X-Pat Expert - Yogeeta Davids

Yogeeta Davids Expat Mum Life in Cascais

The adventures of a brand-new expat loving her new life in her new home.

“I love how the Portuguese are so family orientated. They get a biscuit from the local bakery for free whether they’re smiling OR crying.”

@yogi_davids

Yogeeta is a mum of three who arrived in Portugal last year in search of a sweeter lifestyle.

Settling into family life by the sea side.

So we’ve been living here as an expat family for nearly a year now and what a year it has been for us all!

As a mum of three and a dog mum navigating my way around the streets of Cascais, it has been eventful – from dodging the dog poop on the pavements to slipping over on the cobbled streets come rain or shine! Seriously though, why doesn’t anyone pick up their dog poop? I’ve heard that the stray dogs are to blame and I think that may well be true! We’re a lover of dogs in our house and if my kids had anything to do with it we’d probably house all of the stray dogs we come across…’Please mummy it’s so cute!’.

Living and doing as the Portuguese do has its ups and downs. I love how the Portuguese are so family orientated, the kids get cuddled and cheeks squeezed regularly, they get a biscuit from the local bakery for free whether they’re smiling OR crying. They are so welcome and we love that! One of our favourite places to grab a treat is Bijou de Cascais – a bakery with a huge variety of mouth-watering pastries and savoury snacks. If you visit you have to try the chocolate dipped coconut biscuits or brigadeiros, washed down with a coffee or their delicious hot chocolates! This place has become a firm favourite. Remember though, when you visit this bakery and many other service- based shops don’t forget to pull a ticket – I think after 10 months of living here I’ve only just got used to doing this. No ticket, no service!

We’re still getting used to the fact that we live so close to the beach now. We LOVE that we can visit the beach every weekend but we are yet to learn NOT to get soaked in the water if we don’t have our swimming gear on! I’ve resorted to carrying a set of clothes with us now because let’s face it, the sea is so tempting when the sun is out, so I can’t blame the kids for wanting to splash around and who listens to Mum around here anyway?!

Carcavelos beach is just one of our favourite beaches to hang out on, watching the surfers, the paddle boarders, beach ballers, swimmers and splashers, it’s definitely a fun place to be and there are many restaurants to choose from with a beach view over lunch or views of the sunset at dinner time. We can literally spend the whole day at the beach, we have brought all the gear – beach blanket, parasol, beach chairs, beach balls, frisbee, buckets and spades and some gear you could look at as ‘all the gear and no idea’ the latest purchase being… a paddle board! I’d say watch this space because I reckon it won’t take long until one of us will be able to stand on it without falling in!