Getting familiar with the unfamiliar
Some post-holiday musings.
Hi friends,
How are you doing? I am, once again, coming to you from a cafe, sipping on iced coffee and eating a pastel de nata. Alas, I am back in the UK so it is not the sensational, original, secret recipe pasteis de Belem we enjoyed on holiday - but hey.
Since returning home I’ve experienced something slightly odd, and I thought I’d share a bit more about this (and our holiday) today.
So. The holiday itself.
If you follow me on Instagram you will no doubt have seen me spamming stories daily while away, sharing our trip and then rounding the experience up into five photo dumps. Suffice to say - we had an incredible time.
We were on an organised tour which left very little time to think about home, work and anything we left behind.
We visited so many different places, saw so many different things, learnt so many nuggets of Portuguese history that eight days stretched out into what felt like weeks. This combination proved to be a recipe for a true switch off and reset.
The longest we stayed in one place was two nights, meaning we lived out of our suitcases, moving onto new hotels, new cities and new vibes.
Our favourite place was probably Porto, where we found a cute woodland-themed cafe, strolled across bridges, watched the sunset and sipped Port and tonic by the river.
The tour gave us a taste and we’re already plotting our return - if we can swing it - a month-rental, working out there. Watch this space.
After a delayed flight and a slightly stressful journey home from the airport, we arrived at our front door around 1:30am. The flat was dark and felt cold, like any space that’s not been lived in for a while.
The next day we got to the inevitable jobs that come following a holiday - mountains of laundry, unpacking, sorting through mail and going for coffee to ease the pain of being home.
Everything felt strange. Surreal. Like we were simply on the next stop of our tour.
One thing we were so excited about when going on holiday was getting away from our day-to-day lives. Slipping away from questions like: Who’s cooking tonight? Do you have anything else that needs to go in the wash?
Ducking from the stresses and strains of work, leaving future us to deal with it. And wow - we got that. We plunged ourselves in the unfamiliar, far away from our everyday routine and were surprised at just how much we loved it.
Coming home though, things still (delightfully) feel unfamiliar. Cooking for ourselves feels like a novelty. Cleaning almost feels fun. After switching work-brain fully off, returning to work is switching it back on and… honestly? It feels like a computer that’s had a software update.
Now, all of this is 100% temporary. I am fully aware of this. Give it another couple of weeks and I’m sure all will be back to normal (urgh). But it’s made me realise that while away I got familiar with the unfamiliar. So much so, that even the familiarity of home now feels… unfamiliar.
As someone who’s pretty anxious by nature, loves a routine and rarely strays from pre-made plans - this feels revolutionary. It reminded me just how capable Dan and I are. That travel I important to us. That now is the time to do the big things.
Next time we move house (fingers-crossed, some time next year) we will be prioritising a place that allows pets. Before we get pets and feel more tied to home, I’m hoping we can do some of the bigger trips taking residence in our minds.
Some Dan may go on alone, some may involve time off work, some may involve working abroad, if possible.
Life is unpredictable. I feel like this reminder is being thrust at me a lot lately. A friend we made on our tour, Kui, is in his 70s and he imparted a lot of wisdom during the tour.
What stuck with me most was his reminder that we have moments in life where we make decisions that can alter the course of your life, so choose with courage.
This year has not gone to plan for Dan and I, following a change in Dan’s working situation. It has put a lot of things on pause for us. But I think this trip has sparked something in us. A reminder that we can still do incredible things, even if it’s not exactly what we had planned.
I want to remain familiar with the unfamiliar. I want to squeeze every ounce of life and joy and contentment out of our days - whatever they look like.
Thank you for reading - I’d love to hear how you feel about the unfamiliar, is it something you struggle with or embrace? Let me know in the comments.
Until next time, take care.
Kat x
I absolutely LOVED reading this Kat, what a special trip that was!
It sounds like a wonderful way to reset and recalibrate on the things that really mean the most. Eddie and I have been mulling over our upcoming trips, plans, and the rest of it, and we're realising how much we have to properly prioritise what means the most to us.