The stars are aligning. we are preparing for a three month stint in the homeland, a try out of sorts. from across the big pond things look a lot more accommodating in the old country, specially with all that it is going on these days. Maybe a bit better environment to raise a kid. Wait, wait, we don not have any more kids to raise and we are not adopting….so, what do you mean?

Well, Dmitri, Mercedes and Teo are going with us, and maybe this will lead to a longer stay. They are excited about this new opportunity and so are we. In the last few weeks we had been contemplating what it would be like to be in Portugal without any of our kids and away from the rest of the family. Now we know that at least, we will have an opportunity to see this kid for the next 3 months, after these 2 months separated with this virus thing. The quarantine started just as he was born and the separation was difficult, but the stars are aligning for a little while.

So, why Esposende? we were introduced to Esposende by João and Margarida years ago, and we only visited two or three times, but the desire to be back was always in the back of our minds. We loved the place. It is a small town of about 35K people, about 30 miles north of Porto, my hometown. At the mouth of the river Cávado, on the Atlantic Coast. The weather is mild and with winters nowhere the type of Indiana winters. We will be sharing a lot more about this place, their people, their customs and traditions, including some delirious food. Stay tuned and you will want come and visit. Our house is 500 feet from the beach! I am not sure if we found this house, or if the house found us. I think that it was more of the later. More on this later.

Prety soon we will be visiting O Vermelhinho, O Pé no Rio e a Praia Suave Mar. Farther out is obviously Porto, Braga, Barcelos, Guimarães, Barcelos, Viana do Castelo and Galicia (Spain), all within an hour of driving (depending on who is driving).

Stay tuned, there is a lot more to come! Até breve! Hey may even learn a bit of Portuguese!