About the Author

I was born in Northern Ireland, but then my parents removed me kicking and screaming to Toronto. To be fair, I was three months old at the time, so kicking and screaming went with the territory. As a happier consequence I got to grow up in Canada, went to University there, met and married my husband, and had an entire life until the age of 38. Good work, Mum and Dad. However, I didn’t become a Canadian citizen until I was a teenager, thanks to something called “landed immigrant” status. My Dad got citizenship to vote again Pierre Trudeau (it was a whole Canadian thing), and I tagged along for the ride (apolitically, I couldn’t vote). When Husband and I got a little too tired of the snow, we moved to Boston (yes, seriously) and we lived the next 22 years in the United States. We even became citizens, but never felt completely at home. In 2025, we moved across the Atlantic to begin a semi-retirement life in Portugal, where I’m calling myself European because of where I was born.

So as you can see, there are a lot of “yes, but” statements I make about the idea of home. I’ve always tended to think of myself as a citizen of the world, and to date I’ve been to 44 countries (still fewer than my sister, and yes it’s a competition). Thinking about what makes a place home drives many of my reflections, and since I love both travel and writing, this seems like a natural combination.

Welcome to my noodlings about life in Portugal, my adventures and misadventures as I navigate a new culture in search of a sense of belonging. I’ve started this blog to keep friends and family up to date as I try to make home, once again. If I can dispense travel advice and recommend great restaurants along the way, and maybe provoke a few laughs, so much the better!