I'm glad that Portugal is starting to feel like home. We've been here seven years, but for the first four I wasn't fully engaged, as we had chosen the wrong place. Now I love coming back to my garden, my comfy house - warm at last after external insulation - and familiar walks with the dogs.
Keep at it, especially learning Portuguese, as it helps tremendously.
LaDonna, I so love reading your posts. You are such a great writer! We spent 3 weeks traveling around Morocco last year. Chefchouan was our favorite place, but we spent 2 nights there. Luckily we had great weather, & yes, with more time you can avoid the crowds. Just going uphill in the village takes you away from them. Also loved Fez & the Sahara.
My first time experiencing this sensation will be when we come back from our trip to Portugal. I remember landing at the airport here when we moved here and taking stock of the terminal and thinking “this is my home airport now, this is the place I will come home to. This will be our ‘home town,’” but I never imagined it would take three years to experience that because of COVID! I have yet to live somewhere ever that felt so much like home that I relished coming home to it. I remember some story by Hemingway or Twain that talked about how magical and comforting the author’s home was and how he pined for it whenever he was away from it and I have always wanted a place to be like that for me. I had cozy apartments that I painstakingly decorated in Chicago, and I did like banking over Lake Michigan and seeing the skyline after going back to New Mexico or Michigan or Kentucky to visit family, but the city never felt truly like home. Home has always been something that felt really transient and hard to pin down. I’d always been envious of kids that grew up in the same house year after year, that had a room that they had grown up in to come home to from college or for a Christmas visit. I have never had that as a child and still feel like I am trying to create an adult version of it for myself and for our children. Our current house is the closest I have gotten so far.
What a heart-wrenching yet heart-warming piece, LaDonna. Your prose previously has graced the pages of Portugal Living Magazine ... and we hope that you will permit us to publish "Upon Returning" in an upcoming issue. Thank you so much for sharing your life and experiences with our readers. Ate logo.
just a note about mint before you plant it - it's invasive and will take over everything! I'd recommend you confine it to a container of some sort.
I'm glad that Portugal is starting to feel like home. We've been here seven years, but for the first four I wasn't fully engaged, as we had chosen the wrong place. Now I love coming back to my garden, my comfy house - warm at last after external insulation - and familiar walks with the dogs.
Keep at it, especially learning Portuguese, as it helps tremendously.
LaDonna, I so love reading your posts. You are such a great writer! We spent 3 weeks traveling around Morocco last year. Chefchouan was our favorite place, but we spent 2 nights there. Luckily we had great weather, & yes, with more time you can avoid the crowds. Just going uphill in the village takes you away from them. Also loved Fez & the Sahara.
Oh no! So sorry to hear you got sick. Glad it was only 24 hours though! Also, love the audio clips!
My first time experiencing this sensation will be when we come back from our trip to Portugal. I remember landing at the airport here when we moved here and taking stock of the terminal and thinking “this is my home airport now, this is the place I will come home to. This will be our ‘home town,’” but I never imagined it would take three years to experience that because of COVID! I have yet to live somewhere ever that felt so much like home that I relished coming home to it. I remember some story by Hemingway or Twain that talked about how magical and comforting the author’s home was and how he pined for it whenever he was away from it and I have always wanted a place to be like that for me. I had cozy apartments that I painstakingly decorated in Chicago, and I did like banking over Lake Michigan and seeing the skyline after going back to New Mexico or Michigan or Kentucky to visit family, but the city never felt truly like home. Home has always been something that felt really transient and hard to pin down. I’d always been envious of kids that grew up in the same house year after year, that had a room that they had grown up in to come home to from college or for a Christmas visit. I have never had that as a child and still feel like I am trying to create an adult version of it for myself and for our children. Our current house is the closest I have gotten so far.
When we arrived home from England and most recently Spain... Yep, it's where I want to be. I love it here and am very lucky to be here!
Camels. Who knew they were so adorable?
What a heart-wrenching yet heart-warming piece, LaDonna. Your prose previously has graced the pages of Portugal Living Magazine ... and we hope that you will permit us to publish "Upon Returning" in an upcoming issue. Thank you so much for sharing your life and experiences with our readers. Ate logo.
/Bruce
Publisher & Creative Director
Portugal Living Magazine