It started so beautifully in May 2019: suddenly a swarm of bees was hanging in our garden and from then…
Nocturnal visitors
Unnoticed, nocturnal visitors have been in our garden. This is surprising because they have a distinctive appearance: a white, fluffy…
the bulls are arriving!
Happily, on arrival, we see a familiar face. It is of a kind man from the area and whenever we…
to the hospital
What are hospitals like in Portugal?
It was not as bad as I feared.
Portugal by train
Faro, the biggest city in southern Portugal and the capital of the Algarve, lies more than 600 km from us.…
sending bills
Before I officially registered as a freelancer in Portugal, I heard about ‘recibos-verdes’. That sounded beautiful and mysterious in Portuguese.…
business codes: CIRS and CAE
When you start a business in Portugal you will encounter CIRS and/or CAE codes.
freelancing in Portugal
Since last month I am officially a ‘trabalhador independente’ in Portugal. If I had known how easy it was to…
Tax in Portugal
Since we officially live in Portugal, we also pay tax here. The tax authorities are called ‘As Finanças’. As soon…
A bit off-colour
Going to the doctor and hospital in Portugal: our experiences with the public health service
New work!
I just uploaded a new video commissioned by the Municipality of Cinfães. Last weekend there was a cultural event there…
Focus on Portugal
We were not very fond of social media when we still lived in the Netherlands. But since we emigrated, I’m…
DIY roof renovation_part 3
This year we are not complaining about wrapping the roof to protect it from the rain while we are renovating.…
on the scaffold
‘I’m going up the scaffold’ is a much-used phrase these months at As Rolhas. And we often sigh how glad…
DIY roof renovation_part 2
When I look up, I can’t believe that Nuno and I renovated this dormer ourselves. Look at that! With so…
student life
Coincidentally, this month we caught several glimpses of Portuguese student traditions. Our own student life is far beyond us. So…