And live your life like there is no tomorrow, son

This weekend was finally time for us to bon voyage ourselves to the amazing Algarve. The travelparty consisted of 8 cast&crew members so no doubt it was gonna be a friggin fizzing time! We met with the Barcelona gang in Porto where our journey began. And once we arrived and got our cars, we couldnt believe what goldpit we had fallen into. Let me paint you a picture.. in order to still have liquidity after this trip, we booked the cheapest vehicles with no airconditioning and definitely no panorama roof. But what did we end up with?? These huge carriages to ride around with equipped with cool air to help us survive the hot algarvian weather and the austrian duo and myself were even blessed with a seethrough roof for enjoying the amazing view to a sky full of stars!! And this was ofcourse the first song we played in the moving planetarium - greetings to Tiago ;) Inspired by the horrible bosses, I sat my bum down in the middle of the backseat to get a good view of everything that was happening around. Each of us had an important role to play in getting from point A to point B- a short introduction - the responsible and very roundabout-and-parkinglot-circling-loving driver Lisa, the ever-so-talented navigationsspezialist Christina and me.. dj, entertainer or bag-giver, which ever one was most needed. The first destination was our airbnb provided house in Quarteira, which was supposed to be equipped with a pool, but go figure, no pool. But also no problem, cuz eventually we didnt even spend any time at the house. Except the last evening..drumroll until the end where Im telling about that :)

So after having a lovely breakfast with the girls, we headed to praia de Benagil - one of the most beautiful beaches in Europe. I couldnt even imagine it being so impressive! Even the beaches in Lagos couldnt rock my boat as hard as Benagil. The water formed rings of different blues, beautiful crystal clear water, which was a perfect combination of salty and cool. The beach was surrounded by grottas from both sides and didnt reveal all of its glory at once, but when we thought to swim more out to sea with Christina, we saw the awesomeness this place had to offer. Right around the corner was a breathtaking cave with two openings, and another one on top, so the sun could warm a patch of sand inside. We were extremely lucky, cuz it was low tide, the sun was just on the right spot, and it was possible for us to swim in there and enjoy this nature-made miracle. And I really treasure that memory because forcibly we had no devices on us and could just lay there and take in the moment.

 This remarkable beachexperience was followed by a ride to Lagos, where we stumbled upon a really sweet resto, where the staff really went out of their way to satisfy the customers. We were discussing where and what to have for dessert, and the waitress must have heard my speech about wanting something bitable and chocolatey, cuz they brought us 2 plates with the tastiest most chocolatiest chilliinfused brownies I had ever tasted!! It was sided with limecreme, and the combo of the two made all of us grunt with each bite. And did I mention it was on the house! 

But the evening was far from over, our next stop was cabo da são Vicente, the end of Europe - the place to be when the sun is setting. Needless to say the view was worth the drive. And as soon as the sun had been sucked into the far horizon, the lighthouse on top of the cliff started showing way. As it was thursday, day of the second semifinal of the Eurovision, the simultaneousness of the sunset and the show caused me to miss most of it. But as soon as we had aplauded the sun on its way, we drove to Sagres and found an empty café with a TV, asked them to switch to eurovisão and I could at least see the recaps and also the fresh finalists. Eurovision is not so big in Portugal and the owner of the place explained that it was cool 30 years ago haha. I have to say this was really the perfect day!! And the caves must have really made an impression on me. I found myself in the middle of the night standing on the bed, jumping down from it, and trying to reach the insides of the ´caves´ with my hands, to guide myself out. Good that christina woke me up..or did i wake her up.. either way it was creepy :D:D

 The next day we spent visiting different beaches and gettin our tans on! The beaches in Algarve are made truly spectacular by the different types of cliffs decking them - grottas, red cliffs, rockcliffs. After frying ourselves and having a photoshoot with my dino, we headed to Albufeira, the old fishermen village with the best nightlife here. We werent even in the barr arrea, but it was still pretty cool! There were a few karaoke bars and ofc I wanted to sing something, but it didnt ever cross my mind to do it alone. And then the girls encouraged me to go for it. Ok it was extorsion - either I sing, or no eurovision hihi :D baaah, I was sooo nerveous, and the few cocktails I had had, suddenly disappeared and I sobered up in a heartbeat. So I sang the ultimate karaoke song, Can´t fight the moonlight. My throat had shrunken into the size of a bloodvessel and it was too hard to carry a tune, but I guess it got better in the end, when I felt a little more relaxed :D But Im sooooo thankful for the support from my girls, its something I had always wanted to do but never had the courage or the push!!! :)  The live band nextdoor was amazing and the empty barclub with the nicest DJ made me feel like we are VIP. I asked for some kizomba, and in addition to the best muzic we also got some free shots with a little show from the barman. Aaaand as always when im wearing sandals, I dont just get some liquer down my throat but also on my toes:)

