I love love love this. Like, the cookie-making detail is the one that got me; trying so hard to get it right that you completely disconnected from the experience, that's such a precise description of something so many of us do constantly. Like, well beyond dough.
& the bit about the older generation being remarkably healthy without any of the wellness theatre we perform, that's really interesting -- & it's something that really tracks for particular parts of europe (it feels like something about the culture)
&&& madeira has been on my bucket list for the longest time & this has only made it worse 😅 the natural pools & the less touristy trails are going straight to my notes.
thank you for sharing all of this Lia! Great to connect here. 🤍
Wow thank you so much for your comment Michelle! I almost hesitated to share the cookie experience because I felt maybe it was weird and people wouldnt get it, so to know that you resonated with it so much made me so happy to know!! I definitely hope you get to visit Madeira soon, and please feel free to reach out if you need any tips!
What a wholesome article Lia! I adore the level of detail you chose to share with us about your gorgeous time there. Learning new things and having experiences like the ones you described is truly what life is all about 🥹 The reframe about not doing things perfectly and choosing to focus on the joy of it instead really resonated with me 💛💛
Ahh thank you so much Karolina!! Really really glad to know that resonated with you!! And thank you so much for this incredible feedback, makes me soo happy to read 🥰
You are really living your best life! This is my DREAM - how your family in laws are living. It also really reminded me of Sicily when you spoke about everyone sitting around the table after dinner playing cards and games. Being able to stay at my nonna's when I was younger to experience their way of life compared to the UK really showed me how there were different ways to live.
It is my dream too!! And the more time im there the more I want to incorporate their habits into my daily life! Slowly, but surely!! Wow that sounds soo beautiful, I can very much picture you in Sicily with your nonna, what a beautiful memory!!
This was such a wholesome, wonderful read Lia! I enjoyed every moment from what you learned to the different places to visit in Madeira. I also loved the pictures of all the food! There is nothing I love more that trying food from different cultures and places.
Aweee thank you so much Veronica!! Wholesome is exactly how it felt to reflect on my time in Madeira, so its so nice to receive this feedback!! And soo glad you love the food pics, honestly Madeira food is AMAZING!!! So so underrated! Hope you get to try someday!
Lia, thank you for writing this. It felt so wholesome to read your piece! I can see how much time, effort and dedication you put in your pieces; almost as if a small part of your soul finds its way into these articles!
I paused at several sentences, but this one hit me deeply: "I think many of us were raised in such a performance-based society that we constantly feel pressure to optimize, perfect, and prove ourselves."
As someone who grew up under a lot of pressure to excel at everything, I've noticed that if I don't achieve something the first time I try it, I'm ready to give up. But that's not how you learn things in life, unfortunately ahah...
Another aspect you described beautifully is the sense of community. I think we're becoming more disconnected from each other, which leads to increasing loneliness and declining mental health. My dream is to live in a place surrounded by a beautiful, kind and welcoming community.
Awe Annabelle 🥺this comment from you made me so emotional, I had to pause for a second and just sit with it!! I really really appreciate your kind words, and feel so seen right now!! And I relate to you so much, I also used to give up if I wasnt a “pro” right away, but slowly have been overcoming that! And it is also my dream to have that community around me and I believe that we will be able to create it, slowly but surely! Meeting each other was a lovely first step 💕 Thank you so much for this message!!
I went to Madeira a couple of years ago and I feel like I learned some of these things there too! Home-grown foods, slow life and long long walks were the highlights for me. The entire island is truly magical and it’s full of microclimates which I loved!!! These photos made me so nostalgic and I’m glad you had such a wonderful time! Quite jealous you live so close!!!
awee thats soo beautiful!! I am so happy to know that you got that experience, because I was curious how it was for those that didnt have family there, and its really nice to know you felt this as well! I hope you get to go back and visit again 💗
Love this so much. I saw your email and was so ready to read it. My mum has been to Madeira and always raves about it. So I was very excited to find out more from a different pov.
I absolutely love your personal experience about making things from scratch, grow what you eat, talk and let the evenings flow. The board games idea is fabulous. We play chess with the boys and it’s always fun.
You making wine and drinking is just wow. What a unique experience.
Thank you so much for sharing lovely Lia. Your in-laws sound like awesome people.
