Roam Away From Home

PHISH MEXICO 2024 HIGHLIGHTS 🫶⭕️ I know everyone is all about the Sphere x Phish experience, but for those of us living in the past…. our FINAL Phish Mexico video is now live on YouTube!! This video covers our favorite moments of Phish Riviera Maya 2024 with new clips of the band, funny moments, and the people that made this the BEST experience I’ve ever had in the Phish universe. 💃 Find it on our YouTube channel: Roam Away From Home #phishtour2024 #phish2024 #phishrivieramaya #phishmexico #chalkdusttorturereprise #chalkdusttorture #phriends

If you’re coming to see Taylor Swift in Lisbon, now’s the time to build your walking stamina! 💪 When you live in or visit Lisboa, you know what I mean 🥵🇵🇹 There are even trending sounds about the difficulty of the walks here! It’s a main reason why we recommend comfortable shoes over stylish shoes for the shows too. Starting to walk daily will help you have a better overall experience. ☺️ Check out our blog for the full guide of exploring Taylor Swift in Lisbon, organized by each era (including #TTPD )! More tips coming soon! #portugal🇵🇹 #taylorswift #erastourlisbon #lisboaportugal #tstheerastourlisbon #internationalliving #erastour #concerttips

PRAIA DOS PESCADORES, ALBUFEIRA 🇵🇹 We visited Albufeira for the first time for Sea Fest 2024! Albufeira is the most popular resort town in the Algarve with a pretty different vibe than the smaller town of Lagos where we live. There is always a lot to do in Albufeira, including festivals, concerts, parties, clubs, beaches, and bars. Sea Fest 2024 was super fun with skate and surf events as well as amazing performances by local musicians! 🏄🏼‍♀️🎶 Overall, Albufeira is well known as a vacation spot for people from the UK, especially for bro trips and bachelorette parties (at least that’s how we’d describe it in the US). It also seemed like a very popular spot for English speaking toursists with young children. Due to the large number of resorts and short term rentals, many first time visitors of Portugal find themselves in this lively beach town. That being said, Albufeira had more TexMex and British restaurants than anywhere we’ve been in Portugal. Prices of food and drinks were more similar to the US & UK than any other town we’ve visited (including Cascais and Portimão). 💰 There were vendors outside of restaurants following us down the streets with happy hour offers similar to what we’ve seen in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. Street vendors would also walk by tourists honking horns on their carts selling trinkets and baked goods. If you’re in your 20s and looking for a place to party all day and night, this is a great city to visit! It’s undeniable that Albufeira is a lively & easy spot for toursists, especially those that primarily speak English. But, if you’re new to Portugal and want to visit the southern beaches, I encourage you to explore other cities in the Algarve for a more Portuguese vibe. We only visited the train station and Praia dos Pescadores so I know our experience was limited and there are many places in Albufeira with a more authentic vibe. 🙂 All that being said, towns like Lagos don’t have the infrastructure to host large beachside festivals like Sea Fest 2024. So, we will 100% be back for live music since there are many talented artists that play in here! 🇵🇹🎶🫶 #albufeira #algarve🇵🇹 #portugal🇵🇹 #visitportugal

MEIA PRAIA, PORTUGAL 🇵🇹 This beautiful sandy beach with bright blue waters is where we go for daily walks in Lagos. The boardwalk is an easy and picturesque path with ocean views on one side and wildflowers on the other. It’s still off season here, so we often get this beach completely to ourselves. There are a few bars/restaurants sprinkled in throughout the boardwalk so you can grab a quick afternoon wine or snack before the trek back to town. During today’s beach adventure, we discovered the naturalist section of Meia Praia! It’s located just past the furthest point of the boardwalk where you’ll find more privacy and no restaurants overlooking the beach. It’s hard to imagine that this beach will be completely packed with people in just a couple months! 😱 PS I learned the slight haze in the pictures is actually dust from the Sahara Desert that hit our town for a couple of days ☀️ #meiapraia #lagosportugal #portugalbeaches #diadepraia #portugallife #livingabroad #naturalist

The doors of Lagos 🇵🇹 Mike and I took a long walk around our town of Lagos, embracing the sunshine and exploring unique architecture along the way. I spent most of my life growing up in HOA communities or townhomes with extremely strict rules for how to maintain the exterior look of your house. And for those of you that don’t know, HOA communities are ones where you can get fined for things like having your grass a couple cm too long, you’re limited to a handful of colors you can paint your walls, and you absolutely can’t have peeling paint on the exterior of your home. While those organized communities have a different type of aesthetic appeal, I’ve been loving the uniqueness of Portuguese homes. 🇵🇹 Each building feels like it has a story to tell. Whether it’s a home that has new life as a rental or one that is now ruins, it’s one of a kind and part of Lagos’s history. People often ask me for activities to do in Portugal… one of my favorites is just getting lost in the streets and soaking in the sites that come to you! 🇵🇹🫶 And then stopping at a local restaurant for a quick bite of course! #lagos #lagosportugal #algarve #algarveportugal #portugal #livingabroad #portuguesebloggers

PORTALEGRE 🇵🇹🌺 Last week, we had our final immigration appointment with AIMA 🙌 For our visa type, we were each randomly assigned a location, date, and time for our appointments. Mike’s was in a suburb of Lisboa while mine was in Portalegre, the capital of the least populated district in Portugal. I didn’t know much about Portalegre when booking my overnight stay there, but I did know I wanted to be comfortable before my immigration appointment. I researched the relatively limited accommodation options (compared to Lisboa and the Algarve), and decided to book a room at @portalegrepalace because the beds looked cozy and it included breakfast. 🙌 And WOWWWW I didn’t realize I actually booked at a real Portuguese Palace. It was the PERFECT accommodation to relax before a critical life event. The staff was so kind (especially Miguel who checked me in & gave me an excellent tour of the grounds after my 8,5 hr bus ride from Lagos). 👏 The Palace was formerly owned by a family and has been restored as a luxury getaway. It feels uniquely cozy and extravagant at the same time. Each guest has access to the grounds, spa, pool, and self-serve bar. Portalegre is a beautiful area in the more agricultural region of Alentejo, which means there are very few tourists here. I was actually the only tourist I saw during my visit, which meant a lot of practicing my Portuguese since most people I encountered spoke no or limited English. 🇵🇹 It was really fun spending time in a city that feels authentically Portuguese with lots of nature and outdoor spots to just sit and relax. If you’re looking for a nice stop on a road trip or a luxury stay with a reasonable price point, I highly recommend staying at the Portalegre Palace for a couple nights ☺️☺️ I didn’t have a car, but I would recommend renting one if you plan on spending a few days here to explore the surrounding areas and hikes! Rooms at Portalegre Palace are under €150/night right now and far exceeded my expectations 🤩🤩 A single Instagram post doesn’t do Portalegre justice… YouTube coming later! #portalegre #portalegreportugal #visitportugal #uniquetravel #luxurytravel #hotelreview #americansabroad