This month I went to Braga, located in the north of Portugal to visit my friend Christie.  If you'll remember I visited her in Tavira in March and Lagos in April.  She's here on a 90 day tourist visa and has been a month in each place.

We had a great time exploring the town ... and of course, the obligatory photo in front of the Braga sign.  

There was even a re-enactment of a Roman festival called Braga Romana, where they relive the time when the city was part of the Roman Empire. Braga actually used to be named Bracara Augusta.   

Instead of walking up all of those steps, we rode the funicular up to the top of the mountain. The funicular was inaugurated on March 25, 1882 and is the oldest funicular in the world moved by water counterbalancing, loading water into the car at the top of the hill, weighing it down so it descends to the bottom, at the same time drawing the lighter, drained car up the hill, where the process starts all over again.  Here's a time lapse of our trip up.

The gardens were absolutely gorgeous!

We even did a day trip to nearby Guimarães​.

Then I did a 5-day trip to Dublin, Ireland.  It was a quick trip as I was still in Portuguese class (Mondays and Wednesdays) until May 31st.

We did a lot in just 5 days.
Chester Beatty Museum
Hop On Hop Off Bus Tour with visits to Christchurch Cathedral, the Emmigration Museum, St. Stephens Green (where I ran into a high school friend - how cool is that?!) among others.
A day trip to Powerscourt Estate in Enniskerry.
A day trip to hike the cliffs at Howth.
as well as wandering around the city and visiting the famous Temple Bar area.

Friends and I took at day trip to Sintra (about 40 minutes outside of Lisbon).  We had lunch at Cafe de Paris and then visited Monserrat Palace.

Surpassing my previous highest daily steps in Ireland on our day trip to Howth.  I did 35,104 steps.  Previously, I did 34,626 steps the first time I visited Porto back on September 11, 2022.

Trying to do all of this walking with a bum foot.  My foot has been sore since I went to Tavira/Seville back in March.  Probably all of that walking with shoes that were too old and no support left.

These are the only 4 colorings I did this month.  They are all from Johana Basford's Ivy and the Inky Butterfly: A Magical Tale to Color. 

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah Maas
​The Measure by ​Nikki Erlick
​The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray

This month, I visited two cities in Germany - Hamburg and Lüneburg - during our spring break.  This was my first time to Germany.  I was very excited and Germany definitely didn't disappoint.  Although it was a lot colder in Germany than in Portugal.

This month, I visited two museums in Lisbon:
The Agua Museum with my friends, LeEllen and Derek.

Food and animals were the main attractions at the Beja County Fair.  I bought some olive oil and olives from one of the vendors.

​My budget was over by €711 in April (this doesn't include my two trips - travel is a separate budget).  Again, my Health expenses were high, paying €125 for the 2nd part of my microscopic root canal and replenishing vitamins and facial creams (€210). I even got a massage (€40) and manicure/pedicure (€32 for both) this month which I also put under Health category.

I spent €261 on food at the grocery store.  I ate out 9 times while in Lisbon for a total of €117.85 for an average of €13 per meal.  Not bad!

Entertainment costs for the month were €23.50 which included entrance to the Agua Museum (€4), Museum (€6), Beja County Fair (€8) and one ticket to the movies seeing "Air" with Ben Affleck and Matt Damon (€5.50). 

Visiting a new country, of course!

Recovering from my microscopic root canal while traveling.  It was pretty painful and look how swollen my cheek was.  I could barely lift my left side of my face to smile.

I finally got back to coloring after a two month hiatus.

The Diamond Eye by Kate Quinn
​The Glass Ocean by Beatriz Williams
​The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
​Dreamland by Nicolas Sparks

Well that's it for this month.  Next month, I'm going to Braga, Portugal (in the north) and Dublin, Ireland.

No travel this month.  Sadly, I could have gone somewhere because we had two weeks off of Portuguese language class, but we only found out the Wednesday before the Monday we were off.  I had doctors appointments the first week, but the second week was a possibility if only I had more time to plan.  So I decided to do a Staycation (see Being a Local Tourist below)!  After all, Lisbon is a wonderful sightseeing location.

I visited the following museums/attractions.  Click on the links to be taken to that blog post to learn more.
Medeiros e Almeida Museum
Jerónimos Monastery
MAAT Museum
​Jardim Zoologico (Lisbon Zoo)

My €2,200/month budget was off this month due to a major expense this month of getting new sunglasses to a cost of €680.  I only paid for half in February while they were being made (they are to be ready on March 2 when I'll pay the other 50%).

Health costs were €630.28 in February.  €365.28 for the 50% of sun glasses.  €159.78 for health insurance and the rest on vitamins and doctor co-pays.

I spent €327 (up slightly from January) on food because I stocked up on meats (fish, chicken, pork and red meat). 

