Portugal

Staying in Sintra has been amazing. For the first month I would wake up everyday feeling so so lucky to be in this fairytale town, with interesting people and a garden and bar to relax in. Every. Single. Day.

When I had days off (I was doing bar work at a hostel there) I would sometimes go and see nearby beaches, towns or other areas of Portugal. These included Cabo da Roca which is the most westsernly point of mainland Europe, gorgeous beaches along the coast, Cascais and the northern town of Porto. Lisbon was also a frequented destination as I could hop on the train and just wander around for the day in the cobbled streets until I stumbled across a cafe where I would sit and think about my next steps. I also launched my modelling career whilst in Portugal (totally joking obvs), when I was asked to be in the hostel’s new promotion photos. I had hardly had any sleep and had no make up on when I was asked if I could help them with something upstairs, I go upstairs and find two photographers… no time to get ready! After getting over the initial dread it actually became quite fun…

I was lucky enough to come across a yoga studio close to the hostel so I could attend yoga there. I met a lovely Portuguese couple who very kindly showed me around the area on a few occasions, which always included incredible food!

I also found it quite funny that I managed to meet up with so many friends who just happened to be in the same area of Portugal at the same time! I feel like I saw more people there, than if I had been at home 🙂

I realised that it had been a year since I left my job to travel. I have had time to think about everything that I have done in that time. I’ve conquered a number of fears, visited 10 countries, met incredible new people and been given a new perspective on so many things.

My main reason for coming to Portugal was taking time to get my thoughts together (whilst getting a tan obviously). I wanted to think about what I wanted from life long term, how I was going to achieve it and what the next steps would be. Whilst I’ve been here I have had a lot of ideas. I think my colleagues got a bit sick of hearing me say ‘I’ve got a new idea – but this one is actually the one!’. Over time, many ideas came and went, but I now know what I want out of life and some initial ideas of how I can make it happen. Portugal totally served its purpose and I am very grateful I had the time to explore options and come up with some new ideas.

On one of my last few days there, I once again had one of those moments where I felt compelled to book a spontaneous last-minute (one way) flight somewhere for the beginning of September…it won’t be long before I’m there and blogging about it! Until then though I am off to Scotland, to help promote a show at the Edinburgh Fringe.

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Tchau for now!

Portugal mash-up video: