Relative Something

Sunday, September 26, continued…

Poor Stephanie was full of grief over the death of Tiddles, and the dark cloud of loss blanketed the hearts of all of us as we went through the motions of having lunch. Discussion of trivial things seemed callous and hollow. Victoria had prepared a signature dish of seafood and rice for us that was unfairly overshadowed by events. We soldiered on and set our sights toward the plan for the afternoon.

The Rowcliffes were going to drive us to see the birthplace of Portugal and the historic castle there. That meant the horses needed to be moved down to the bottom field before we left. It took some doing to get Frida’s lead rope hooked, but once that was done, Ian and Cyndie walked the horses down. Then Cyndie quickly changed attire and we packed into Victoria’s car for the drive. It was about an hour’s drive away to Guimarães. We took a self-guided tour of the incredible historic castle there, walked down to see the chapel, and then over to the statue of Afonso Henriques, the first king of Portugal.

It was an interesting contrast to find ourselves transported from the blissful serenity of the farm, into the public locale busy with tourist traffic. We walked down some of the quaint cobblestone-paved narrow streets that have buildings right to the edge, and strolled out to a public square that has cafe seating and a street musician entertaining. We found a table and paused for food and drink at tea time.

During a pleasant exchange of conversation in which Cyndie is offering reasons Stephanie should consider visiting us to check out Minneapolis film schools,  I make a major faux pax blunder by referring to our empty house (thinking about our kids having moved out), mentioning I finally “got rid of our cat.”!! I catch myself, but too late, and apologize right away for such an insensitive comment. A bit of my remorse is tempered by Ian and Victoria’s immediate response, revealing their understanding and good humor, as Ian immediately remarks, “Fawlty Towers,” and Victoria says, “Adolph Hitler.” (A reference to “The Germans,” one of the most popular episodes of the BBC sitcom.)

We arrived back at the farm just before sunset. Immediately, Cyndie changed shoes so that she could assist Ian with bringing the horses up. Doll and Sebastian were mischievous and didn’t allow Cyndie to get Lucy’s harness on, even though Lucy seemed interested and willing. They chased her away. We needed to wait for Ian to arrive, and then even he had difficulty directing Doll and Sebastian to back off and let Lucy and Frida go first. Eventually, we succeed with our plan and once the horses are up, Cyndie and I excuse ourselves to the cottage and give the Rowcliffes some evening time of their own.

I try to do some internet posting, but the connection is slow this night, so I give up and go to sleep at a decent hour.