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Haverhill Leach walks in front of the ornate, teal doors of Brandfire. White & blue decorative tiles adorn the archway.
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An impromptu holiday to Lisbon, Portugal

I was recently listening to a podcast with former monk Jay Shetty, and he said that in order to understand what you value, look at your bank accounts to see what you spend your money on. One of the things that my hubby, Andrej, and I have in common is that we both truly value travel. When Andrej saw that there were direct flights from Boston to Lisbon, we decided to take a very impromptu trip to this beautiful city, a place that’s been on both of our wish lists for a few years now. Lisbon exceeded our expectations!

Yellow building with balconies that are lined with potted plants.
A pink building, accented with white trim, sits on the right of an empty street. A large stone building is on the left.

Where We Stayed: Brown’s Avenue Hotel

This centrally located boutique hotel is very stylish and has great service. The highlight for us was the beautiful rooftop pool, where we’d retire after our daily walking explorations.

The lounge area of the Browns Avenue Hotel.

As we were traveling sans kids, we did appreciate a quiet and splash-free pool, as Brown’s is for adults only.

Poolside stack:

White and green striped outdoor lounge chairs sit on a wooden deck outside amidst lush green plants and cacti.
Woman's hand wearing three stacked Rosecliff Stackable rings, Warren Atlantic Blue Topaz ring, & personalized bracelets.
A blue and green-hued tiled pool surrounded by green cacti.

The downstairs lounge offers a plethora of Assouline art books for the design-obsessed, like me! 

Two built-in, wooden bookshelves holding an assortment of books and knickknacks.
Haverhill Leach sitting in the lounge of the Browns Avenue Hotel with an open book.

Around Lisbon

As recommended by our friend Mary Everard, we took a tuk-tuk tour around the city to get the lay of the land. Our tour was only one hour long because we booked it the night before; we wish we’d booked a two-hour tour to view more scenery.

Tuk-tuk's lined up on a stone street.
Haverhill Leach, smiling, stands outside. The view behind her overlooks a sunny village in Portugal.

You can’t write about Portugal and not mention the beautiful tiles that cover walls, sidewalks, and even furniture. As a designer with a history of textile pattern design, being surrounded by patterns galore gives me so much joy. 

Close-up of ornate tiles on a building featuring blue, yellow, white, red, green, and black.
Close-up of ornate tiles on a building featuring blue, white, and yellow.
Close-up of ornate tiles on a building featuring white and shades of blue.

Favorite Lunch: Lumi Rooftop

A bartender working at the Lumi Rooftop bar.

An elegantly designed space with delicious food served al fresco.

Haverhill Leach sits outside on the deck of Lumi Rooftop.
Overhead view of a dish with food.

Shopping

For a welcome inspiration overload, check out Fashion Clinic. 

Assorted items including pillows, dishes, pottery, and books inside of Fashion Clinic.

Whenever we travel, Andrej and I seek out the local flea markets and food markets. Every Tuesday and Saturday in the neighborhood of Alfama, there’s a flea market that offers a large variety of goods, from junk to precious artifacts. If you look, you’ll find some memento of your stay.

A building with assorted colorful dishes and bowls that rest outside on the ground and hang on wooden racks on the wall.
A man standing at flea market stall outside featuring assorted jewelry pieces and trinkets.

We purchased three of these vintage acrylic birds by Abraham Palatnik for my birding mama. 

Four bird sculptures made out of acrylic resin, each with their own unique coloring.

Day Trip: Cascais

About 30 minutes from Lisbon center, this fabulous coastal town is a perfect little day-trip getaway when you’re staying in the city.

People standing, sitting, and lying on Parai Da Rainha beach.
Haverhill Leach walks in front of the Palace of Cascais Citadel.
A cream-colored Vespa stands on the road overlooking the water.

We wandered into the Museum Condes de Castro Guimarães, a former summer home built in 1900, which is now open to the public and a fun way to see how the rich used to live. 

A fountain in front of the Museu Condes de Castro Guimarães.
An ice-filled table lined with assorted seafood.
Andrej, Haverhill's husband, smiles while sitting outside on a deck at Marisco na Praça.

We chose our incredible lunch from the day’s fresh catch at Marisco Na Praca, located in the Cascais Marina.

The Cascais Marina filled with a variety of boats.

Cascais personalized bracelet party:

Haverhill Leach sits on a stone bench overlooking the water while wearing assorted jewelry pieces.
Woman's wrist wearing two personalized Newport Grand bracelets, MAMA bracelet, & personalized Classic 5 Birthstone bracelet.

Day Trip: Sintra

Also just 30 minutes outside Lisbon is the town of Sintra, which is home to many opulent castles that are a must-see.

Inside the Hunting Room featuring a set of large, red doors adorned with ornate silver trim and intricate moulding.

Quinta da Regaleira, built 1904-1910, has many intricate details for such a new(ish) construction. It has the feeling of being very old, but in fact (especially for Europe), it really isn’t. In the animal and nature motifs especially, there are nods to Art Nouveau style, which was en vogue at that time. 


The property has two “initiation wells” that were used for ceremonial purposes, which included tarot initiation rites.

Top-down view of the Initiation Well.
Inside the Hunting Room featuring a set of large, red doors adorned with ornate silver trim and intricate moulding.

Had to show off my new shades (purchased in Cascais), as I prefer their design to that of the Pena Palace behind me! Kind of a hodgepodge of different styles. 

A smiling Haverhill Leach, wearing sunglasses, stands outside. The Pena Palace is behind her.

Some details that caught my eye:

Detailed masonry decor at the Pena Palace.
Inner courtyard of the Pena Palace featuring a large, ornate fern planter pot.

We will most certainly return to Portugal, perhaps next time with the whole brood in tow. Porto and Lagos are on my list…

Haverhill Leach and her husband, Andrej, pose together while standing side-by-side.

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