We were looking for a real Portuguese town. Not Lisbon, with its windows dressed for tourists — but Barreiro: across the river, no pretending, real people and real soul. We crossed the Tejo and stayed. We wanted to feel and breathe the true country, and this is where we found it.
The dream
We'd always talked about it — a place of our own, door open, good wine and time to talk. We talked for years, opening bottles and dreaming out loud. One day it stopped being talk: it was time. Shmoozi is that dream, finally with an address.
The cat
She showed up on the windowsill of our old house as a kitten, and hasn't stopped talking since. After a few months we let her join the gang — and from that day she's never shut up. She's the real boss here. If you come by, she'll find you.
And never stopped talking.
The name
"Shmoozi" comes from schmooze — to catch up, to hang out, to stay a little longer. It's the word you hear in American gangster movies when someone says "come here, let's talk." No threats, of course — just wine, petiscos and good conversation. It's exactly what our cat does all day. And exactly what we want you to do here.