And finally the big day had arrived. It started with the loveliest little hike on top of the grottos and through the fallen caves. Due to too big waves the boat trip the others wanted to take, was cancelled, which was such a pity, cuz its really a must-do in Algarve. Im so lucky to have experienced the grottas in all the different ways, ok flying i can´t check off. 

So the preparations for the evening began, a little grill and sangria and at 8 it was already time to tune in, which for me was unusually early, but not as early as to the Australians. It is suuuch a great feeling to have your country host the event, not that I really remember.. but i´m kinda guessing. Also it was so cool to see the show with so many different nationalities all together. So funny to see the reactions, when neighbours either give you points or dont, and have a better insight to how the neighbouring votes work in other countries. I have never been one to think about the bonds we share with our neighbouring countries, I always cast my vote to whoever I like. But it made me feel a little sad, like it or nor, that is a part of the Eurovision, and if we cant expect votes from our closest countries, then happens what happened this time to Germany and Austria, who finished without any points.. Like the Austrian singer sang: we are the zeroes of our time xD And even Estonia, our song was good enough to get high points from our neighbours but I guess the identity crisis we have as belonging to the Baltic our Scandinavia, is losing some of the votes for us :D But luckily Estonia was picking up the crums and that brought us the 7th place! Even Portugal gave us a point! I would like to think all my portuguese friends voted for my homeland but i severely doubt it. I don´t think they were even watching :D And I am proud to say the little prediction-bet I had with my dad, I nailed. And ofcourse Sweden with its frikkin mindblowing performance deserved the win. I still can´t get enough of watching the cartoony and the dancing god on stage hihi. And really i want to thank you girls for watching the Eurovision with me, it really meant a lot that you would sacrifice your last night in Algarve for that!!!.. But who knows, maybe you will find yourself watching it again next year and thinking damned it i caught the bug aswell :D:D

And now my heartbeat sounds like thunder

Juba ammuammu, kui paradiisiilmad veel püsivalt jäädavaks ei tahtnud end lubada, tegime pisikese daytripi ülepiirimaile Hispaaniasse Vigo linnakesse. See oli nii erinev Portugalist, grandioossem, ma ütleks. Ilm oli imeline ja linn samuti. Aga siestaga on mul tõsised probleemid. Mitte kusagil polnud söögikohta, mis oleks avatud lõunatamiseks keset päeva. Ainult kohvikud maiustustega.. Kuna dinnertime algab alles 7 ajal, siis ainus võimalus ongi kiirtoidukohad ehk burger kingid ja mäkid. Böö! Vigo ise aga nii ilus, rohelusest lokkav, meri, ilus arhitektuur - what more can you ask for. Külastasime ka ühte muuseumi, kus oli kunst minu maitse järgi - abstraktikam värk ja mustrid.

Oleme siin veidi üritusi korraldanud, kuid üks spontaanne väljaminek algas nagu alati resi köögis istumisega, saateks laulud 90´ndate popimaastikult. Britney party!! Algul panime niisama vanu lemmiklaule, kuid lõpuks olime 5kesi ümber laua, kus kõlarid meile imelist meloodiat lasid, ja tantsisime ja laulsime kaasa happy as a bunch of peaches. Ma ei saa ilmselt seda oma kirjutistega eadsi anda, kui lahe see tegelikult oli :D Ja laulda meile meeldib. Olin oma bucket listi lisanud karaoke laulmise siin ja lõpuks sain selle maha kriipsutada. Ajasime suure kamba kokku ja neljapäeva õhtul läksime FOZi, kus on aegajalt karaoke nights. Aga see polnud nagu meil Helsingi baaris või kusagil.. tuled põlesid, inimesed istusid liialt intelligentselt laudade taga.. mu julgus pani kohe plehku. Lõpuks laulsime neljakesi laule, mida me ise ei valinud ja mis üllatusena ette ilmusid. Tegelikult on see kohutav, kui suure karjaga laulma minnakse aga no what can you do, kui üksi rahva ees piss püksi tulex :D

