I went to Portugal and didn’t want to leave
In Zurich, I lived with a Lisboan Architect. She introduced me to a community of Portuguese intellectuals who were welcoming, clever and loved to eat. There were times when I thought my roommate was trying to kill me with the salt intake but she meant well.
We grew apart after we moved away but I was committed to making the journey to Portugal one day.
And I did just that. I called a friend and asked if she wanted to road trip through the Portuguese coast and she was game. I arrived first in Porto to kick the jet lag as quickly as possible and my friend arrived the following day. We had a blast traveling from vineyard to vineyard. Staying in 5 star hotels, while drinking white port and ‘green juice’ (vino verde). Touching the beach whenever we could on our journey. Porto was quieter, a little colder but felt familiar but Lisbon was so beautiful (the pickpockets could take a day off though). I could see myself living there until we went to the south. We stayed in Faro and instantly fell in love.
We drove along the Algarves and it truly felt like a vacation. We took a boat out to an island that was just 2km of pure white sand beach.
It was just what I needed.
The last time I felt that way, I moved to that country for a decade.
