I’ve been on a medical LOA since last year and tomorrow I go back to work and I keep thinking about how almost all my coworkers I knew are gone and processes have changed. Also that if I do something wrong I might injure myself again and be right back where I was a year ago (I have been cleared for full job duties by my doctor).
My college friend’s destination wedding in Portugal.
I don’t really want to go - never been interested in Portugal, its extremely far away and extremely expensive to get there and stay there. On the other hand if I don’t go I know I’ll feel guilty about it. I’m currently churning ideas in my head for how to try and spin the trip into something that feels “worth” the money by going somewhere else in Europe afterwards. But the logistics are so complicated, and every day and extra location I add increases the price.
I hate obligations.
Where in Portugal are you going? I’ve only been to Porto but I loved it. It helps that I really like Portuguese food though I guess, and hot weather. It depends on what it is about Portugal that doesn’t appeal to you? In terms of cost it’s probably the cheapest country in Western Europe, you may just be staying somewhere pricey though. Honestly if you want to turn it into a bit of a trip I’d explore a bit of Portugal, or Spain is right next door, it should be easy to get around by train. Have a look on Trainline, they cover most of the train services in Europe. If you can book ahead for the intercity trains it’s usually a bit cheaper.
Looks like it’s in a place called Algarve.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure Portugal is a nice place, it just doesn’t gel with my preferences. I’m vegetarian so I basically can’t eat anything. Not a fan of beaches or hot weather either. I’m also just not really interested in learning about that culture, it’s never really sparked me.
Right now I’m thinking I might just do a hop to Scotland, and do some low cost hiking there - much more my speed. Kinda wish they had just had their wedding at home though…
The Algarve is full of British people (sorry) so you should be able to get vegetarian food. Although yeah with it being a tourist destination it’s probably more expensive. The Algarve has never appealed to me tbh, golf courses and British ex pats, no thanks. I often travel with my vegan best mate and she’s always managed, including in Porto, and in Spain. It’s limited but if you can deal with chips (fries), salad, olives, and cheese you can get by. And most cities have at least a few vegetarian/vegan restaurants and cafes.
If you come to the UK you should know we’re having a pretty crap summer right now, lots of rain, hopefully that should improve though. And if you’re not into hot weather then the UK is definitely the right place for you! I’d choose Portugal and Spain in a heartbeat over here, the old towns and cities are much more beautiful, and less grey, but each to their own. I hope you manage to have a good time. I think having a little add on trip that’s what you want to do is definitely the way to go in making this bearable. It does annoy me when people expect all their friends and family to spend a lot of money just because they’ve decided to get married.
