travel blogger - Choice of Magic

Spain

My Favourite Restaurants in Barcelona

February 21, 2023

My first trip of 2023 (if we neglect that I started the year abroad already), was Barcelona with my family. It was my third time there within six months, so by the time I was back to Lisbon, I felt I had plenty of material to put together this article on #foodIlovedinBarcelona. As always, I´ll start with breakfast and brunch places (including a great coffee spot and an artisanal ice cream joint), then head over to lunch and dinner restaurants, finally ending with some cool cocktail and dancing bars. I´ll be back to Barcelona in June, and might add some new spots after that trip, so stay tuned with this work in progress article. But until then, let this list inspire you.

Spain

A Guide to Costa Brava – Part I – Cadaqués

June 29, 2022

Cadaqués – a town Salvador Dali described as a “mystical paradise”. A town that even to the ones without an artistic bone in their body will come across as full of a creative energy that is hard to ignore. Located up north on the Costa Brava, sprinkled with artistic studios, fantastic boutique stores and great restaurants, it´s no wonder Cadaqués attracted not just Dali, but also the likes of Picasso, Miró and much more. This June I spent a couple of days there, and as per usual, I just had to document where I recommend you stay, eat and what to do in this gem of a town.

Brazil

7 Fun Things To Do in São Paulo

February 24, 2022

A month ago today I was in very rainy São Paulo, eating a gigantic mortadella sandwich (more about this below) and marvelling at this grey city, which has so much to offer. Let me set something straight though: São Paulo is not exactly what one would call a beautiful city. Its buildings stretch towards the sky, as if trying to make a connection to a God that might have forsaken the many poor of the city. Bursts of colour appear here and there, but especially when one thinks of the other iconic Brazilian city – Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo pales. What the city does have plenty of though, is an impressive art scene, mouth-watering food and great restaurants, and music – lots of music. For the scope of this article though, I´ll focus on seven fun things to do in this enormous and intimidating city of contrasts.

Portugal

A Day in Coimbra

December 12, 2021

Coimbra, the former capital of Portugal in the 12th and 13th century, is nowadays the most notorious university city in Portugal and a perfect weekend destination if you find yourself either in Lisbon or Porto. The city has an intriguing and tragic love story behind it, that of Infante Pedro and Inês de Castro (a Spanish lady in waiting to Pedro´s wife, Constança). You see, Pedro and Inês were in love, so after Pedro´s wife died, they stopped hiding their love affair, a thing that enraged Pedro´s father, the king. He was so angry, that he had Inês killed, a thing that in return turned Pedro incredibly angry. One thing led to another, an uprising against the king started, and Inês´ killers basically ended up with their hearts ripped out, earning Pedro the name of “the Cruel”. Had Shakespeare known about Coimbra, Romeo and Julia would have been an entirely different story.

Scotland

Food I Loved in Edinburgh

November 12, 2021

I guess some skeptics among you might have read the title of this article and thought this would be a pamphlet. After all, the British are not particularly well known for their exquisite cuisine. True, but a real foodie will always find some yummy dishes, no matter the damp and rainy country she ends up in. So be ready to be immersed into the food universe I experience during my short weekend stay in Edinurgh. Read about the food I loved, but also the ones that were meh and the places I wouldn´t necessarily try again.

Romania

Five Spots I Love in Bucharest, a City I Used to Hate

October 29, 2021

What do you do when you repeatedly find yourself in a city you hate? And moreover, when that city is the capital of the country you were born in? And your friends are divided about it as well – some love it and some hate it? I tried answering that question during my last two trips to Bucharest this summer. I met with people that see beauty in the city, I revisited the few places I loved and explored some new ones that took me by utter surprise. And I ended up fancying a city I had hated for over two decades. Here are the spots that made me change my mind.

Portugal

10 Postcards from the East of the Algarve

April 15, 2021

Portugal´s South coast is a paradise of green waters, magnificent beaches and what seems like an endless supply of delicious sea food. The Algarve is a mere two and a half hours away from Lisbon, so lots of Portuguese vacation there at least once every summer. I, myself, albeit not Portuguese (yet), love driving down there and exploring all the different nooks and crannies of this wonderful coast line. This time, we stayed in the town of Luz de Tavira, and explored the East side of the Algarve. And while I won´t be writing much in this post, I´d like to share ten pictures from my camera, that I think could be actual postcards – four from the charming town of Vila Real de Santo António – the last town before reaching Spain, and six from the village of Cacela Velha, a nearby white village overlooking a most charming lagoon and beach.

Portugal

A Luxury Weekend Spent an Hour Away from Lisbon

January 21, 2021

For when it´s safe to travel again…

Raise your hand if you love weekend trips. I, for one, could easily give up my early vacation and take instead a million small weekend or even day trips. And while given the current circumstances flying off to London or Paris for a weekend is impossible, I love discovering Portugal trip-by-trip. Typically, I see a picture of a place that looks interesting, or even hear a story of a place that is still undiscovered, and plan my way there. This time though, it was a picture of a hotel that guided me yet again to Alentejo – specifically the Ribatejo area this time. The Salvaterra Country House is a small hotel, an hour away from Lisbon and it is serious #nexthouse goals. I discovered it on an Instagram account that aggregates Portugal´s most beautiful hotels for your inspiration – @getawaygoto_portugal and I have been dreaming of it for about a month before finally booking a night there. And so, the day came and we left Lisbon early in the morning, drove up the Tejo river and returned late the next night. Here´s where we went, what we saw, what we ate and what we loved most.