I ate out 7 times this month for the grand total of €101.40 - that averages to €14.49 per meal.  Not bad!  That even included a fabulous meal (and most expensive of the 7) at a French restaurant in Belém called Restaurante Comptoir Parisien.

Utilities - Gas (for two months) was €23.83 and Electricity was €33.87.  I'm still waiting on the Water bill from my landlord.  They pay and then I reimburse them.

I got a package out of customs jail.  A friend had mailed me a Christmas package.  Portugal wanted €63 Euros for a gift valued at $45.  But a friend told me if I check the box that it is a gift, the duty will be waived.  I did and it was.  It only took one month and 20 days to get to me.

​I continued to do the tasks necessary after receiving my residence card.  I'm now a tax resident of Portugal and received my NHR status which means I only pay a 10% flat tax for the next 10 years (if I understood this correctly), but what I pay in the United States would be subtracted from that amount (I think I will definitely get a Portuguese accountant to help me when it's time to do taxes next year).

At the end of January, I had all of the tests done for my physical.  This month, I saw the doctor to review them.  Unfortunately, my cholesterol is very high, so I'm now on a daily statin drug.

I also went the dentist for a cleaning.  My cleaning along with a full set of X-Rays was only €63  and I don't have dental insurance here.  It would have probably been closer to $400 in the United States.  The dental hygienist recommended a cleaning every 6 months.  I'll be curious to see what just a cleaning costs.  I had two cavities (bad Linda!) and a possibly needing a root canal and crown.  I've had both cavities filled for €30 each.

I also went to the eye doctors for a yearly exam.  I do have vision insurance included so I only had to pay my co-pay of €19.  My vision only changed very slightly in my left eye so I don't need new glasses.  However, since my sunglasses were even an older prescription from 2020, I decided to get those replaced.  Glasses are most expensive here (at least for my level of prescription - as I mentioned above it was €680).  Unfortunately my current health insurance plan doesn't pay for glasses.  I might have to look for another plan since I know that some plans do pay.

I colored 11 pages in February.  Here are my favorites.

Just click on the photo to be taken to the recipe page.

What Happens in Paradise and Troubles in Paradise (Books 2 and 3) in the Paradise trilogy by Elin Hilderbrand.  I read Winter in Paradise in 2022.

​Murder Under Cover by Kate Carlisle.

The Cracked Spine by Paige Shelton

Continuing with the Bridgerton series, When He Was Wicked and It's in His Kiss by Julia Quinn.

We are in a brand new shiny year of 2023!  My goal is to revive this blog, again.  Hopefully, creating posts at least twice a week.

Another goal for 2023 is to go on a vacation (where just a weekend away) every month.  This year started off with a 6 day trip to Caldas da Rainha.

Caldas da Rainha, Portugal
​
Check out my posts about Caldas
Phallic Pottery - Caldas da Rainha's unusal ceramic trade.
Where to Eat in Caldas da Rainha

No major expenses this month.  I'm still hovering around my €2,200/month budget (my sweet spot that allowed me to retire early to Portugal) even with my trip to Caldas da Rainha earlier this month.  I even ate out 10 times for the grand total of €137.85 - that averages to €13.79 per meal, and these were at nice restaurants.  I think a $14.00 meal in the in the United States is impossible these days, except maybe at a fast food restaurant.  Perhaps, not even there.

I finished 14 colorings in January.  Although I started the hummingbirds (pictured in the middle below) back before I left Florida.  This is artwork by Jody Bergsma (one of my favorite artists) that I downloaded from the internet and printed in black and white, creating a grayscale, and then colored.

I started back with my Portuguese lessons on January 23rd.  Unlike the private classes I took at the LUSA school back in August, these are held at the local high school and are through the government.  Class is on Monday and Wednesday evenings from 7 - 9:45 p.m.  The best part is that it was only €10 for the semester class (not the €200+ I was paying each week at LUSA) and if I successful pass the class, it will count towards my language requirement to get citizenship at the end of the 5 years.

I also had my first physical here in Portugal.  I saw the doctor in late December.  She prescribed a bunch of tests. I gave those scripts to my health concierge at Serenity and she scheduled all of the tests for me.  She did a great job of scheduling them back to back at the CUF hospital in Alvalade (one metro stop from my apartment).

Lisbon is a great tourist destination.  So I make an effort to do at least one touristy thing every week.

Lisbon Street Art Walk
A visit to the Oriente Museum for Chinese New Year.
I went on a Fado Walking tour with some friends.  Our guide told us about the history of Fado and treated us to a private mini concert as the end.  She was an amazing Fado singer.

Louise Penny's newest Inspector Gamache book A World of Curiosities.

I've recently hopped on the Bridgerton series bandwagon (perhaps because I keep hearing about the series) in late 2022.  This month, I read two of the Bridgerton novels - Romancing Mr. Bridgerton and To Sir Phillip, With Love. 

The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune.

Two Nights in Lisbon by Chris Pavone.

A Bookshop Christmas by Each Burton.

How was your January?