tiny newsletter #185: jess & talia's big adventure
hello hellooo,
passing the baton to one more friend of the newsletter (fotn) this wk (well, two) – jessica lee & talia tandler went to lisbon + the azores and are here to report back. jess, take it away!
what an honor it is to be a guest on my favorite weekly newsletter :)
i'm jess, audrey's college roommate and i live in brooklyn, ny. i'm taking over the newsletter this week to share my fav memories from my recent trip to portugal.
talia and i went to lisbon to attend one of our bff's wedding. everything was so so beautiful and thoughtful. it was a three-day event: the mehndi on thurs (on a sunset cruise), followed by the nikkah and sangeet (in a stunning castle) on fri and a western ceremony at a pink palace on sat.
the thing i love the most about weddings is seeing how loved your friends have been through every phase of life. from meeting their other friends to hearing heartfelt (and funny!) toasts, it's a beautiful thing to see and feel.
after lisbon, we went to the azores, which is a short two hour flight (and on the way back to nyc!) there we hiked, surfed and explored. here are my top recs:
burgers at suplexio - no reservations and the lines get a bit long at night but if you're willing to wait, it's a great burger and beer. the azores is known for beef!
doing the sete cidades hike - we had to do an abridged version bcuz it was downpouring but we saw lots of hydrangeas (did you know their color varies by soil acidity?), stunning views and a famous abandoned hotel (only open for 18 months)
surf school at azores surf club - all of the instructors were lovely and we learned a lot in our 2 hr lesson. i wish i had photos but we left our phones in the car.
dinner at musa - a cute farm to table restaurant above a boutique hotel in the center of ponta delgada. it only has twelve tables and you have to whatsapp the owner to make a reservation, but it was one of the best meals we had on the trip.
bring a book - i packed open water and the names and loved both.
a tip from talia - instead of using the $12/day charge from your us-based phone plan to get data overseas, get an eSIM from a provider like airalo to buy multiple gbs of data and reliably use it w/o much setup. it's way more cost effective.
...and that's a wrap on the portugal trip! i'm off to mn today to experience the world famous minnesota state fair. wish me luck!
💌 thanks for having me, xo jess