My husband had never been to Portugal. So, we ambitiously decided to see the entire country in a week to determine where we wanted to live.
Image: The incredible walled city and UNESCO world heritage site of Elvas, a town that held our second favourite listing.
31 July 2021
Somehow, my husband just had a sense that Portugal was the right fit. We've been all over the world (collectively to 80 countries and all 50 US states), but for some reason--intuitively--Portugal just stuck with him. Mind you, this is coming after diligently researching the 1 euro houses that Italy was promoting just a few years ago. And then came the pandemic. We started re-evaluating our lives. I had a large flip-chart up in my office with our "Big Life Goals" on it. I did mine, and he did his by himself. And "living in Europe" and "Portugal" was on both of ours. A year later, we were evaluating the economic and social climate of the country and were looking at real estate listings.
Lisbon was probably too big (and too expensive) for us to consider. Besides, since we are living in a big city in the US, we wanted something a bit less urban in Europe.
After reading Peter Mayle's "A Year in Provence" in high school, and falling in love with the poetic landscapes of Bergamo in "Call Me By Your Name," we are guilty of the American fantasy: living the laid-back life in a European cobblestoned-village or fruit tree-laden farm.
So, we dove into several guidebooks, searching for the "perfect" little town, and aligned those towns to real estate searches (often in Portuguese), matching our budget and desire for an old house, with all of the historical details. Before long, we had a dozen towns to see and even more listings to view.
2500km in 8 Days
We are known among our friends for having wild trips. After all, who else flies to Mauritius or South Korea (from the US) for the weekend? But even for us, planning a trip like this felt daunting. Not only were we assessing a property onsite, but everyday, we were also evaluating a whole new town and region we'd never set foot in.
Was this place alive? Do we want to live here? Is it healthy in terms of good restaurants, good activities, tourism? Do the locals look friendly? What activities are nearby? .....
100 questions, and all our antennae were activated. It was exhausting! And honestly, given our cultural inclination to cover so much territory, it felt very 'American.'
Our Itinerary:
Day 1: Arrive in Lisbon, drive to the Alentejo.
Properties 1, 2, 3 in Reguengos de Monsaraz and Elvas.
Day 2: Exploration of the Alentejo towns Evora, Estremoz, Borba, and Elvas.
Day 3: Drive to Monsaraz, and onward to the Algarve: Tavira and Olhao.
Day 4: The Algarve: Olhao, Faro, Carvoeiro, Portimao, Silves.
Properties 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11.
Day 5: Drive to Central Portugal - Tomar.
Properties 12, 13, 14, 15. Drive to Porto.
Day 6: Porto and Vila Nova de Gaia.
Properties 16, 17, 18, 19.
Day 7: Caminha in the Costa Verde.
Property 20 (the winner!). Back to Porto for Properties 21, 22, 23.
Day 8: Coimbra, Santa Comba Dao, and Figueira da Foz for
Properties 24, 25, and 26.
Day 9: Return to the United States.
We saw some incredible properties in those 26 viewings. First off, was a 20,000 square foot 'palace' once used by the King of Spain as a hunting lodge. Its vaulted ceilings were covered in frescoes that badly needed restoration. (The renovation would have easily cost several million dollars, so sadly, it was out of our reach). Some places we saw were a far cry from the photos that were advertised: in one, a couple refused to leave for the showing, and didn't bother to clean up beforehand. One place was so overgrown with weeds and bushes that we literally had to machete our way in. (That was also the one in which bats flew at our faces!)
And even the last property of the 26 that we saw was the embodiment of places we came to know: it had been abandoned for many years, obviously an inheritance long forgotten - architecture melting into the Earth.
By the end of our trip, we had a clear favourite, but also a handful of others that somehow beckoned in our memories. Had we millions of dollars (or euros) to spare, wouldn't it be a delight to revive some of these architectural masterpieces, and bring them back to their glory days?! One can dream...
Images: A breathtaking property in Santa Comba Dao; Marinha Beach, The Algarve; A stunning property (really a palace) in Reguengos de Monsaraz; ; A favourite property in Elvas; Saturday market finds in Estremoz; Port in Porto.
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