Two more weeks until Christmas ^^

On the 8th my mother and I finally decorated the Christmas tree. It's neither a big nor a real tree, but it looks just perfect in the corner of the living room. This year's decorations are silver and white!

There's also a small crib with Thun figures.

My travel to Portugal: Oporto & Lisbon pictures

Though I would have equally loved to go to the seaside with my friends this summer, we opted for a less relaxing but surely memorable sightseeing holiday in Portugal. We spent 2 days in Oporto and 3 days in Lisbon. Both cities are fascinating, though quite different, and I was really glad to be able to eat fish everyday. The food was good and really cheap everywhere but especially in Oporto, where we could also have a taste of the famous Porto wine. During our stay in Lisbon, my friends and I also had the chance to visit the small coastal city of Cascais and see the beach.
It's definitely a holiday I would recommend, though maybe not in August, when it's way too hot to be walking around all day.

I took at least 200 pictures but most of them were unfortunately quite horrible. I seriously need to polish my photographic skills before the next journey!

Inside the Casa da Musica

Belém

Cascais

Odd weather, strange mood and a curious diet

I should probably be studying right now, but the weather is so hot (it's not even sunny!) that I can hardly get up from the sofa. I'm really sensitive to the weather throughout the whole year, and that's why I'm a bit moody. It's a family trait O_O
But there's another thing that has been bothering me lately. About a month ago I was diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder called "celiac disease", that has been spreading like crazy in the past few years. It's an intolerance to a protein (gluten) found in wheat and some other cereals, and the only cure for it is not to eat food containing that protein for the rest of my life. That means NO MORE BREAD, PIZZA, COOKIES, CAKES....... well, at least the ones I used to buy at the supermaket or at the bakery. I have to buy that stuff at the chemist's now, where they sell products specifically made without gluten. But it's hard getting used to them, 'cause the taste is quite different and variety still lacks, especially for bread. Checking your food is not really a problem when you eat at home, but when you decide to eat outside or go on a holiday, it gets complicated, because you can't always know what's inside your dish, or you need to find a restaurant that makes food for people with gluten intolerance. There aren't many around yet, but I'm hopeful since restaurateurs have slowly started to realize they need to adapt to this new situation.

•ஐ •ஐ •ஐ •ஐ •ஐ •ஐ •ஐ •ஐ •ஐ •

Things that make me happy today:
- my once white and now yellow painted bedroom walls :) the new colour is lovely
- my newly arranged summer holiday in Portugal with my friends (despite the fact that Lisbon is full of pastry shops and I won't be able to eat any pastries, or at least without feeling guilty!)






"Just living is not enough" said the butterfly fairy, "one must have sunshine, freedom and a little flower."
Hans Christian Andersen

Regina Spektor - On the radio

I really love her voice. It makes me shiver at times, but it's also quite relaxing.

">

This is how it works
It feels a little worse
Than when we drove our hearse
Right through that screaming crowd
While laughing up a storm
Until we were just bone
Until it got so warm
That none of us could sleep
And all the styrofoam
Began to melt away
We tried to find some words
To aid in the decay
But none of them were home
Inside their catacomb
A million ancient bees
Began to sting our knees
While we were on our knees
Praying that disease
Would leave the ones we love
And never come again

On the radio
We heard November Rain
That solo's really long
But it's a pretty song
We listened to it twice
'Cause the DJ was asleep

This is how it works
You're young until you're not
You love until you don't
You try until you can't
You laugh until you cry
You cry until you laugh
And everyone must breathe
Until their dying breath

No, this is how it works
You peer inside yourself
You take the things you like
And try to love the things you took
And then you take that love you made
And stick it into some
Someone else's heart
Pumping someone else's blood
And walking arm in arm
You hope it don't get harmed
But even if it does
You'll just do it all again

And on the radio
You hear November Rain
That solo's awful long
But it's a good refrain
You listen to it twice
'Cause the DJ is asleep
On the radio
(oh oh oh)
On the radio
On the radio - uh oh
On the radio - uh oh
On the radio - uh oh
On the radio

Quotes

A fairy seed I planted, so dry and white and old, there sprang a vine enchanted, with magic flowers of gold.

~Marjorie Barrows