Staycation Vacation: Upstate New York

I feel a little silly now to think less than half a year ago I didn’t know “upstate New York” was a thing, that such a place existed. And yet here I am now, having been blessed with not one, but two beautiful trips since.

It’s become apparent to me that I’ve become somewhat selfish when trying to write about my travels - I want to keep these memories and experiences for me. But then I think “Becci, half these places you’ve gone to are probably because you saw it on Instagram”, and realised it’s only fair to share. So here we have Beacon, and Middletown. Neither destinations I chose nor heard of before, but I am so lucky to have now seen.

I look back at Beacon so fondly. A few very special days were spent there. Full of exploring and fresh air, it was amazing to me this was only an hour on the train from Grand Central Station, the core hustle and bustle of Manhattan. We stayed at The Roundhouse (and our room number was 212 - the tattoo on my right elbow. Obvz meant to be). It was the cosiest stay; wooden decor, a neautral palette, exposed brick walls, and a mountain window view from bed... urgh yes yes yes. Essentially, there isn’t a lot “to do”, which makes it a great weekend get away. I can completely understand why the city goers escape here over the summer: a staycation vacation. We hiked, napped, got soaked in a night time stroll downpour, dined next to a waterfall morning and night, with a little Dia Beacon art museum chucked in for cultural measure. Summer bliss. 

And then there’s Middletown, the perfect location to welcome Autumn. Six couples, two dogs and one dream home with a porch, endless land and wild deer (and a gang of turkeys or geese or whatever they were before the dogs chased them off). There was home cooking, wine drinking, firework celebrations, pumpkin patches, and rock climbing (which Madame Melville has not yet dabbled in, so I took full advantage of reading by a crackling fireplace).

With its nature trails, fresh air, postcard perfect scenery and “come nestle under blankets with a cuppa” homes, Upstate would be my staycation all summer, not just a weekend.

Azeitão - Portugal’s Hidden Gem

Lisbon. Porto. The Algarve. Probably the first places you think of when speaking of Portugal. But Azeitão? Who? What? Where?

My American squad and I were racking our brains to try and find a 4th July escape, when our serial destination guru and well travelled gal pal Alex (of mystupidtravelblog.com fame) struck gold with an air BnB in Quinta de Santo Antonio. Located in a valley in the middle of nowhere, an hour drive from Lisbon, it was a strong yes from us. 

I’ll admit, I’ve put off writing / showing off about this trip. I wanted to be selfish and keep this magical week to myself. But the memories are just too damn good to keep lost in an iPhone stream of photos amongst selfies and screenshots of things I just cannot explain.

The village itself is remote; one supermarket to serve all, a winery (which I proudly state we bought at least 16 bottles of €3 wine from), and a tapas café. A car is a must have in an area like this, and Uber’s can be few and far between. But no stress! Driving is super easy and the views are so picturesque, so totally pain free if you’re a foreign car hirer virgin.

Our air BnB was a Portuguese villa dream. Cold tile floors, a garden rope swing, a pool overlooking our own private valley (or so we like to think). We cooked outside every evening, ate by candlelight on a long stone table (or Sacrifice Table as we fondly nicknamed it), skinny dipped at midnight and star gazed with glasses of wine wrapped in blankets. I get goosebumps reminiscing...

And then, of course, there was 4th July. Naturally we hired a boat for the day. We cruised the coast, drank wine, ate cheese and meat, drank wine, jumped into the Atlantic Ocean, dolphin watched, drank wine... We broke the day up by dining at a nearby island, sitting at a table on the rocks, the sea at our feet, eating fresh fish caught that day. Red snapper, prawns, mussels, cod... drool.

This week holds a very special place in my heart.

Nothing but a group of gorgeous friends, laughing until you grew abs, staying up so late you pass out, eating so much local fresh produce you undo all the ab work. Oh, and did I mention we drank wine?