How My “European Lifestyle” Started When I Changed How I Walk
When my feet slowed, my mind did too
Living in London, I was hot and sweaty all the time, even when temperatures dropped below freezing.
I fast-walked everywhere. London pace, I called it.
Rush to the tube. Push my way on. Quick, I’m late. Run up the stairs. Walk fast to the office. Tut at the tourists. Always in a hurry, as if I could fast-walk my way to more.
More money, more time.
Then one day, I sold everything I owned and moved to Portugal via a three-year jaunt through Spain, Croatia, and Italy. European countries with a reputation for a slower pace of life.
It turns out, a slower pace also includes how people walk. And it was this I struggled with for the longest time. Even though it turns out to be incredibly important.
It’s not just the old people who saunter here in Portugal. Although saunter they do, shuffling up and down the narrow Porto pavements, barely big enough to fit one person let alone two.
It’s also the young mum slowly pushing the buggy down the cobbled streets, window shopping as she goes. It’s the group of kids, fresh out of school. It’s the young guy in a suit meandering towards a lunchtime beer and bifana pork…
