Our new everyday life in Sintra
Dear friends, dear family, dear readers
About a month ago we arrived here in Sintra, Portugal. Just two days after our arrival, school started for Liam, and with it the start of a new daily routine.
Let me briefly tell you here what a typical day now looks like for us:
Between 7:30 and 8:00 we get up and Liam enjoys his traditional breakfast (yogurt with yogurt and maybe some cereal). Either René or I help him get ready and a first layer of sun cream is applied. Then after 8:30, we head off to school. Depending on the day of the week, I have already made my way or René has already made his way to the co-working space so we can start our work.
Liam’s walk to school takes us along narrow cobblestone sidewalks through the older part of Sintra, ending with a long flight of stairs through a small park. For the first half, Liam ‘races’ (in his own words) off on his running bike, then at the stairs our helping hands come into play.
The school day for him starts at 8:45 am and ends at 3:30 pm – Monday through Friday. Every other week, however, the school weekends on Fridays at 12:30 after lunch.
While Liam is supervised at school, René and I spend our time working. However, we are in the fortunate position of being able to take longer breaks for sports or other recreational activities.
At 3:30 p.m., we pick Liam up from school together or alone. The rest of the afternoon does not follow a strict program. We spend the hours until dinner with other families and their children somewhere in Sintra and the surrounding area: on a playground, in a park, or sometimes even doing the weekly shopping (that also has to be done).
Dinner is usually spent at home with the three of us. This way we keep our usual evening/sleep-in routine.
Our weekends are basically similar to the ones we had in Switzerland before: we go on trips and/or meet friends. The only difference would be that we are in a different country and therefore in a different climate, a different landscape and also a different (but still similar) culture. I’d be happy to tell you about some great places we’ve already discovered for ourselves on a later occasion!
Overall, our new daily life is not unlike the old one. We try to maintain a certain regularity and structure for Liam and us. At the same time, we also enjoy the freedom to just spontaneously go to the beach or have a barbecue in the backyard with our neighbors.
Honestly, it’s hard for me to put into words right now how ‘different’ I feel our life is here, even though it still feels so familiar and normal. Maybe next time I’ll find the right words for it.
All the best & have a wonderful day!
Rahel
written on May 10, 2023