Aweee thank you soo much Ana!! And how lovely, I love knowing that you play chess with your boys 🤍 so special!! I am so happy to know that you really liked the read 😍😍
wow I love this Lia!!! I'm visiting Madeira on my trip this summer, so I truly appreciate all the recommendations (I can't wait to hike and explore there!) It sounds like your trips there are always so expansive - how cool that you get to learn so many new things from your travels there (and experience such amazing culture directly through your in-laws!). We can learn so many things from others who live different lifestyles from us, and now I am inspired to start baking my own bread & growing my own herbs like you (although now I very much wish I had a farm!) thanks so much for sharing :)
Awe this feedback makes me soo happy!! If you need any additional tips, please feel free to message me =) I am so excited for your trip for you haha!! It really is so incredible to experience life there, and I also want my own farm now 😅😅 but maybe someday! Baking bread and growing herbs is a perfect way to start down that path!
i have been looking forward to this post and it definitely did not disappoint!! Thank you for sharing Lia, Madeira has been on my wishlist for a while and you sharing your experience has most certainly intensified my wish to go!! the landscape is truly incredible, love how you described the slowed down and intentional way of living, truly something I could use a good dose of. I love me a little beverage and those Ponchas look delightful!!
I am assuming your partner grew up on Madeira as well then? There is something so special to go home to your partners place, especially when it is foreign. Been going to Japan for a decade due to my partner being from there and I love being there with our family.
Oh, I am so happy to recieve this feedback Matthias, I knew you were looking forward to this, and I was hoping you'd enjoy the read! The ponchas really are AMAZING!! Please do let me know if you ever plan a trip there, I'd be happy to give you more tips!! And yes, my partner grew up there, and the first time I visited, I felt like it finally made so much sense to me why he is the way he is! I am sure you've had similar experiences with your partner. How incredible that you get to visit Japan with your partner, that must also be such a culture shock, but in the best way! Japan is definitely on my list. I would love to know more about it from your perspective (if you ever feel inclined to write about it)!
it literally popped up in my inbox and i went straight to reading it lol!! I was excited :) and yes, it has been a culture journey let's say and that is definitely something I could write about some time, thank you for suggesting it!
I love love love this. Like, the cookie-making detail is the one that got me; trying so hard to get it right that you completely disconnected from the experience, that's such a precise description of something so many of us do constantly. Like, well beyond dough.
& the bit about the older generation being remarkably healthy without any of the wellness theatre we perform, that's really interesting -- & it's something that really tracks for particular parts of europe (it feels like something about the culture)
&&& madeira has been on my bucket list for the longest time & this has only made it worse 😅 the natural pools & the less touristy trails are going straight to my notes.
thank you for sharing all of this Lia! Great to connect here. 🤍
Wow thank you so much for your comment Michelle! I almost hesitated to share the cookie experience because I felt maybe it was weird and people wouldnt get it, so to know that you resonated with it so much made me so happy to know!! I definitely hope you get to visit Madeira soon, and please feel free to reach out if you need any tips!
ahaha, then I'm really glad you didn’t cut out the cookie experience! 🍪 & yessss, will definitely ping you when I hopefully go to madeira soon! ✨️
Me too!! And yes sounds great, looking forward to it!
This is definitely giving blue zone vibes! It sounds lovely and so wholesome. You're so lucky to be able to experience this with your family!
Thank you Gigi! I really am so fortunate, and wholesome is exactly how it feels! Glad you got that from this article =)
What a wholesome article Lia! I adore the level of detail you chose to share with us about your gorgeous time there. Learning new things and having experiences like the ones you described is truly what life is all about 🥹 The reframe about not doing things perfectly and choosing to focus on the joy of it instead really resonated with me 💛💛
Ahh thank you so much Karolina!! Really really glad to know that resonated with you!! And thank you so much for this incredible feedback, makes me soo happy to read 🥰
Also.... we need the cookie recipe!
Ahahah,I will def ask them for it because I already dont remember half the recipe 😅
You must!!
Ill report back to you when I have it! heheh =)
You are really living your best life! This is my DREAM - how your family in laws are living. It also really reminded me of Sicily when you spoke about everyone sitting around the table after dinner playing cards and games. Being able to stay at my nonna's when I was younger to experience their way of life compared to the UK really showed me how there were different ways to live.
It is my dream too!! And the more time im there the more I want to incorporate their habits into my daily life! Slowly, but surely!! Wow that sounds soo beautiful, I can very much picture you in Sicily with your nonna, what a beautiful memory!!
Love these realizations from your trip. I need to keep them in mind more! I am a huge believer that homegrown and whole foods truly are the best.
Thank you so much!! And soo am I, working on making that more of a regular part of my life little by little!
This was such a wholesome, wonderful read Lia! I enjoyed every moment from what you learned to the different places to visit in Madeira. I also loved the pictures of all the food! There is nothing I love more that trying food from different cultures and places.
Aweee thank you so much Veronica!! Wholesome is exactly how it felt to reflect on my time in Madeira, so its so nice to receive this feedback!! And soo glad you love the food pics, honestly Madeira food is AMAZING!!! So so underrated! Hope you get to try someday!
