The Portugal Papers

Can you believe it? August 18th marked three months of living in Portugal! We celebrated last Friday with a day at the beach, which I’ll get to shortly. First, a few updates.

Our flat: It’s finally starting to feel like home! We have all our basic furniture, including a new bookcase that I love. Here are some pics! After living so many years in a 100-year-old house, we love living in a newly renovated flat. Lisa calls our style “European minimalism.”

Portuguese language: I’ve been using the Practice Portuguese app almost every day. I still lack the confidence to speak much in public, but making the attempt each time I’m out and about. I can order coffee, veggies at the market, and make change! I can’t wait to learn more so I can gossip with the avós (grandmas) at my local coffee place. Lisa has been focused on work, but is starting to spend time in the Practice Portuguese app.

The cats: Frank and Stella are enjoying life as Portuguese gatos. The “catio” is a favorite spot for lounging, as is the wooden salad bowl and the fuzzy donut bed. We are still working to normalize mealtimes, as I’m getting tired of 3AM wake up calls.

Living without a car: Surprisingly, we love it! Almost everything we need is within a 5-20 minute walk from our flat, including markets, doctors, and even a vet for the cats. We Uber when needed for longer distances or heavy shopping loads, and we recently procured bus passes (but haven’t been brave enough to try them out yet). The trains have confounded us a few times, but I think we finally have a handle on them, and they are a great way to get to Porto!

A few things we’ve learned in the last 3 months:

• “Bom dia” and an attempt to speak Portuguese goes a long way with people.
• We’ve both learned to navigate the city center without getting lost, but still find new streets to explore.
• I need to walk every day to build and keep the stamina needed to traverse the hills here.
• My love for strong Portuguese coffee knows no bounds.
• Portugal wants you to slow down and enjoy the small moments. We’re working on it.
• We love that we are an hour train ride from the beach.
• Chickens have heads. 🐔

We spent last Friday at Miramar Beach. It was a gorgeous day spent exploring an old church, walking the boardwalk, and sipping cocktails by the water. Here are a few pics: