The 2nd Gurmé Awards were held in the magnificent Portuguese Consulate, built for the 1929 Expo – a stunning building. It was an honour to be invited to the ceremony, and a thrill to watch friends being acknowledged. But the building kept diverting my attention. None of my photos did it justice.

After the awards ceremony we were all invited to a cocktail event in the main courtyard, which was lovely. But after an hour or so I was feeling a bit overwhelmed and made my “escape” (as my friend Jeanine told me later, this is known in Spanish as “leaving through the cat door”) and met up with some friends for a penúltima at La Azotea, where the vibe was much more relaxed. I do love these crazy events, but just a bit at a time.