Almost Gone

It is my last night in Seattle, I fly to Lisbon in a few hours. Actually, it is the middle of the night in Seattle and I am wide awake, unexpectedly already on Lisbon time. All the stress of moving and endless packing has given me insomnia lately. Tonight when I woke at 2 am (despite a sleeping pill) I checked with Siri who told me it is 11 am in Lisbon. So I decided to stay awake, updating apps, downloading maps, and buying an app to help me sleep. I don't use a lot of apps but boy, I need something to get me back to sleeping through the night. Sleeping pills, even prescription ones, don't seem to be working for me.

With the exception of a week of dancing in Portland last week, we have done practically nothing but pack for more than 6 weeks. And it isn't over. I am having trouble getting a lifetime of possessions down to one suitcase. Ok, that is a little bit of an exaggeration. I am leaving another suitcase or two here in Seattle but I am taking only one with me to Portugal for the next three months and I can't quite close it. I have more or less six hours to solve this problem then off we go.

I have already registered for meetups and an expat group in Lisbon and have a couple of events on the horizon. But Lisbon is a modern city and Porto, the second largest city in Portugal, seems to be calling out to both of us so we might settle there instead. There are so many people traveling these days (think busloads of Chinese tourists.I saw 30- yes 30 -busloads of them on my last visit to the Grand Canyon) that we are thinking of giving up on major cities and exploring less popular destinations.

If you don't already know my background as a traveler, Portugal will be something like my 91st country. I have lost track but that number is close. Under 100 anyway. Franklin has definitely lost track but must be in the 70s or low 80s.

I went around the world for the first time when I was 23. I traveled on my own and was gone about 2 years. Those were the Nixon years, and just like today, I felt more comfortable as an expat than I did at home. I tried to immigrate to Canada last year but Canada had other ideas. I had immigrated there in 1970 (again, the Nixon years) and Canada was a little huffy that I had not stayed and paid taxes during the past 40 years. I still love Canada and spend the summers there but we are exploring Portugal this winter and spring instead. It sounds very nice and I have yet to meet anyone who didn't like it. I'll  share my first impressions in a few days.