We’re in our final stretch here in Lisbon and the days are starting to blur.

Not in a bad way. More in a “wait, what did we do on Thursday?” kind of way.

Which I think means this has stopped being a trip and started being… life.

As I shared last week, we took a little “vacation” to head to Porto and squeeze in some coastal and countryside stops. And when we got back to our little apartment (annoying little bathroom and all), it felt like coming home.

That surprised me.

Because we’ve only been here a month. But something about walking back through our neighbourhood, knowing which streets to take, where our favourite foods are (already have those!!) . But it felt familiar. Safe, even.

And I think that’s a nervous system thing.

My system has started to settle here. The novelty has faded just enough that my brain isn’t working overtime to orient anymore.

And what’s replaced it is this small sense of belonging.

But my Team Hyper brain doesn’t like to rest, so there is a new tension creeping in.

“Oh no, we’re running out of time”

And now instead of “are we enjoying this enough?” (my Week 3 spiral), it’s “are we fitting everything in?”

Which is honestly just the same anxiety wearing a different outfit. My brain can get so creative. Ha!

The Week in Wandering

So back up to last weekend, we hit Porto, then had Easter Sunday in Figueira Da Fos, and on the Monday morning, made our way to Nazare.

It’s a tiny little beach town, just a strip along the water with big waves and not much else. Our hotel was decent, nothing special. No bath:(

But within a two-minute walk, and 5 minutes of getting there (our room was not ready), we found what might be the best grilled chicken we’ve had in Portugal. I know I keep saying that about different meals, but this was seriously so good. And so so simple. Sometimes the unassuming little spots (aka hole in the walls) are the ones that surprise you and make the best food!

We then walked the boardwalk. Wandered some back streets. It was cloudy and quiet and honestly, exactly the kind of low-key day we needed before heading to our next stop. Dinner was a good seafood rice (we’ve had seafood rice three times since we have been here). Rob rated it number 3 on our trip, I say number 2)

The next morning we drove to Obidos.

A walled city with a castle. And it is so cute. Like, storybook cute. We loved it.

We walked along the top of the castle walls (you can just go up there and walk them, which was super cool, but a little scary – I’m not great with narrow walkways and heights). 

Then we wandered the tiny cobblestone streets, found a little restaurant where I decided to be brave and ordered a massive pork dish. I actually didn’t realize how massive it would be! The portion made us both laugh when it arrived. I am not usually such a meat eater.

Then we headed into a chocolate shop for dessert (of course). Amazing chocolate cake. Some kind of chocolate mousse. Heavenly.

But then something happened that of course, I will put it into some “nervous system” musings for you…

A man came in with his four kids, clearly just to use the bathroom. The shopkeeper politely told him he’d need to buy something. He said sure, sure. And of course he didn’t. And on his way out when she mentioned it again, he started berating her. Raised his voice. Told her “good luck with your business” on his way out the door.

In front of his kids, no less. And I just sat there thinking, how does someone do that and feel OK about it?

And why can’t we support small businesses? Why are we so entitled that using someone’s facilities and then getting hostile when they set a boundary feels acceptable?

It was very bothersome. Partly because it’s a nervous system thing; when someone else’s dysregulation shows up so loudly like that, you feel it in your own body. And partly because it was just plain unkind.

And partly because as a small business owner I know how hard it is. You do stuff, you try to serve, you try to set the bar high and deliver quality, but there are always some who will want to take as much as they can for free, and feel entitled to do so. And even be unkind.

I just wish we could all be a little kinder and considerate…

Ok – back to travel diaries…

We made our way back to Lisbon and like I said earlier,  it felt like coming home.

The next couple of days were mostly work days. Which is the reality of doing this kind of extended travel. Not every day is an adventure. Some days are laptops and lunch and trying to stay focused to work into the evenings. And always trying to get my steps too.

We did sneak out one afternoon for lunch and found this adorable tapas place tucked into some stairs near our neighbourhood. Two types of tuna. Patatas bravas. These little goat cheese packets that were incredible. We sat outside in the sun and it was a perfect lunch. But for the rest of the week it was these protein bowls I have been making (and Rob is getting sick of – but I figure it’s a good balance from all the eating out!)

On Friday, we took the train out to Sintra. We’d been told it was a must-see. And it really is stunning. We tuk-tukked up to Pena Palace and walked the gardens and the outside of the castle. Then hiked over to the Moorish Castle (decided not to go in as we were tired, it was windy, and sometimes you just know your limit).

