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Hello lovelies!
I am a little consumed this week with the travel bug. As I mentioned I've been plotting out a trip to Portugal...which may or may not have grown to include a quick jaunt across the Straight of Gibraltar to Tangier 😳 on the logic that I'll be in the neighborhood! What makes this trip a little out of the norm is that it is also a "scouting" trip...my attempt to just start somewhere in the enjoyable but daunting task of figuring out where, and how, I might like to live (or not live) next…no biggie!
CHESLEY MCCARTY...
Usually, when doing the research for a trip, I look for those travelers and local individuals who have a similar aesthetic and philosophy to mine. I'll never be interested in "luxury" accommodations (they all look the same...snooze) or knowing where the "influencers" are (double snooze) but in finding those thoughtful people with soul who also happen to be good writers and photographers.
One such person who I recently discovered is Chesley McCarty. In June of 2022 she left home (Washington DC) and embarked on a 9 month solo "slow" journey with stints in Stockholm, Paris, London, Tel Aviv, Lisbon, Porto, Nice, Mallorca, and Edinburgh. She has a good eye and the Travel Journal page on her website houses a well organized array of posts about her stops along the way including a nice one on coffee and brunch in Lisbon…noted!
DEAR BREAKFAST...
Because I am now officially the writer of a very important blog/newsletter/thing ;)...I will also need to be finding a favorite neighborhood café in which to write...oooh...that sounds so romantic! I like to scout out in advance one or two of the most promising looking options that are near to where I’ll be staying.
In Lisbon, at least as a place to start, it’s looking like it might be Dear Breakfast (love the name)…it looks beautiful but it also might be a tad too fancy/trendy…so I’ll have to see what else I can find…
DAVINA TAN...
Another traveler who has a way with a camera is Davina Tan of Hey Davina. She has been to Lisbon a few times and has highlighted plenty of the lovely spots…these are some of her favorite cafés…
1 Fauna & Flora 2 Magnolia Bistrot 3 Cafe Janis 4 Marquise da Mobler 5 Heim Cafe 6 Kefi Greek Bistro
But here’s the thing…I’m not just going there to drink coffee, eat pastel de nata, and look at beautiful tiles, although…who am I kidding…there will be plenty of that! I also want to take the time to reflect and ponder on what I really want the next phase of my life to feel like. Every day. Do I want to live in a big city…or in a small town in the hills…or by the ocean? Yes. Do I want to do the nomad thing for a while…or find a cozy little cocoon of a permanent place? Yes.
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CHELSEA FUSS...
I would love to possibly meet up for a chat with a few of the creative folks who have made the move to Portugal in recent years and who seem to be happily settled and thriving. Originally from Portland, now living in Lisbon, florist Chelsea Fuss is one such person.
She runs week-long workshops every May that look spectacular...but the timing isn't going to work out on that. I always hesitate to contact strangers out of the blue and ask if I can pick their brains...but I know I need to get over that hesitation and just do it! I will. I promise.
BIRGIT SFAT...
Another such person is photographer Birgit Sfat who I have been following for a number of years. She and her family now live in Lisbon but several years ago they were living in an old fisherman’s house in Olhão in the Algarve (she seems to have the knack for finding really lovely apartments!)…and it is due to her beautiful photographs that I definitely would like to make my way down to that part of the coast as well.
In my head I’m imagining this trip as a sort of devil-may-care, go-with-the-flow, let’s-pretend-I’m-20-again, roadtrip-y kind of thing…but…I’m not 20 and I let my drivers license expire in 1998 when I moved to NYC…so there’s that! But I do actually need to be doing some serious reconnaissance into more than just where the cute spots for coffee are in Lisbon! I think what I’ll do is “hop” down the coast by bus and visit a few of the beach towns along the way and then spend another day or two checking out Olhão…
OLHÃO…
The old part of town seems just a little bit magical…have a look at these images that were taken by photographer Christer Leidolph…but I’m sure the reality of it will most likely be different!
EUGENIA DIAZ…
Now I’m not going to pretend that I would have it in me to undertake a project this strenuous (building two tiny houses, creating a beautiful garden, publishing a cook book, keeping up with two successful YouTube channels, beginning construction on the “forever” home, all while living off grid) at this stage in my life…but…she sure makes me wish I were 20 years younger! Eugenia and her husband, Pepe, bought a plot of land in the Alentejo several years ago and have been documenting their progress in turning it, almost single-handedly and with next to no starting budget, into a truly spectacular little slice of heaven…and very stylishly too!
I’m not sure I’ll have the time to explore this part of Portugal on this trip but it will definitely be on the short list for later…
PAINTING IN TANGIER…
This is where I may get slightly side-tracked from my mission and allow myself a treat that has been on my list for a while…painting in Tangier!
TALES OF RETIREMENT…
I liked this article (free link) in the New York Times about what retirement really means…I’m going to try hard to think of it this way…
Don’t use the word retirement. It sounds decrepit and connotes imagery of rocking chairs and poor health. Somewhere, I came across the Spanish word for retirement: jubilación! Now doesn’t that sound more approachable and appealing?
Thank you all for reading...let me know if you have any thoughts!
xo,
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Mood board credits: 1-3 Cucumbi Farm; Joan Hecktermann; Sanda Vučković 4-6 Joan Hecktermann; Sanda Vučković; Fantastic Frank Lisbon 7-9 Fantastic Frank Lisbon; Joan Hecktermann; Joan Hecktermann
Such a delightful article.
I’m a French girl living in LA and my happy place is not Paris (not at all) it’s Lisbon ;) for its people, colors, food, natural light, everything.
Enjoy it ✨
Omg! I wish I had even a tad of Eugenia in me says a slightly jealous almost 60 year old that sometime dream of at least one more adventure in her life. Ok now I sound really old which I am actually not 😁