Travels in Europe
Blanca and I fell in love with Portugal over the course of our travels. It was easy to fall in love, especially with Lisbon. Each of the neighborhoods in Lisbon has its own spirit, the Portuguese coffee is incredible, the cost of living in Portugal is low, and the people here are wonderful. We started coming …
Beaune Restaurants are – for the most part – amazing, but they are also quite pricey. As much as I love Beaune, the issue with staying there long term is that because these amazing restaurants tend to be expensive (and I don’t mean a little pricey – I mean break the bank expensive), it can …
I’m a total Francophile when it comes to wine. After working in the wine industry for years, I came to realize that Burgundy Chardys are my jam. That made it difficult for me to jump into the wines of Portugal, there are so many grapes, so many styles that I needed to experiment. Wine bars …
Moving to a new country can be hard, confusing and scary. I went through those feelings in that exact order multiple times when I officially moved to Lisboa earlier this year. It had been 6 years in the making and I am finally beginning to get a foothold here in Portugal. Blanca has been asking …
Want to get around Porto or Lisbon like a local? Okay, this isn’t the post for that. This is just a list of your basic Portuguese phrases. Nothing here is too complex, but these Iberian Portuguese phrases will help you get around in Portugal. I have used these multiple times and it’s a “go to”. …
No…not really. Maybe a little bit. There is a history of colonialism. The Portuguese were one of the biggest slave traders in the world (move over you Dutch and British slave traders). But is Portugal racist now? I would say…a touch, but it’s different than countries like the US or Italy. Most people in Portugal …
If you’re visiting Lisbon, Portugal you can’t miss out on Belem. It is one of the most beautiful places in Portugal, and the best news is that it is very easy to visit. Most of its most famous attractions are all within walking distance of each other. Belem Belem has a long history. It’s been …
If you are planning on either visiting Lisbon or moving to Lisboa, you’re probably making a budget (if you’re not, you should be). If not, you’re probably asking yourself ‘is Lisbon expensive’. Today, I’ll be discussing Lisbon prices so that you can figure out how much money to take to Lisbon for a week, a …
Lisbon Prices: A Guide to How Much You’ll Pay for Things in Lisbon – UPDATED 2022 Read More »
Getting a Portuguese bank account is not the hardest thing in the world, but there can be good amount of bureaucracy and paperwork involved. If you are planning to spend a long amount of time here, or if you are relocating, you will NEED to have a Portuguese bank account. It’s quite hard to navigate without one. Why? …
How to get a Portuguese Bank Account as a US Citizen Read More »
I’ve made art my entire life. As I got older, life (work) got in the way. That’s why I began taking art courses, it made it so I had to create. In NYC I took classes at the Art Students League, those were some of the best courses I took and I am so lucky …
Lisbon has become one of Europe’s hottest travel destination. I’ve been traveling here for over five years and the tourism boom is exponential. Why is this so? Lisbon is inexpensive compared to most other major European capitals, it is gorgeous, it is close to crystal clear beaches, and offers great food and wine. If you’re …
There are tons of reasons to love Lisbon. It offers some of the most beautiful panoramic views, incredible street art, wonderful museums, great food, and wine. There is one other thing that you will absolutely love about the city, its parks. Lisbon has some gorgeous public spaces to offer. These are places to sit back …
If you ask me, parks are the hearts of cities. When I lived in NYC, Central Park and Riverside Park were a part of my daily routine. Now that Lisbon, Portugal is my home base, I am thrilled to say that Parque Eduardo VII and Jardim Gulbenkian have taken over their role in my life. I’ll tell …
As a tech geek-ified family getting modern electronics in Portugal is a horror and a nightmare. Get stuff shipped, charged 10x VAT, bring it yourself the electrical setup in apartments break everything. We moved to Lisbon, we brought over our stuff (not something I recommend – just sell your crap and buy new here). We …
When you are going through the process to move to Portugal by getting the D7 residency visa, one of the requirements is that you have health insurance. The process is not hard, but you need to check off a few boxes. Portuguese medical insurance is said to be some of the best in the world. …