37. Our Welcome Into Portugal

Portugal- country #9 for us together! Ivan's Colombian sister lives there with her Portuguese husband, Carlos. We had been traveling just the two of us so we were super excited to see family. We arrived around noon from Spain and stopped to get flowers for his sister. The vendor only spoke in Portuguese and it occurred then- oh right another language! It's crazy in Europe how in just a car drive you can be in a place that is a completely different language.

Meeting Linda and Carlos for the first time was like being with family I had never met. They warmly welcomed us into their home, their life, their country. I felt so limited with my Spanish yet again but they were very understanding and patient. As I entered her house for the first time, she brought me into her bathroom to show me all her girl products to which I was welcome.

They treated us for a late lunch and then Linda showed us all around the center of Lisbon. We took the metro from their home to the most beautiful area of the city. These pictures are all from the first two days- you can see the joy we have of being in a new place with such lovely people. Linda immediately felt like a sister with her warmth, fun and passion for showing us her city. Despite the language difference, I felt an immediate bond with her.

That first night Carlos' brother owns a sushi restaurant and treated us to the best sushi meal with sangria that I've ever had. We were all laughing the entire time. The next morning Linda showed us this beautiful park to run and workout- in a later chapter you'll hear how this park became so important to me. That day we were also introduced to Linda's amazing cooking- another huge hospitality talent of hers.