Aprilli algul lugesin feissist teadet Eurovisiooni video bridge kohta, mis kujutab endast erinevates riikides või kohtades filmitud klippi, mida saab ühendada teise inimesega teises kohas. Hakkasin kohe suuurt plaani tegema, kuidas teha vinge video ja kaasata on oi kui palju inimesi! Aga mu idee oli vist liiga keeruline ja see langes unustuste hõlma.. kuni siis aprilli viimasel päeval oma bucket listi lahti tegin ja sealt ühe tähtsa rea lugesin. Ja ega ma ilma asjata asju oma Portugali listi ei pane, need peab kõik maha saama tõmmata! Aega oli üks päev, et teha uus beebim plaan, filmida videod ja editeerida. Ja et asi veidi kergemaks teha kasutasin küll erinevaid rahvusi aga kõik sai filmitud ikka siin oma Vianakeses. Cheat! Video seisnes siis apelsini elukeses, kuidas ta käest kätte antakse ja temast lõpuks mahl tehakse :D Istusin siis 7 h köögis läpsi taga ja editeerisin lookest kokku. Ja ma olen nii õnnelik, et selle video tegime, sest isegi, kui Eurovisiooni mehikesed ei aktsepteeri seda, siis on meil veel üks marulahe mälestus meie eluparimast ajast siin :) Aga what do u think kas ma mitte ei hüppaks õnnest kuu peale, kui meie videot näidataks TÄNA poolfinaalis või finaalis?!?!?!?! Siiski parem loota halvimat ehk, siis, mitte unistada sellest :D Aga jah, täna first semifinal, Eesti astub üles favoriidina selles poolfinaalis Rassiiiija kõrval. Oi blin. Kas ma saaksin veel õnnelikum olla..vastus on negatiivne. Ja õnnevalem on lihtsamast lihtsam - (erasmus + people + time + eurovision)*Portugal!

  

Mõni nädal tagasi oli meil vinge plaan külastada jälle põhja - seekord siinpool piiri ja Melgaco nimelist linna, kus toimus suur veinifestival. Enne sinnaminekut oleksime veetnud päeva rahvuspargis, näinud kaunist imelist Portugali ja edasi tugevdama sidet veiniga. Aga ilm oli sõnuseletamatult halb! Vihma ainult kallas ja kallas ja kallas. Ja targem oli reisuke ära jätta, et hoida oma tervist ilusateks ilmadeks, sest plaan sisaldas autos magamist :D

Aga koos vihmaga jõudis ka mu vennaraasuke kohale. Poiss tuli Austriast keikkalt otse siia - siuke maadeavastaja. Peale paaripäevast vihmaõhus ligunemist lendasime Algarvesse, kus ligunesime hoopis basseinivees (mis polnud sugugi soe). Algarves sain lõpuks troopikat tunda ja see on jälllegi nii erinev põhjast. Algarve on täpselt see, mis ettekujutus on inimestel lõunamaadest. Viana ja põhja Portugal sootuks erinev. I love my city aga Algarve on midagi awwwsumit!! Tegime küll esimese päeva endale raskeks magamata ööga, kuna Portos oli käimas semana de academica, mis tähendab seda et no classes, just party ja seda terve nädala. Linn oli täis mustades trajedes üliõpilasi, or as we like to call them - Harry pottereid. Ja Porto kesklinnast veidi eemal, mere ääres, oli suur festivaliala, mis tol päeval oli paksult rahvast täis. Lend oli hommikul kl 7, seega suundusime otse lennujaama, kuid queima das fitase ala ei külastanud.

