Settling in to life in Sintra

This week, we've been diving headfirst into our new city, and the vibes are pretty awesome!

I knew we'd be doing more walking, considering the hills around here, but Sintra takes it up a notch. It's practically built into the side of a mountain, with steep, narrow walkways going all over the place. It's charming as heck, but my legs have been feeling the burn daily. Last Thursday, Erin and I thought it'd be a fun idea to hike to the top of the mountain. The climb up was really cool with tons of cool old architectural artifacts mixed in with unique vegetation and some small waterfalls.  But instead of retracing our steps, we went down the other side, turning a simple hike into a nearly 4-hour workout. We were wiped out.

The weekend led us to Quinta da Regaleira, this huge estate near Sintra with a giant garden and a palace.  The palace itself was cool, but I don't think I've explored gardens quite like these.  The whole place felt other-worldy, like we were in a Zelda game, especially at the Initiation Well – this deep mossy well with a spiral staircase to the bottom.  We even explored pitch-black underground grottos.

Sunday meant hopping on our first train to Lisbon. The rain kept us from roaming the city, so we hit up the Lisbon Oceanarium and the Pavilhão do Conhecimento - Ciência Viva, a cool science museum for kids. Both spots were way impressive!

Getting used to our new routine means figuring out how to work efficiently. The office our program provides is nice, but it's a bit of a climb. I often end up there after dinner for meetings in the central time zone – not the best part of my day.  Since I'm one of the few in our cohort actually working a 9-5 corporate job on US time, I'm usually the only guy in the office into the late hours.  But I love our mornings now. Erin and I get to enjoy a chunk of the day together before the work and parenting chaos hits. Some mornings, it's group yoga with our cohort; others, we check out farmers markets. And sometimes, it's just a chill breakfast and coffee at a local cafe. It's a nice change of pace!