Category: Portugal
The BEST Pasteis de Nata in Portugal
Hi friends, I wanted to talk to you real quick about pastel de Nata. Is it kind of weird to do an entire blog post about a dessert in Portugal? Maybe, but no, because pastel de nata is one of the most iconic symbols of Portugal that you can possibly find if you come to…
Quirky Things You Probably Don’t Know About Living in Portugal
Moving to Portugal, I really didn’t know what to expect. Sure, we traveled for over two years and spent about six months in Europe, from Porto, Portugal, Croatia, Rome, Paris and more. I had some idea of how European life worked as we always did Airbnbs during our travels. This meant I cooked in many…
Quirky Things About Raising Kids in Portugal
Who is crazy enough to uproot their five kids and move to another country? Especially in a country where they don’t speak the language? Well, meet our family! We did that four years ago now. It wasn’t even the first time we uprooted them. We also did it in 2018 to travel the world full-time. Moving your family abroad…
Inverted Waterfall Hike in Portugal with Kids: Covão dos Conchos Trail in Serra da Estrela
Portugal has plenty of surprises, but few are as mind-bending as the Covão dos Conchos—an “inverted waterfall” that looks straight out of a fantasy novel. Someone on Instagram sent me a reel about it years ago and I couldn’t believe it was in Portugal! I immediately put it on my wishlist, but it took us…
Quirky Things About Portuguese Bureaucracy You Probably Don’t Know
I’ve written many times about a significant pain point that comes with living in Portugal for four years: bureaucracy and anything to do with the government. It’s tough! I had a fellow American tell me that anything government-related in Portugal is like going to the DMV in hell. While that was a good chuckle, it…
Best Pastel de Nata Cooking Class in Lisbon
We recently whipped up some of Portugal’s most famous desserts in the lovely kitchen of Natalier, a new hot spot in Lisbon that’s quickly gaining attention for its creative spin on the beloved pastel de nata. Some people think it is a disgrace to alter the classic tart, but I love this creative spin! Apple…
Four-Year Update On Living In Portugal as American Expats
August passed beautifully in Lisbon with fabulous coastal weather, plenty of tourists and most Europeans on vacation. August also marked four years of us living in Portugal as American expats. We arrived, fresh and naive, to a customs strike at the Lisbon airport in August 2021. Wow, so much has changed since then! I will…
Family Fun in the Sun: A Guide to Vilamoura with Kids!
The Algarve has been a family favorite of ours for a long time, and it’s easy to understand why. This sunny southern tip of Portugal hosts the waterparks, a favorite of ours, amazing cliff beaches, some famous sea caves and more! Ever since moving to Portugal in 2021, we’ve made one or two trips per…
Quinta do Pisão: Fun Day Out in Sintra as a Family
September in Lisbon always makes me happy. I am not a big fan of the heat and summer in Lisbon can get hot! It’s only fun for me when I get to head to the beach. I love the cool mornings, golden light and cool breeze that sometimes drifts into our windows. When I am…
Staying at Four Seasons Vilamoura as a Family: Magic in the Algarve
Ever since we started living in Portugal, we’ve had the mission of traveling throughout it and getting to know as much as we can. We fell in love with Portugal on our first visit in 2019, like so many visitors! We did not decide on that trip to move here, but we did have a…
