The rain finally stopped. The skies cleared. The sun came out. After yesterday's monsoon, which kept me indoors, it was clear that the return of reasonable weather (and reasonably mild weather at that) meant that I was going to leave the flat. Vila Franca de Xira was my chosen destination... it is a small town about 20 miles out of Lisbon, and it is a place that I have always liked - it may be populated by people who work in Lisbon, but it still has its heart; it still has an identity and a soul that is quite clearly Portuguese (no tourist destination this!). Situated on the western bank of the River Tagus, it has some lovely (and exceptionally cheap) fish restaurants - just like the one in this picture, which is where Anabela and I had our lunch, and delicious it was too. I spent another lovely afternoon in the company of Anabela, who made the journey all the way from Cascais. We walked for miles - even halfway across the first road bridge to cross the Tagus, the Ponte Marechal Óscar Carmona (the president who initially appointed Salazar in 1928). A lovely, warm day, albeit with a bit of a cold wind at times, with excellent company. Who could possibly ask for more?