Our guest is Tunisian-Italian, Samia Jay. She and her 14-year-old son moved to Portugal three years ago.  To say they have fallen in love doesn’t do their collective feelings for Portugal justice. Listen as Samia tells us about living in the port town of Cascais, just west of Libson. The view of boats dotting the harbor as seen from her home is among the many fringe benefits of Portuguese life. Samia speaks of the warmth of the Portuguese people, the cuisine, and oh yes, that temperate Portuguese climate.

Samia has lived in Italy, Croatia, and Malta. For her to settle in Portugal speaks volumes.  We discussed everything from great desserts at Pasteis de Belem, to the world’s oldest book store Livraria Bertrand Chiado, to one of the tiniest bookstore in the world, Livraria do Simão.

Don’t let that small bookstore fool you. It has way more to offer than many other bigger places. The choice is not limited and the variety of books is huge. There’s more than 4000 books on the shelves and they are not exclusively in Portuguese. If you have time you are always welcome to have a small chat with the owner who is an extremely curios and open-minded person. He has some great stories to tell and he also would love to hear yours.

Samia’s travels are not just limited to the destinations mentioned above. She’s ventured for both business and pleasure to Belgium, Germany, Morocco and Turkey to name a few. Her travel wish list once the pandemic is over includes a return trip to Cappadocia (see image above), Cuba and Greece. 

Samia is owner of the skin care line BlonSkin, which she can manage all from the comfort of a computer and robust Internet access. While it might not be the personification of a true digital nomad, it goes to show the advantages of being able to work anywhere in the world. 

Samia is also a social media coach. She will soon launch the Boss Lady Club, a platform that works with and encourages women to become their own boss.