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Made it to Lisbon!

On the 20th of June, we made our way to Lisbon by car. It was a seamless 2 hour 45 mins drive to the city center. Both Ayaan and Ariana nap like little babies in the car ride which drove our decision to drive around rather than take the train. Also much easier with the luggage since we can leave stuff in the car.

We arrived in Lisbon to find the streets completely empty! One of the best parts of the trip so far is being in Europe during the World Cup – it is truly special and I feel so lucky to experience all of the cup in the best football countries – Portugal, Spain and France. Portugal was playing Morocco and the entire town had gathered in the square to cheer Christiano Ronaldo and their Home team – we were headed to the square too to watch the tail end of the game and reunite with Anjali’s family. We underestimated how chaotic driving would be with the cops shutting down the streets around the square. We were lucky enough to find street parking close by! The atmosphere at the square was fantastic with thousands of fans with their flags screaming. We met Anjali’s family at a cafe at the square and the kids were incredibly excited to meet Dhara masi, Kunal uncle, their cousin Shloka and most of all their Nana and Nani!

We checked into our Airbnb apartment on Avenue de Republica. It was a historic 5 bedroom 3 bath with original wooden floors and most importantly a washer and dishwasher. I made a quick run to the grocery store, Anjali picked up some food later and we spend the night drinking Portuguese wine and catching up in the apartment. Lisbon and Portugal remind a lot of Brazil. Day trip to Sintra up next.

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First stop: Porto

Portugal is our first stop on our journey! It’s Ayaan’s 14th country and Ariana’s 10th; it’s also the first time for us. We made it here via EWR and two tiring flights and as expected it was where we got over our jet lag – luckily no more of that for 2.5 months. No better way to spend Father’s Day but to kick of our trip with the two little wanderers.

After checking in to the Sheraton Porto and a nice long siesta, we spent the evening on the Port wine side of the Duoro river. Nothing better than some Tawny and Ruby with some grilled octopus and spaghetti carbonara after a long day. A further treat was watching Brazil play in the square (The Portuguese are big fans since Brazil was a colony).

Our 2nd day started at 2pm (thank you jet lag) with a walk in the art district and the historical part of town including many churches and Ayaan’s favorite spot – the train station that has amazing tile murals. In fact the architecture is stunning in Porto with tile covered edifices and the 6 bridges across the river. Our favorite stop of the day was a truffle and port cave experience that we stumbled upon in a little alley in the historic district called Chocolataria Equador .

We spent the evening taking a boat ride, hanging out in the square watching musicians, walking over the famous bridge and drinking some port wine while the kids had a late nap. We met a lovely couple from the States who’d now made Burma their home and enjoyed sharing our life and travel experiences. Our last stop for the night was a children’s park with the most fantastic view that was extremely crowded for 10pm!

On Tuesday, June 18th we leased a white Peugeot 308 – the leasing experience was fantastic and I drove away with a brand new car with all coverage for the next 55 days. Our first trip in the car was a day trip to Duoro Valley – our first wine region of this trip. We visited one winery called Quinto do Vallado and it included a short tour of the Portuguese barrels where Port wine is stored and an elaborate tasting in a cave including white, red and port wines. Our final stop was at the stunning Six Senses where we enjoyed a lunch of Portuguese rice with chicken while appreciating the magnificent view. We finished our Porto experience with a stroll on the beach and grilled octopus and prawns with rice paired with a Tawny port at 5 Oceanos. Onto Lisbon tomorrow and looking forward to reuniting with Anjali’s family! – Gaurav

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And we’re off!

It’s been nostalgic, tiring and exciting the last few days as we moved out of our beautiful home into a 10×14 storage, sold one of our cars and gave another to a close friend (thanks for helping out), stored our wine collection and some important items with another friend (thanks). I wrapped up work on Friday and it was bittersweet since I really loved it. But we are so looking forward to spending time with our monsters.

As we moved into a hotel after moving out so we could get our house ready for sale, it’s been amazing seeing the kids adapt so quickly and embrace our new lifestyle. It completely validates our decision.

Today is a big day as we leave on our journey to create new memories and a stronger bond while seeing the world. And we’re embarking with 1 and 1/2 suitcases, 2 small backpacks, a double umbrella stroller and 2 car seats. Ciao! – Gaurav

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The Journey Begins

‘Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines, Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails.’ – Mark Twain

It was with this mantra that we embarked on our journey! Our boxes are packed and the movers arrive in a few days. We’ll be putting the best of our belongings into storage and leaving our home on 6/13 to check-in to the relatively new Springhill Suites in Belmont. While it’s a bit sad to be leaving our beautiful home in Sausalito where we brought our two children into the world, we’re excited for what lies ahead. We have a one-way ticket to Porto departing on 6/16!