Month: June 2022

We are now on a tiny, family-run dairy farm in a small village in Switzerland, about 60 miles northwest of Geneva. The first part of our trip has been exhausting since we chose to tag on Switzerland at the beginning, but the pace will now relax.

After taking a morning flight from Lisbon to Basel, we rented a car and made our way to the home of Ann-Elizabeth and Reneé, tucked up in the hilly village of Le Mouret with their cows, chickens, and a calico cat who finally deigned to let us pet her.

We have our own little flat that looks out into the neighboring field and the village in the distance. Ann-Elizabeth will leave a liter of fresh milk outside our door every morning by 7:00 (fresh, as in straight from one of their cows!).

Tomorrow we’ll go see a few towns on Lake Geneva and save our long hike for Thursday. We will set no alarms tonight; instead we will wake up naturally, have fresh milk with muesli, leisurely drink coffee, and pet a few cows before we begin the day’s adventures.

Lisbon is beautiful. We’ve spent the day walking up and down tiled sidewalks and eating our way through the city. Every few blocks we all just stop in our tracks to take in the scenery because it’s just so darn gorgeous. And that goes for all four of us. When two teenagers feel the need to stop and gawk, you know you’re somewhere special.

I’ve been trying to define Lisbon for myself, as if making it fit into an amalgamation of cities I’m familiar with will make it more legitimate. It’s like if San Francisco and Florence had a baby. No, more like Rome and Paris plus more bills but way smaller and not nearly as assuming. What am I even talking about?

After a delicious dinner of Portuguese tapas of a variety of very fresh and savory seafood and some crisp white wine, I offered up a apology to Lisbon for trying to force her into a mold. She is stunning with her glistening tiled streets, alleyways of staircases, ancient churches, gliding seagulls, clotheslines sagging with the family’s outer and underwear, and friendly people with easy smiles. She is herself.

Continue reading A New Love

It’s alive! The trip we had planned for the summer of 2020 has clawed its way back to the surface after being buried under COVID shutdowns and surges these past two years. It is somewhat revised and slightly slimmer.

We have worked hard to bring this baby back to life. We have successfully jumped through all hoops placed before us to this point. We have dutifully worn our masks inside, and we have our negative COVID tests to present to any Portuguese who wants to have a look. We have uploaded passports and vax cards, downloaded apps and filled our quart-sized ziplock bags with liquid containers not exceeding 3.4 ounces.

We have arranged dog care, cat care, pond, plants and fish care. All of this has brought us to this somewhat dull moment where we have two hours to kill before our flight leaves.

I’m finding it hard to believe that we’re actually going to cross the ocean and arrive in another continent in the morning. Until we lift off the runway, I don’t think I’ll fully believe this is happening.