Three Weeks in Portugal Update
Mariana and I in Lisbon before exhibiting at BTL yesterday.
Hello! I’ve been in Portugal for 23 days now and it’s hard to keep up with all the things that are happening and share them here, but I’m trying. In the last post, I mentioned some viral reels and looking at a few houses, so let’s start there. The reels are still going and going and suddenly there are 10,600 people following my art adventure on instagram. BANANAS! I am so grateful and appreciative though- so thanks for joining my crazy little world.
And now the houses!
The checklist for our home search:
We want to located an hour or less from both Lisbon and Caldas da Rainha for ease of transport to the airport and the studio Mariana and I are planning.
Hoping for at least an acre of land for my husband to farm and grow veggies.
Main house must be livable (this is a thing in Portugal- so many houses to “recover” are simply not inhabitable), and have annexes that we can convert into the living spaces and a studio space.
And a bunch of other things that would lend themselves to hosting other artists for retreats and residencies.
First house
Annexes from first house
So I looked at three houses that checked some or most of these boxes. The first one was only 30 minutes from Caldas, it had three giant (legal) annexes, lots of land, a livable house and was in our price range. I kind of fell in love with it’s potential, but it needs so much work. Work that will likely put us beyond our budget to complete. I’ll confess I have been thinking about it for over a week now though and trying to rationalize calling it home. My husband is the voice of reason (thankfully— most of the time), and reminded me we have just begun our search.
The second house, well… it has amazing land, lots of mature fruit and olive trees, irrigation- so many things perfect for Nick’s dreams of agriculture! But the house was tiny, and it had no place to expand for guests AND it was very overpriced for what it was, so it was a quick visit, or at least we tried to be quick but the homeowner was insistent about showing us every inch of the property before my realtor was able to break us free.
The apartment included with the third house.
The third house was a bit further away, about 45 minutes from Caldas, but it was pristine and well cared for home and gardens with lovely views. Teh home was 4 bedrooms with a separate one bedroom house on the property and a giant insulated garage- (hello studio!). plus the attic of the main home was prepared to be converted into more living space. Lots of mature fruit and olive trees, irrigation, well and bore hole. Also quite a bit over what we had hoped to spend. On paper it was pretty perfect though, but I didn’t feel any real connection to it, like I did with the money pit I saw first.
House shopping is very different here. Unlike in the states, both my realtor and the realtor representing the homeowners are present for viewings. The homeowners were also present and interacting with us throughout the viewings- this is not something that happens in the states. Usually it’s just the buyer and their agent. The homeowners are often asked to leave when the home is shown- maybe because it takes some pressure off or the realtors don’t want them to say anything that could tank the sale? Who knows, but the portuguese home viewing style was charming, and strange to me, all at once. Two of the homeowners, gifted me food- the first plucked big juicy oranges right off the trees for us to try. And when we’d finished the first orange he came back with a handful of smaller citrus, which I carried around in my pockets all day. The last homeowner had just made rice pudding and insisted I try a HUGE helping. Man it was so good, but I had just had pastries with my realtor in between viewings so I wasn’t hungry, but also didn’t want to be rude (side note, I am eating my way through Portugal).
So at the end of the day, Nick reminded me that these were just three houses our of so many, and I should temper my expectations and not be in a hurry. The first place is still on my mental wish list, but for now, we’ll keep looking over the next 24 days that I am here. In between prepping for our upcoming art opening at Mariana’s studio, and meeting with accountants and business consultants of course.
This week we have a meeting with an organization that helps people apply for grants to start up small business here. So Mariana and I have a rough draft of our business plan, and will see if there is a grant that may be interested in helping us get this ceramic community center off the ground here. After nearly two decades of fantasizing about this thing, it’s weird to think it may finally be happening… or at least starting. Oh! We were also interviewed by the local news about our collaboration, how we met and our future plans! Can’t wait to share that once it’s published.
I’m halfway through my trip and still so much to do. We took a short break this morning to sleep in, but now I need to get back to the studio and get back to work. I also need to figure out EU shipping- a totally daunting task, but one that needs to happen. Blah. Wish me luck. If you have questions or comments please drop them below. I love to hear from you!
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