Freixeiro

The day started late, I seem to be adapting to Spanish time and slept until 9AM again. I woke to golden sunlight filling my room, which is a delicious way to start the day.

I'll miss my comfy little City refuge.

After some journaling and a brief yoga session, I put some earnest work into planning the next phases of my trip. I really want(ed) to do as much intra-European travel as possible via train. Trains just seem so... Civilized. Alas, my lack of making clear plans means I'm now relegated to buses and maybe planes.

At least I have the next few days booked and the next two weeks planned pretty specifically (with some space for improvisation).

After a delicious lunch with my family, we all headed to a local park (also a castle, because: Europe) to read, snooze, play frisbee, and plan multinational trips. It was warm in the sun, cool in the shade; perfect.

Then at about 9PM with the sun getting lower we headed for our last meal together. Tomorrow I'll head onward to Portugal.

I can't overstate how much I have enjoyed being here this week. It felt like sitting down to a favorite meal; familiar and nourishing. It amazes and pleases me how easily and comfortably we still get along despite three decades and thousands of miles of distance.
I am a fortunate man.

Spending six nights in the same bed after nearly 45 in different beds surely also contributes to my comfort... But a part of me also feels the need to get moving; to continue my journey; to embrace forward motion after a week of being inevitably focused on the past. Again, I recognize my tremendous good fortune in being able to travel onward and to keep moving. Never take your good health nor your access to resources for granted.

On the way home from dinner, I was chatting on the phone (internet telephony is *amazing*) while I walked up a deserted pedestrian street and to my happy surprise I saw a 20€ note fluttering along in the breeze. Looking around a little I found several more... 75€ in all. Not a bad thing to find, not bad at all. The complete absence of other people made it unlikely I could return the money to its rightful owner.

And with that, my evening comes to a close. It's only 12:15, so the city is far from asleep, but I'd like to be well-rested enough to enjoy my time in Oporto tomorrow.Read more