 Kui siis lõpuks Lagosesse peale pikka reisi kohale jõudsime, ei jõudnud hotelligi kohale, kui meile grottode paadireisi pakuti. Kuna seda niikuinii plaanis teha oli, võtsime härjal sarvist. Saime kotid nende kontorisse jätta ja tunda taaskord portugallaste abivalmidust. Jaa siis meie poolteist tundi kestev paadireis algaski. Olime vaid 4kesi + 2 giidi ja me saime igavese naljanina omale. Tänu temale oli see tripp palju põnevam, kui mõne vana kuivikuga. Ja ta rääkis nii palju nendest grottadest, mitte nagu järgmisel päeval kanuu-paadireisi giidimehikesed, kellelt mitte midagi huvitavat ei kuulnud. Grottad on kas natural või artificialid koopad ja seal olid nad erinevateks kujutisteks tehtud - elevandid, papagoid, kaamlid ja mida kõike oma silm ette kujutada suutis. Ja järgmisel päeval siis tegime teisi boattripi, seekord suurema paadi/laevaga. Kanuutasime koobaste vahel klaaspõhjaga kahepaadistes kohutava õe-venna koostööga. Pärast oli laeval niisama chilliaeg, hüppasime külma ookeani, tegin 10 sekundi snorgeldamiskatse, mida peaks uuesti proovima, sest see jäi natuke haledaks :D Sain ka tõesliselt meeldejääva toiduelamuse, ühes maroko restos, ma isegi ei tea, mis selle roa nimi oli, aga see oli orgasmiline. Hiina riis ja köögiviljad ja spicyyyy staff. Olen armunud vürtsikasse toitu ehkki mu taluvus veel kõige parem ei ole, aga see on paranemas. 

Lagosest edasi läksime lähedal asuvasse pisikülla Alvorisse, kus oli meil bookitud 4 estrela hotell ühe Algarve ilusaima ranna ääres. See oli maapealne paradiis!! Kahju küll, et ilm oli kehva, saime täit luksust alles järgmisel päeval kogeda. Ja ilmselt polnud neil hotell täis bookitud, sest saime upgrade oma tavalisest toakesest deluxe sviidile, mis oli nagu suur korter!! Seal võtsime kõik, mis võimalik peesitamisest ja logelemisest aga seda ka väikse jõusaalikülastusega:)

Niii ja nüüd siis jutuke ühest lahedamatest äpardustest, mis juhtunud on. Olime Olxiga teel koju, Vianasse, lend oli õhtul ja meil oli umbes tunnike, et jõuda rongijaama, kus oli plaan hüpata viimase rongi peale, mis Portost koju toob. See oli minu datatöötluse andmetel kõige hilisem variant laupäeva õhtul. Saime ilusti metroo peale ja see ootas veel 15 minutit peatuses. OK. Aga ma ei olnud uurinudki kui kaua metroo lennujaamast rongijaama sõidab, sest appearantly, it takes way too long! Kui meil oli 10 minutit rongina ja 5-6 peatust sõita, siis mu närvid olid üles ütlemas. Lootus küll sureb viimasena aga närvirakud surevad päris kiiresti. Ja opp, kuhu ma ikka oma jutuga tüürin.. jäima 3 minutit hiljaks. Esimese asjana läksin kohe steptslit otsima, sest mu kullakalli telefoni vahetamatu aku streigib pikaajalistel käikudel.. pikaks võib lugeda kõike üle 5 tunni. Uurisin, kas ehk on mingi buss veel minemas.. läksime küsisime abi rongijaama migni kontorimehikese käest, kes oli niii abivalmis, mu süda läheb hellaks, kui mõtlen kui abivalmid kõik on :D Kuid ei midagi. Siis hakkasin oma feissist küsima kõigilt portokatelt, kas on mingit võimalust neil öömaja pakkuda, aga loomulikult laupäeva õhtu ja queima õhtu, kes ikka kodus on. Isegi sulkatreenerid polnud kodused. Lõpuks mu alatine õlekõrs Luis pakkus välja variandi, et tuleksime sinna, free entry, sest ta seal töötamas, free wine, sest ta sealt töötamas. LÄKI! Ja kirsiks tordil oli, et peaesineja oli James Arthur ja jällegi olin ma terve nädala jahunud, et tahaks minna, tahaks minna. Perfeito! Kontsert oli loomulikult awesome, pidu oli ülilahe ja mu jutukestepagas sai jälle ühe stoori võrra rikkamaks :)