Learning to Sit Still in Lisbon

The first week I filled every day with a plan, out of habit more than desire, and came home each night more tired than curious. The second week I stopped making plans, and it felt, briefly, like failing at the trip.

Stillness took longer to learn than any of the walking tours would have.

There’s a cafe two blocks from where I stayed with a view over the rooftops down to the river, and by the third week I had a regular table there and nowhere else I needed to be at that hour.

I came to Lisbon expecting a month of sightseeing. I left having mostly practiced sitting still, which turned out to be the harder skill.