We just completed our most laid back Christmas ever. We started our morning with a couple of the pastries Tim had the forethought to buy on Christmas Eve. (Two “pastel de nata” – the traditional and unbelievably delicious custard tarts in the flakiest crusts possible, which we saved for later, and two gigantic – like the size of elephant feet – delights that seemed to be a generous amount of croissant pastry wrapped around thick globs of rich, dark chocolate. They were sort of fanned out and flattened, and they beg to become a Darcy Christmas tradition.) These four masterpieces totaled 4 euro (slightly less than $5 US! I think that would have been close to the price of just one of the monster chocolatey creations back home.
After our breakfast, we spent a very few minutes opening our stockings, modestly filled with useful and/or delicious things we could find in nearby shops. I am the proud owner of a new cork purse, which is a goal I set when I learned our adopted country produces more cork products than anyone else! I bought Tim a box of dominoes which I found in one of the ubiquitous “Chinese Shops” that pepper our neighborhood. The nice tin they came in boasted in English that it contained instructions for 12 different domino games. It did not. We gave each other a couple weeks worth of chocolate, which should last a day or two. Also included were mutual year-long subscriptions to a language instruction website called Memrise and a Kindle gift card. Tim now also has a neat little lamb skin coin purse to help him function in this coin-driven economy. We learned before we came here that we should always strive to pay folks in coins rather than the paper money most Americans prefer. It helps that coins here come in one and two-euro denominations.
A large part of the day was spent on leisurely pursuits before we headed to a nearby neighborhood for dinner at the home of new friends.
Ken and Jo have been here about 15 months. We met them online before coming over and they were instrumental in helping us find our temporary housing. Since we arrived, they’ve provided a bounty of helpful hints about living in Portugal. Although I’ve seen a minuscule sampling of local housing, I would venture to guess that Ken and Jo’s apartment must be one of the nicest in all of Setubal. It is bright and fresh with spacious rooms and a great kitchen. Perching on the top floor of a modern high-rise, the views are phenomenal. The icing on this cake is the glorious balcony that faces west, offering views of the city, the castle-topped hills, and the serene Setubal Bay, where the Sado River meets the Atlantic Ocean. And then came the sunset. Perfection!
Tim and I thoroughly enjoyed the surroundings, the fantastic meal, and the conversation. We especially liked talking with their charming son Joseph who is visiting over the holidays. It was a gracious ending to a peaceful day.
We’d made a date to place a Viber video call to the family who had gathered for the day at my sister Nancy’s house in Ohio. What a nice time we had making the rounds at the party as everyone passed the iPad from hand to hand. It felt like we were right there in the room! The best part is that we get to call them all again on Saturday as they reconstruct the holiday for our daughter and son-in-law who missed the original festivities due to work. Any time we can spend time with four generations in the same room is a bonus!
We had planned to go to the Finance office today with our translator in tow, in an attempt to get our elusive NIF number. The translator couldn’t make it, so Tim and I took a little stroll to a section of the area I hadn’t seen before. We were in search of a view we’d seen online from a listing for a rental apartment. We narrowed it down to one of two high-rise buildings and think it looks a promising prospect to check out in person.
Tim took another longer walk while I stayed home resting my sad old knees and reading a bit. We put our minimal holiday decorations away in their box until next year, and now we are about to go out in search of pizza.
We recommend Setubal, Portugal for anyone seeking a stress-free holiday. If our apartment search pans out, we could even offer you free accommodations!