We found this path back down to town through the woods that felt almost magical. Like a secret shortcut that only the locals know about (ok- and every tourist too bcs the place is filled with them!)

Lunch was at a spot our tuk tuk driver had recommended and it did not disappoint. Octopus, an amazing tuna sandwich, pork cheeks (yes, weird choice for us) and a beet and apple salad (realy good combo, I’ll have to make it when I am home!)

After lunch we wandered a bit more and checked out one more palace (Regaleira) and walked to the train station.

We hopped on what we thought was our train back to Lisbon. Except (and this is something I never even considered but probably should have) Lisbon has multiple train stations. So our train took us on a scenic tour to a completely different part of the city.

And we had no idea where we were!! Now on a normal day, we probably could have figured out the metro. But we were exhausted. We’d walked hills all day. Our legs were done. Our brains were done too lol.

We honestly tried. We both looked at the map. And then decided to uber it home. At least ubers are pretty cheap here.

(And honestly, this too is such a good nervous system lesson. When your capacity is low, problem-solving gets much much harder. Everything takes longer. And sometimes the smartest move is just finding the easiest path forward instead of pushing through)

That evening we decided to try out a rooftop restaurant that was supposed to have a great view. It totally did! We ended up chatting with a couple from Tasmania sitting next to us. Didn’t get their names, but we talked all through dinner and it again it reminded me of another reason why I love travel so much. People your life would never cross with, and for a couple of hours, it does.

Saturday was our chill day (or our attempt at one). We headed to the Alfama district for brunch. Our first choice was closed. So we wandered the hills and let me tell you, Alfama has a lot of hills. We found a cute little place called Audrey’s. Rob ordered porridge. I swear he sometimes makes the most bizarre choices at restaurants (it’s an ongoing joke in our family).

That afternoon, we explored a part of Lisbon we hadn’t been to before and end up going into this cute little café for high tea. The owner was lovely and it was pretty unique.

And then because we are officially in “cram everything in” mode (less than a week left) we had booked a sunset cruise.

The boat ride ended up being pretty cold and super windy. Chairs were being blown over so we eventually retreated below. We sailed past the Belém Tower, under the bridge, and got a beautiful close-up view of the Cristo Rei statue from the water. Not exactly the romantic sunset cruise I’d envisioned, but memorable in its own (very windy) way.

We ended the night at Time Out Market (it has so many great choices!). Sushi and octopus. Our reliable go-to when we need food fast and good.

Sunday was slow. We ended up just staying in in the morning and watching a few of the talks we had missed last week from the semi annual conference our church puts on. And then went to my favourite restaurant in all of Lisbon: Leon Bistro. (I call it Chez Leon in my head.) We shared carrot salad and salmon ceviche. Then I had this lightly breaded chicken and tomato salad. Rob had Salmon. And the most incredible chocolate mousse. By far my fave dessert in Lisbon too.

We ended the day wandering, and a but of shopping and chilling in our place. A quiet end to the weekend.

What I’m Noticing

Here’s the phrase that kept coming up this week:

The days are long, but the weeks are short.

It’s something people say about parenting. But it’s true about travel too.

Each day feels full. And it feels like we have so much time. But then suddenly it’s the Sunday before you are leaving, and you’re wondering where the weeks went and panicking about what you haven’t seen yet!

I noticed Rob and I both had this moment mid-week where we looked at each other and said, “Oh no. We’re running out of time.”

And it moves so quickly for me from savouring to squeezing it all in.

From what do we feel like doing? to what haven’t we done yet?

But I am getting better at catching it.

Because that shift from presence to pressure is the exact thing I’ve been writing about this whole trip.

It’s my nervous system doing what it does: scanning for what’s unfinished. What’s unresolved. What might be missed.And it reads it as a threat, of course

And I don’t want to spend our last days here in that hurried, pressured energy.

So I’m trying to hold both.

Yes, our time is winding down.

And yes, we can still be here for what’s left of it.

Being in a city for a month has been a very cool experience. I love the feeling that Lisbon has become a kind of home. We have our favourite restaurants. Walking routes. Inside jokes.

It is a beautiful city, and we both agreed on our top three European cities. And we both know that it will always have a special place in our heart.

But I’m not going to rush it yet, because we still have a few more days to take it all in, before our journey continues….

xoxo