This is the second of my three part series on exploring Italy with two friends. I was pretty sure that our taxi driver had brought us to the wrong place when we pulled up outside our next Airbnb. A plaque on the building said “Embassy of Bangladesh” and I was very sure we didn’t have…
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For most of my life, I dreamed of living in and exploring Italy. My father’s family is Italian; his parents came from a town—village really—about 90 miles east of Rome. The first neighborhood I lived in had a strong mix of Italian immigrants. Many of my father’s relatives lived within a half mile area. My…
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I stumbled upon my new home town by pure chance. And it’s perfect. For me. People like to say that everything happens for a reason (and the voice in my head responds, ‘yes and sometimes that reason is that you are stupid and make bad decisions’). I ended up in Portugal partly because Italy made…
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I’ve been traveling through Italy for the past week and I feel a bit disoriented and disconnected. I’ve been living in Portugal for almost a year and during that time have not traveled very much due to lockdowns and residency requirements. This trip to Italy is my first opportunity to take advantage of living in…
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I’ve been missing family Thanksgivings and Christmases for much longer than I ever participated in them. Over the years since I moved away from my hometown, I’ve gone back for a few, one or the other, never both in the same year. Thirty years ago when I worked on ships I think I missed five…
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I feel as if I stay in touch with my friends and family as an expat more than I ever did in the States. It’s not a case of “absence makes the heart grow fonder”—I was, with the exception of a few friends, at least 100 miles from my core community and over 1,000 miles…
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Right now—this very instant—I am delighting (yes, DEE-lighting!) in a bagel and cream cheese. Unlike the US where you can’t turn around without bumping into a coffee and bagel place, bagels are a little scarce in The Algarve. I know in the bigger towns, the towns that cater to tourists, you can find bagels. But…
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You Meet All Sorts I had a lovely “wandering around” day on Saturday. The town of Tavira in the eastern Algarve has a weekend farmers’ market, which is not huge compared to some, but big enough, particularly because I don’t really eat vegetables or fruit. Or fish. I mean, I do eat some fruits and…
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The subject of tipping in Portugal was brought up in one of the expat groups and it raised a lengthy and rather contentious discussion. People from the US tend to over-tip—we are accustomed to tipping a minimum of 15% and usually 20%, sometimes more. That’s because there’s a separate minimum wage for tipped workers, a…
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Transferring my life overseas is a months-long process. It may take a couple of years. I thought once I had physically arrived in Portugal I was on the downhill stretch. Not even close. (Getting here was just half the fun…) I knew I had an appointment with immigration for my residency permit set for a…
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