#Monomad Challenge - Chalet Mayer

Good afternoon, #Monomad friends

Here is my entry for the #monomad contest by @brumest and @monochromes.

Losing myself in the details of the streets, of what I see, and where I walk, is definitely one of my favorite hobbies. Better than that, only looking for a point of interest with a small lens... a point of escape from our boredom and annoyance. Finding a little corner, which, when framed well, leaves us feeling peaceful inside.

How many of you do this kind of therapy? It costs nothing... and it can only cost you something if you are extremely introverted. But then, you have a more than obvious gain. You can get out of your comfort zone and have more control over your emotions.

Can you find anything else that is so rewarding, and at such a low cost? Honestly, I can't even think of any alternatives.

As the weather conditions have not been great around here, particularly in the central and inland regions of the country, and yesterday in the coastal and riverside areas, I haven't had many opportunities to go out and explore the world a little.

Have you ever thought of your home as your refuge? We know that whenever we have some free time, we use it to look for something new, but when the weather is not inviting us to go out, or when the authorities advise us not to leave home because of bad weather, then we just have to comply.

I confess that this week, and this week in particular, it's been too painful for me not to be able to leave the house. I have many things to do at home, in terms of household routines, but honestly, I don't have the energy or desire to invest any time, even the slightest, in doing them. I am in a state of near hibernation. I have always been this way. Bad weather, and particularly rainy weather, makes me want to eat, and not think about anything other than food and comfort.

In addition to this inability to motivate myself to leave the house and go, for example, to the gym (something I haven't done this week...), I end up spending time eating or preparing food, thus wasting precious hours of natural light.

From my recent stroll through the streets of Sintra, I want to share a little of the magic of the architecture of the oldest buildings near the Portela de Sintra train station.

Single-family homes have something charming about them. I only know what it's like to live in a house from my memories of summer vacations spent at my grandmother's house. For as long as I can remember, I have always lived in apartments. Of course, not everything about an apartment is bad, but the freedom of a house, no matter how small, always brings incredible peace of mind.

And you, do you also have this desire? If you had the opportunity, would you choose to live in a house? I confess that currently, despite the setbacks of living in an apartment, where in the building I live there are several things that need to be repaired, namely the building's entrance door (which currently makes a tremendous noise when closing), most other things end up compensating for these inconveniences.

There was a time, especially when I was in high school, that I imagined myself living in a house, married to a kind and caring woman, with four or five children and two dogs...

I have none of that now, more than 30 years after that idealization. We have to know how to adapt to our living conditions. And one day, maybe one day, we'll live in Chalet Mayer!