Can you guess what I'm doing?

Sintra National Palace

It took me five years to really understand how to access and deliver WOW! experiences to my clients visiting Turkey and now I am on a crash course to do the same for Portugal.

View from the castle at Obidos

Last year, I travelled Portugal by car from Oporto in the North to Faro – in the Algarve – in the South, staying in Pousadas and other charming hotels along the way.  After Portugal, I drove to Seville and then up to Madrid.  It was a lot of driving but the roads are fantastic and there are hours of olive groves and changing terrain colours to hold your passenger’s attention.

As I meet and interact with other Virtuoso members in this part of the world, as well as others associated with the tourism industry of Portugal – and especially the beautiful sub-tropical Portuguese island of Madeira – so my library of photographs grows.  So, for now, while I work on private groups and other client files and arrange yet more meetings, I will post some pictures taken in the past week.

Traditional Farming techniques in Madeira (West)!

Madeira - Island of Contrasts (West)

As travellers venture further afield looking for those truly unique travel experiences, it seems to me that what many are seeking is some reassurance that not everybody has succumbed to the material consumerism so prevalent in Western society.  In Portugal you will find warm-hearted, friendly and sincere people, tradition in all aspects of the culture (farming, food, music, dance etc.) as well as keen family values (Sundays are for church and family.)

World-class, contemporary cuisine at Ritz Four Seasons, Lisbon

Don’t get me wrong though, this is not a backward country.  You will see satellite dishes on the roofs, leading edge design in architecture, hotels and cities,  and most people seem to carry iPhone or Blackberry.  But there is something about this country – and if you think Portugal, you must include Madeira Island – that is refreshingly traditional.  Luxury blends with rustic – beautifully. Value for money, I recommend that you put Portugal at the top of your list if you want a glimpse of how life used to be in Canada or England without neglecting your preference for luxury.

If you have ever seen those pesky little flies in your kitchen, you may have wondered how they knew about your bowl of fruit and where they come from.   I find this to be particularly noticeable when  there is a ripe banana or tomatoes sitting in a bowl as I don’t keep these in the refrigerator.

This article from the University of Kentucky’s College of Agriculture describes where they come from but also provides a remedy for ridding your fruit basket or those little darlings.

My suggestion?  Keep fruit and vegetables in the refrigerator and remove an hour or so before eating or better yet, eat it while it is still fresh from the market!

Windmills in Bodrum

Every day is laundry day in the Summer … because I can dry it outdoors!   I love watching our laundry blow in the wind!

I’m not sure if its my Italian heritage or the fact that in Britain, most homes have a washing line of sorts, but I love to use the fresh air to dry laundry and have a real aversion to using a tumble drier.  Even in the winter, other than for large items such as sheets, I prefer to hang laundry to dry on a wooden rack that lowers over my sink in the laundry room.  Large items will find their way into the drier in winter, when damp or cold conditions prevail outside,  but I just don’t get the same sense of satisfaction when I remove and fold them ready for ironing that I do when I remove sheets from the washing line.  The scent on outdoor-dried sheets can only be described as “fresh.”Most of my friends think I am nuts as they have grown up with tumble driers and using highly scented fabric softeners.  However, a couple have installed outdoor lines and have grown to love them!

Now, it seems the idea of line-drying laundry may be catching on more widely.  Today’s North Shore News had a great article about a “new” product that will help those living in condominiums and apartments to hang their laundry to dry outside.  There may be a few aesthetic roadblocks in terms of leasing agreements and strata byelaws but I hope that Hogan Wood will be successful in motivating more people to dry their laundry the environmentally-savvy way while saving energy and reducing living costs.

Home-grown San Marzano tomatoes ripening

If you know me, you will know why I have not been writing many posts for my blog lately.

It’s Summer and like the bumper-sticker says, I’d rather be … sowing, harvesting, tending, pruning, walking, meeting friends and generally enjoying the extra joy that comes to me each day from beautiful blue skies and sunshine.

Each morning, I enjoy my espresso while I catch up on emails and tend to client files.  Later, I catch up with the tasks and errands that we all have and (here’s the best part)  wherever I am and whatever I am doing, my clients are still able to reach me.  I was a willing victim of Apple’s brilliant marketing a couple of years back and switched my Blackberry for an iPhone and my notebook computer works almost anywhere and sits inside my handbag allowing me to contact company databases etc. in the drop of a hat.  My wireless account enables me to stay in touch with everybody;  family, friends and clients.

Years ago, my market research firm was agency of record for market research for BC Mobility (latterly Telus Mobility)  and I can remember talking to Autotel and Mobiltel Users about the introduction of cellular technology into Canada and their propensity to switch to the new technology.  I conducted focus groups with consumers who found the concept interesting, but difficult to fathom.  Well … some years later, and many research studies later, here we are – totally mobile wherever in the world we may be.  I like it.  It really talks to the sense of freedom that early adopters of the technology were anxious to experience.

I love wireless technology and how it facilitates individual expressions of freedom.  If you, on the other hand,  prefer to be “wired” for your communications, that’s fine too.  Just let me know so that I communicate with you in a way that is comfortable with you.

Enjoy your Summer, whatever you will be doing and remember I am just an email, phone call or tweet away!