with the stall owner was not caught on film. But don’t worry, I’m sure we will stop by more markets in the future!
So, the mission was complete. We stowed the curtains in the car and went back to wander around the rest of the market (we got two because they were less expensive than we expected and the two of them would allow us to keep the courtyard door open for Opal, also). I’m sure that if I had the chance I would love to look more closely at the items for sale, but for now I will content myself with the curtains and remember how to come back here.
Nola