New Year, New View

Happy New Year / Feliz Ano Novo!

We hope you had time during the holidays to celebrate with family, reflect on the past year, and recharge for the year ahead.  Our holiday break was busy, as we prepared to move from Porto to Parede.  On January 2nd, we loaded our stuff into a rental van and made the three and a half hour drive to this little town about 20 miles west of Lisbon on the Atlantic Coast.  

Our apartment is the second one in Portugal that we’ve rented sight unseen…well, almost.  Our December trip to Lisbon and Cascais didn’t result in us securing an apartment, but Elizabeth, our real estate agent, kept searching.  She would send us photos and listings every day.  After several days, we got a note from her saying “I’ve found the perfect place for you”.  She and our friend Nancy drove from Cascais to Parede and we did a virtual tour over Facetime.  

They also walked around the neighborhood and took some photos.  Nancy’s assessment sealed the deal for us.  “You have to take this apartment!”, she said.  So we did.

The thing that probably influenced all of us the most was the view of the ocean from the balcony.

During our first few days here, it was foggy and rainy, so the ocean view wasn’t very good.  But on a sunny day, it’s great.  Even in early January we can sit on the balcony and enjoy the view, the sunshine, and the moderate temperature – Friday was 14º C, or about 58º F if you use the Bluebird method of temperature conversion.  

After living here a week, we are still getting acclimated, but we wanted to share a few first impressions.

The Neighborhood

The neighborhood we’re in is very different from Porto.  There we lived on a busy city street, in a block filled with co-op apartments built in the 80’s and 90’s.  Here, we’re also surrounded by apartments, but it’s clearly a residential area, with winding streets, houses with fenced yards, and lots of trees and green spaces.  

The beach here is narrow, the water is cold, and the surf is rough, but that doesn’t deter some hardy souls from getting in.

In between the beach and our apartment is the Parque Infantil Jardins da Parede – the childrens’ park.

It has a big fountain in the middle, a café to one side, a playground that is often busy with small kids on the other, and some big grassy areas where Sox is getting in some of the best frisbee games since we arrived in Portugal.  

The park is bordered on three sides with apartment buildings that have commercial space on the ground floor.  We’ve seen two small markets, a couple padarias, a pet supply store, a veterinary clinic, a farmacia, and at least one cabeleireiro (hairdresser).  So it looks like most of our most immediate needs can be satisfied close by.

A few blocks west of the park is the Sao Pedro train station, where we can catch a ride to Cascais or Lisbon.

All of the sidewalks are paved with calçadas – cobblestones – and many are uneven because of the hilly terrain.  It makes any walk challenging.

It’s a Small Town, After All

We were spoiled by the conveniences in Porto.  We had two large supermarkets within a couple blocks of our apartment.  There were also numerous padarias, cafés, a hardware store – all within walking distance.  We knew the metro and bus systems, so we could access the rest of the city with relative ease.

Here in Parede, we’re still sorting things out.   There is a large supermarket about a kilometer away (downhill all the way!).  A few blocks beyond is a small commercial center, with another supermarket, more shops and cafés, and the Parede train station.

Learning New Lessons About the Trains

We went into Cascais earlier this week to have lunch and do some shopping.  It’s about a 10 minute ride on the train.  Coming back should also have been a 10 minute ride, but we missed our stop and were two stations further down the line before we realized our mistake.  

When we got off the train we encountered another problem. When you enter a rail station, you have to scan your ticket at a gated barrier. You also have to pass through these barriers again in order to exit the station.  We had purchased tickets for a specific trip – Cascais to Sao Pedro station.  When we scanned them at the Carcavelos station, the machine flashed a red light and would not open the barrier. We couldn’t get out and there was no place to top off the ticket.

After several tries, Mike saw an emergency exit button.  He pushed it.  That set off an alarm, opened the turnstile gates, and earned us a stern scolding from the railway agent who had to leave his cubicle to come reset everything.  

Lesson learned:  Get your nose out of your damn phone and pay attention to where you are!

Lessons in Process

We are also learning about how some of the infrastructure providers work here. While in Porto, we lived in an AirBnB rental. All utilities, including internet, were included in the rental price. In Parede, we have a conventional lease and have to have utilities put into our name. Getting that done is a whole new experience.

On Monday after we arrived, Mike spent 2 1/2 hours, including 3 online chats, trying to complete an online form to get the water account transferred to our name. He was finally told to call a specific number to talk to someone who could help him. That person said, “Oh, don’t bother with that form, just send us an email with this information and we’ll get it done. Sure enough, 30 minutes later, he got a reply informing him that the contract had been drafted and was being mailed to him for his signature.

Getting the electricity account transferred has been a bigger chore. Mike has submitted the online form three or four times. Our real estate agent, Elizabeth, has submitted it twice. She also made six phone calls, trying to find someone who could tell us why the forms errored out. No joy.

Next Monday morning, Mike and Elizabeth are going in to Lisbon to the electric company office to try to get the account straightened out. Wish them luck!

Looking Ahead

We will be in Parede until the end of January, 2023. We’re looking forward to becoming familiar with the area, to exploring Lisbon, Cascais, and the surrounding area, and to sharing our experiences with you. Thanks for coming along!

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What’s at the top of your list of New Year’s Resolutions? Leave us a comment below or send a note via the Contact Form. We’ll help hold you accountable.

Until next time / Até a próxima vez

Mary and Mike

The Cook and The Writer

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