I Have A Crush On Portugal

Do you remember how the thrill of a new crush felt when you were in middle school? Or even high school? How when you were around him (or her, but let's use him for the sake of this analogy), you felt all giddy and happy? And each new thing you learned about him just added to your adoration? And you were willing to overlook his flaws because in your eyes he could do no wrong?

This was me with Portugal. Brace yourself (or leave) because this is about to be a long, sappy post.

yep I'm ready to move to Portugal

Portugal was predisposed to be a place I would be into because of its abundance of things I love: gorgeous sunsets, stunning beaches, San Diego-esque weather, and delicious seafood (especially octopus mmmmmm).

That octopus though.

And then Portugal also came at me with new things I didn't even know I loved yet: pretty tiles (who knew tiles could be lovable?), Disneyland-style castles, olives (already knew I liked olives, but didn't realize I liked them enough to eat them multiple times a day), vinho verde (FYI this means young wine, not green wine - v common misconception) and more.

tiles + castles + vinho verde = happiness

And thennnn I had an ideal blend of experiences throughout the month to paint Portugal in the perfect light...

 The 413 does Portugal: I kicked off July in Lisbon with my Longmeadow BFFs, Calo, KJ and Britt (missed ya @DA Bridge), and we packed their week-long visit to the brim with activities. From sunset sailing along the Tejo River, to beach resort lounging in the Algarve, to Fado fan-girling, to non-Fado music fan-girling (hehe @KJ), to tearing up Pink Street with a bachelor party from Germany, there was never a dull moment. Well, except each morning, when we slept til noon (jet lag is real).

come back to me por favor

I wish they could have stayed for the whole month! Our week together was the spark to my Portugal flame, and the fire only grew from there...

Aurora does Lagos: After the meadow babes left, I caravanned with 16 RY amigos in 4 rental cars out to Lagos, beach hopping along the way. The beaches along the coast of Portugal are swoon-worthy AF. On the first day, we meandered around on top of beach cliffs, admiring the lagoons and caves, and then ocean-kayaked through the caves the following day. Bliss.

Em and I are better at taking pics for the gram than kayaking in a straight line

I have to admit that the Lagos bar scene was not impressive (i.e. consisted of seedy bars filled with hammered British teens), which was a let-down for our crew - it was Saturday night and we had envisioned a wild night out on the town. But like I said, I was willing to overlook Portugal's very few flaws. If you're a non-teenager visiting the Algarve (the region where Lagos is), I recommend staying/playing in Albufeira or Vilamoura rather than Lagos (but still pop over to Lagos real quick to visit the Ponta da Piedade).

A Week in the USA: I left my beloved Portugal mid-July to attend my family's annual vacation/reunion/beach extravaganza in Pine Point, Maine. If Portugal is my crush, Pine Point is BAE. I could never miss a Maine summer with the whole Pine Point family. After a week of family bonding, excessive lobster consumption and beach bumming, I felt refreshed and ready to return to Euro-gallivanting.



I would be lost without this family and this tiny beach town

 Aurora does Porto: And just like that the month was almost over. The lovely Kate Walsh invited us to her family's home in Miramar (right outside Porto) for a pool party our last full weekend in Portugal. I don't think I would have planned a trip to Porto otherwise, but thank goodness for Kate and the Walsh's because my time in Porto/Miramar was icing on the Portugal cake.

pretty building in Porto / pretty gal pals in Miramar

Porto is SO charming. It's full of cute cafes, TILES, and views on views. There was a sketching convention (yes, apparently that's a thing) happening while we were there, so there were artists everywhere sketching all of the beautiful scenery. These groups of artists ended up calling my attention to some views I wouldn't have necessarily noticed on my own. #sceneryoverload

THANK YOU to the Walsh family for a great day in Miramar!

Spending a month in Portugal taught me that it's possible to have a crush on a place. As I'm adjusting to life in Prague, I'm trying my best not to pine away for beautiful, wonderful Portugal. I didn't get to spend enough time there to see if my crush would blossom into full blown love, but I will definitely be going back someday to find out.

THE TRUTH... great marketing @Portugal Tourism Authority
Location: Lisbon, Portugal

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

September on Splavs

Image
Serbia is hands down the most random country on my travel itinerary this year. My boss told me he would rather go to prison than go to Serbia (LOL). I heard similar sentiments from most people about the country. The conversations would go something like this: Friend 1: "So where are you living next month?" Me: "Belgrade... it's in Serbia." Friend 1: *confused look* "Is Serbia the same as Siberia?" Friend 2: *equally confused look* "Who goes to Serbia? Isn't it really cold there?" To which I could only laugh in response because I knew just as much about Serbia as I did about Siberia (AKA absolutely nothing). But I was going there regardless so it was safe to say soon I would find out more. Let's set the record straight! Belgrade turned out to not only be better than prison (or how I imagine prison would be), but to be one of my favorite cities that I've lived in this year. That is to say- I found it very
Read more

The Prague Blague... see what I did there?

Image
I wanted to skip writing a post about Prague. My feelings about the city are complex, and potentially controversial (I didn't love it... eeeek), and part of me wanted to just put it behind me as I start living the Serbia life. But writing these posts about each month really has helped me process my experiences, and hopefully has given you (yes, you, all 4 of my blog readers out there!) some insight into the weird world of living in a different city/country every month. So let's talk about Prague. gets me every time Prague was one of the cities I was most excited to live in this year. Without knowing much about it, I had heard fantastic reviews from people who had lived there or visited, and I was vaguely aware that the city was steeped in history. My perception was of a magical historical fairyland. And in a lot of ways, that's exactly what Prague turned out to be. boats, castles, bridges... maaaaagic BUT a few outside factors came into play in August th
Read more

Cape Town Is The Most Lekker

Image
South Africa is so lekker bru! I lived in Cape Town for my last month of Remote Year, and it was the perfect place to close out the unreal experience of living and traveling throughout five different continents in 2018. These are some of my lekker mates embracing lekker van culture What does "lekker" mean? Ah, good question. It's Afrikaans slang and I'd say the closest equivalent in the USA would be "awesome" or more recently "lit" (is lit dead in 2019? if so, please clue me in to it's replacement?). Anything can be lekker - people, places, events - and pretty much everything in Cape Town is lekker. As seen from the top of Table Mountain If you read my Marrakech post , you are aware that I was flat out exhausted coming into December. My travel adversity tolerance level was very low and my patience in general was nearly non-existent. Thankfully, Cape Town has SO many lekker features that could lift any person's spirits, even
Read more