Hello again, I feel like I need to relearn how to blog now that it's almost been two years since my last post. For obvious reasons we haven't been traveling, but I'm not going to delve into that topic since I want this blog to be about travel and positivity! It's really a journal of sorts, to keep family and friends updated and also for us to look back on. And while many things remain up in the air, one thing is for sure... we are desperately missing travel.
For me seeing the world is part of who I am... I crave the experience of wandering and finding my way in new situations. Justin and I both find change at home kind of difficult, but on the road it's easy. The travel bug has always been in me I think, I remember writing a daily travel journal on a trip to the NC mountains at about age 11. And the exhilarating feeling of navigating the DC subway system at 13 with my mom and sister. I always got excited about the long 8+ hour road trips to Georgia with Dad, chewing lots of gum along the way and constantly fiddling with the air conditioning to get it right. I've just always loved the feeling of being on the road, whether it's near or far. The "beginning of a trip" butterflies have never quite gone away or faded for me.
I will never take for granted the freedom to plan whenever or wherever
to go again. It feels like something important is missing for us and I
know my fellow travel bug friends understand!
So, where are we going?
You may have noticed the title of this blog, it's Portuguese for "it's time for another adventure". I think you can guess where we're headed 😊
It's kind of random how we ended up choosing Portugal. Initially we had been planning to live in Australia for a year starting in August 2020. Justin even trained most of 2020 for his first full marathon planned for September 20th in Sydney. As the months went by and Australia remained closed we knew our plan wouldn't be possible. We were pretty bummed until a friend mentioned that he was applying for a Portugal visa. Intrigued, we started researching Portugal.
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| Photo by Tom Byrom on Unsplash |
Safe to say with it's long coastline of gorgeous beaches, beautiful cities, culture, food, and from what we've read friendliness of the people... we applied right away for the visa! We can't WAIT to explore Portugal! I'm beginning to think it may end up being the perfect European country for us. Parts of the Southern Algarve look quite similar to the Great Ocean Road in Australia.
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Photo by Dan Gold on Unsplash
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And so, we are moving to Europe first week of April! This is not a permanent move, but a longer term trip that we think will be about a year long. If 2020 taught us anything it's that the future isn't certain so who knows what will actually happen. As of now we'll be working remotely and living in Portugal, starting out in Lisbon, and moving around to other parts of Portugal. Hopefully we can eventually explore some other Schengen countries as the summer progresses. Of course this assumes it's safe to travel between countries and we will be respecting all health regulations. In the meantime, we have a long list of places we want to see in Portugal alone! Lisbon, the Algarve, Madeira Island, Porto, Braga, Parque Natural da Arrábida, and the list goes on.
Why do we want to leave for so long?
Justin and I have always been interested in living somewhere else for a longer period of time. We've only seriously talked about it with Sydney in mind, as Sydney is the only city (so far) that has made us feel that way. It's the feeling of being home when you aren't technically home. I love this quote from "Bees" by The Ballroom Thieves, "It's not the place that I was born in, but that doesn't mean it's not the place that I belong". It truly is a feeling we've not felt anywhere else.
Anyway, since we had the idea in our heads about being gone for a year to live somewhere else, we've now transitioned to thinking of Portugal/living abroad in general as being that experience. And who knows, maybe Lisbon will capture our hearts just like Sydney did. It is a harbor city after all!
The hardest part about these trips is leaving our family and friends for so long. I definitely have numerous homesick moments when we are gone... this time will be especially hard saying goodbye to my 1
year old niece 😭 But, I
will return with lots of stories to tell her to inspire her with
adventure 🌍 A lot of things could change and we may not like being gone for that length of time so we can always come back. And we always love visitors! We are really hoping that borders open for everyone to travel safely.
How do we pack for a trip that could be a year long?
I'm not an expert, and I think everyone has to figure out what works for them. I have watched a plethora of packing videos about digital nomads and how they are able to pack carry on only. I've come to realize carry on only isn't for me when we travel like this, HOWEVER I am proud to say I have convinced Justin to switch to travel computer monitors so that is saving us tons of space this time around. If you weren't aware we brought 3 full size computer monitors on our two previous trips that took up one and a half 28" suitcases since we packed them in their original boxes to avoid damage. On the one hand it worked really well for us, but trying to bring less to Europe this time. The travel monitors are only slightly larger than a laptop so will be so much easier to lug around.
In terms of clothes I pack for about 7-10 days and just do laundry while away. That's what we've done every trip, granted I end up buying clothes abroad so I end up with more days by the time I get home :) I also pack 5-6 days worth of workout clothes that also double as hiking clothes. I'm planning to bring four pairs of shoes to start (running shoes, hiking sandals, nicer walking sandals, and cute sneakers). And finally one set of pjs, and two bathing suits (I always buy more of these abroad too).
Other random items include a travel yoga mat, resistance bands, a packable daypack, a packable rain jacket, and a lightweight beach towel.
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Also so excited to use these packing cubes my mother-in-law got me!
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For work I bring my laptop, travel monitor, keyboard & mouse, drawing tablet & pen, noise canceling headphones, and various cords/adapters.
All this to say I'll be bringing a checked suitcase and a carry on backpack for everything 🤞 The previous two trips I brought three bags total so the travel monitor is helping me stick to two this time.
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My two bags :)
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Adeus for now
We can't wait to see where this next adventure will take us, and I look forward to writing about it throughout the year. As a planner, I'm thinking this could be a good lesson for me in going with the flow and letting plans change/adapt. Are we crazy? Maybe a little 😉 Obrigada for following along!
P.S. If you made it this far and have any tips/recommendations for Europe leave them in the comments!
💜
Sarah
“...
Then the delight, when your courage kindled,
And out you stepped onto new ground,
Your eyes young again with energy and dream,
A path of plenitude opening before you.
Though your destination is not yet clear
You can trust the promise of this opening;
Unfurl yourself into the grace of beginning,
That is at one with your life's desire.
Awaken your spirit to adventure;
Hold nothing back, learn to find ease in risk;
Soon you will be home in a new rhythm,
For your soul senses the world awaits you."
- John O'Donohue, For a New Beginning
