The view from our window II

Winter and Spring

For the first month we lived here, every time we walked into the living room¹ we were struck anew by the view from the two windows. Especially during summer - when we leave the windows open wide all day long - Amy starts her morning by walking straight to the big window and gazing out at the view and the trees and the birds. Gradually we became more accustomed to it - as one does with daily exposure.

The first light of the day paints the buildings on the top of the hill with gold.

With winter the view felt fresh and new again. The change in amount of daylight had us catching more sunrises and sunsets. And they tend to be more intense in winter.

With the dark of winter came the coastal storms. Or, as they’re called here, Coastal Events. Watching the trees dip and sway was mesmerizing. While we would rather not have to be walking somewhere during one of these, watching the dancing from the comfort of inside was delightful.

And, also, scary. When the tree is beating against the window, one begins to think about pruning. That’s easier said than done. They’re not our trees, after all. Amy was working up her nerve to talk to the owner of the boutique hotel whose garden houses the trees to propose that we go halves on tree pruning. The very week that she had decided to go, we came home to find that they had hired someone to prune butcher the trees.

The big window: before the pruning and after.

Talk about lucky! Not only are we safe during the storms - and we didn’t have to pay for it! - but also the big window now has almost the same view as the smaller window.

But the big concern: Would the birds still come visit?

That answers that question! Surprisingly, this is the first bird (that we know of) who has checked out the living room.

We do hope he doesn’t choose to investigate from inside…..² As if the birdsong wasn’t enough, we also have churchbells!

The pruning revealed that the garden has a lemon tree in addition to the orange tree! Yes, the orange blossoms smell as sweet as you’d think.

Our apartment faces both the road and back of the building. The hill we’re on is what gives us our view, and our regular workout. We are incredibly fortunate - we also have a view of a garden/patio on the other side of the road. It’s occupied by Airbnb-type people, who are ever-changing.

Our views keep us up with all the happenings. Benfica or Sporting win an important match? We’ll see the hear about it. Celebrating the New Year? Why head down to the humongous fireworks display down by the river? Just hang out in your jammies and enjoy a somewhat smaller celebration. Pope in town? We’re on it. Prayer Walk coming through? Window washer dangling from high? You know we’re watching.

For those of you familiar Bill Haley’s Dim, Dim The Lights (I Want Some Atmosphere), our view can be pretty moody!

Winter fog, full moon, tail end of a sunset, rainy season clouds.

That’s all for now.

Love from Lisbon,

Amy & Scott

PS Josie also loves the window - many good smells!

1. Technically the kitchen/dining room/living room. I never know what to call it. The Great Room feels pretentious as all get out, and really, how would the bedroom or den feel about that? Are they lesser rooms? We’ve tried using front room, but it’s at the back of the building. The door to the apartment is in the middle - heading towards the street gets you the bathroom and main bedroom; towards the back gets you … the big room.

2. Late-breaking news! Just found two feathers in the … combined living room space. Hmm…