Katie Mateus

The most unreal wedding I have ever been to and probably ever will. I didn’t take nearly as many pictures as I would have liked because we were all just so in the moment, but what a weekend. So incredibly happy for my sister and her hubby 🥹❤️

My sister’s wedding weekend is something I’ve dreamt about since we were little and having our whole family here together makes it even more special 🥹

Still not sure how two American sisters ended up marrying a Portuguese and a Spaniard, but here we are 😂

The beauty of life here 🇵🇹. Went out to run one little errand and decided to be a tourist instead. Had the best couple of hours just roaming around with nowhere I needed to be. My eyeballs are eternally grateful for this place. 🥹

August was mostly about getting back into our rhythm, enjoying our little corner of Portugal and appreciating the simple days at home. 🇵🇹

I started sharing my life in Portugal because I genuinely loved sharing it. And as this page has grown, I’ve realized there are parts of Portugal I’ve actually become more protective of.

I love showing you this country. I love sharing the culture, the funny differences, the beautiful places and the little things that made me fall in love with living here.

But I also don’t want to be the person geotagging every hidden beach, tiny family restaurant or little village and unintentionally changing the very things that make those places so special.

There’s something really beautiful about discovering a place because someone local told you about it. Or stumbling upon a restaurant you’d never seen on Instagram. Or finding a beach that isn’t already all over your feed.

And maybe not everything needs to become a “hidden gem” that we immediately tell the internet about.

I don’t even share exactly where I live because, selfishly 😂, I’d also really like my rent to stay where it is.

Tagging a place in Stories or asking for a local recommendation feels quite different to me than broadcasting a location on my main feed to thousands and potentially millions of people. Stories disappear, and only a small fraction of my followers ever see them. I’ll always want to support Portuguese businesses and share places I genuinely love, I’m just becoming much more conscious of the difference between sharing something and potentially overexposing it.

Portugal has given me an incredibly beautiful life.

I think part of loving a place is knowing when to share it… and when to let it stay a little undiscovered. 🇵🇹