Of course! And yes I absolutely loved the food and am hoping to try one day :)
Lia, thank you for writing this. It felt so wholesome to read your piece! I can see how much time, effort and dedication you put in your pieces; almost as if a small part of your soul finds its way into these articles!
I paused at several sentences, but this one hit me deeply: "I think many of us were raised in such a performance-based society that we constantly feel pressure to optimize, perfect, and prove ourselves."
As someone who grew up under a lot of pressure to excel at everything, I've noticed that if I don't achieve something the first time I try it, I'm ready to give up. But that's not how you learn things in life, unfortunately ahah...
Another aspect you described beautifully is the sense of community. I think we're becoming more disconnected from each other, which leads to increasing loneliness and declining mental health. My dream is to live in a place surrounded by a beautiful, kind and welcoming community.
Finally, Lucy is a very cute dog haha <3
Awe Annabelle 🥺this comment from you made me so emotional, I had to pause for a second and just sit with it!! I really really appreciate your kind words, and feel so seen right now!! And I relate to you so much, I also used to give up if I wasnt a “pro” right away, but slowly have been overcoming that! And it is also my dream to have that community around me and I believe that we will be able to create it, slowly but surely! Meeting each other was a lovely first step 💕 Thank you so much for this message!!
I went to Madeira a couple of years ago and I feel like I learned some of these things there too! Home-grown foods, slow life and long long walks were the highlights for me. The entire island is truly magical and it’s full of microclimates which I loved!!! These photos made me so nostalgic and I’m glad you had such a wonderful time! Quite jealous you live so close!!!
awee thats soo beautiful!! I am so happy to know that you got that experience, because I was curious how it was for those that didnt have family there, and its really nice to know you felt this as well! I hope you get to go back and visit again 💗
Thank you soo much, for the beautiful words, pictures and kind words about my family, out family 💕😘
From the heart 💗💗💗💗
Love this so much. I saw your email and was so ready to read it. My mum has been to Madeira and always raves about it. So I was very excited to find out more from a different pov.
I absolutely love your personal experience about making things from scratch, grow what you eat, talk and let the evenings flow. The board games idea is fabulous. We play chess with the boys and it’s always fun.
You making wine and drinking is just wow. What a unique experience.
Thank you so much for sharing lovely Lia. Your in-laws sound like awesome people.
Aweee thank you soo much Ana!! And how lovely, I love knowing that you play chess with your boys 🤍 so special!! I am so happy to know that you really liked the read 😍😍
wow I love this Lia!!! I'm visiting Madeira on my trip this summer, so I truly appreciate all the recommendations (I can't wait to hike and explore there!) It sounds like your trips there are always so expansive - how cool that you get to learn so many new things from your travels there (and experience such amazing culture directly through your in-laws!). We can learn so many things from others who live different lifestyles from us, and now I am inspired to start baking my own bread & growing my own herbs like you (although now I very much wish I had a farm!) thanks so much for sharing :)
Awe this feedback makes me soo happy!! If you need any additional tips, please feel free to message me =) I am so excited for your trip for you haha!! It really is so incredible to experience life there, and I also want my own farm now 😅😅 but maybe someday! Baking bread and growing herbs is a perfect way to start down that path!
i have been looking forward to this post and it definitely did not disappoint!! Thank you for sharing Lia, Madeira has been on my wishlist for a while and you sharing your experience has most certainly intensified my wish to go!! the landscape is truly incredible, love how you described the slowed down and intentional way of living, truly something I could use a good dose of. I love me a little beverage and those Ponchas look delightful!!
I am assuming your partner grew up on Madeira as well then? There is something so special to go home to your partners place, especially when it is foreign. Been going to Japan for a decade due to my partner being from there and I love being there with our family.
Thank you for sharing!! :)
Oh, I am so happy to recieve this feedback Matthias, I knew you were looking forward to this, and I was hoping you'd enjoy the read! The ponchas really are AMAZING!! Please do let me know if you ever plan a trip there, I'd be happy to give you more tips!! And yes, my partner grew up there, and the first time I visited, I felt like it finally made so much sense to me why he is the way he is! I am sure you've had similar experiences with your partner. How incredible that you get to visit Japan with your partner, that must also be such a culture shock, but in the best way! Japan is definitely on my list. I would love to know more about it from your perspective (if you ever feel inclined to write about it)!
it literally popped up in my inbox and i went straight to reading it lol!! I was excited :) and yes, it has been a culture journey let's say and that is definitely something I could write about some time, thank you for suggesting it!
Literally as I pressed published, i thought about you!! hahah!! OMG I will be the first to read if you write this, looking forward to it =)