sunset

Last Day in Lisbon

/ Cate Spader / 2 Comments

Tuesday, September 21 was our last day in Portugal, for differing reasons. Dani was leaving for Italy in the afternoon to see someone on the Amalfi Coast, whereas I was flying back to Michigan to finalize packing before moving to Chicago. Our experiences leaving Portugal couldn’t have been more opposite—which I will get to later…

After a not-so-great night of sleep, I was feeling tired yet excited to check out Boca do Inferno: beautiful cliff dwellings and and scenic views in Cascais. I had to check them out before heading home. A cave had been formed from the crashing waves, so as you may imagine, the ocean air and sun on my face felt refreshing after a restless night. We saw individuals, couples and groups of friends hanging out on the rocks, taking photos, laughing together and even fishing! This instantly brought me back to fishing with Kjell, a family friend from Norway, five years ago in Bergen.

The rest of my day went downhill from there (notice I said ‘my’ day and not ‘our’ day). On our late morning train back to Lisbon, I wanted to check in for my flight. I never received an email, which was odd because my flight was in less than 24 hours. I checked my email, airline website AND the Lisbon airport site to find that some of my flights – including Lisbon to London and London to Montréal – had been cancelled. Instead of parting ways with Dani and enjoying a relaxing, solo afternoon in Lisbon, I had to say goodbye at the airport and figure out how the heck I was going to get home. After a realization that this was out of my control and I had to get home ASAP to pack and move, I had to purchase an entirely separate flight home from my phone at the airport—luckily taking me from Lisbon to Paris, directly to Detroit. Near-panic tears and $600 later, I decided to “shake it off” and enjoy my last evening in Lisbon.

Once my sweaty hike to the Airbnb concluded, I was able to enjoy how cute the apartment was. I sent some videos to my friends – both of the apartment and of my sweaty, exhausted self – before taking a shower and heading out for the evening. I enjoyed some street art on my way to find food, wandered into a local cork shop, and even got hit on during my walk to dinner—and trust me, that never happens! I found myself back where Dani and I were the night we met Julian and Max, and I immediately felt nostalgic. I nursed a Coca Cola with lime, some fries and a caprese salad as I watched the sun set over beautiful Lisbon and our European adventure.

Even writing this now is difficult because things have been hard… But that last night taught me to find the positive in every situation, to enjoy doing things solo again, and to let go of what isn’t in my control. Until next time 😉

Photos taken Tuesday, September 21, 2021

September Sunsets

/ Cate Spader / Leave a comment

You can fight me on this all you want, but golf courses are the best places to see the sunset!

~

On an unrelated note, I’ve been filling out a TON of job applications and have been drafting all kinds of cover letters. One of the latest asked me to tell a story about the products I use for my favorite recreational activity. Here’s my story; I hope you enjoy!

“

Dear Fellow Product Junkie,

I remember when my dad took me to get fitted for new golf clubs nearly ten years ago. “Why would it matter what kind of clubs I used?” I thought to myself. “If I’m good, I’ll still be good. And if I’m awful, I’ll still be awful!” 

Boy, was I wrong. What a difference your equipment can make!

If you haven’t already guessed: I LOVE GOLF. I’ve been playing ever since I could carry my own bag. Even though my golf hat, shoes and pants were baggy as a youngster, the course has always been my comfort zone. 

It wasn’t until high school when I really took the game seriously. Before age 14, I would go with my dad and brother almost every weekend, no matter what the Michigan weather gods decided that day. As my focus improved, my scores did as well, and it was time to take my game to the next level. 

Golf technology has evolved since its conception in 1764; now we use multi-part golf balls as opposed to leather sacks of feathers and wool! When I was fitted for clubs in 2011, I discovered that my old clubs weren’t doing me any favors (they didn’t help my hooks and slices, gave me no control off the tee…). My dad and I visited a professional who could analyze my swing and tell me which clubs would benefit me the most. 

After over an hour of swinging into a screen and viewing my swing patterns, two sets of clubs stood out: the latest Callaway’s and the new Ping G15’s. And since I needed irons with lots of forgiveness (or maybe “fore”-giveness!), I chose the Ping’s without hesitation. 

Maybe it’s the memories associated with the clubs that make them impossible to part with, or maybe they are simply that phenomenal! Whatever the case may be, almost ten years and multiple outings later, I won’t play a round without them. 

My best,

Cate Spader

South Haven, Michigan

/ Cate Spader / Leave a comment

I know that the title of my blog is “A Michiganian Abroad,” but I have been doing a lot of domestic travel since I’ve been home from Thailand. 

This summer has been filled with student loan payments and a new job, so my international trips are on hold until 2018! 


On Thursday, I traveled to South Haven, which is right on Lake Michigan, for an overnight work retreat. The scenery was beautiful, the food was amazing, and the company was much needed! 


A few of my team members live out of state, and getting to know them for the first time was awesome. We had ice-breaker challenges and I won the cup stacking competition (I never win anything…)!


I went swimming in Lake Michigan with Kevin for about an hour. The water was much warmer than usual, but the waves were as high and frequent as I remember. Tonya and I skipped rocks for a while and I failed miserably every time. I still loved my time on the beach with them; they’re two of my favorite coworkers and getting to know them better over the two days meant a lot to me. 


As dorky as it sounds, being in South Haven was a highlight of my summer. My company owns the property we stayed on, and I can’t wait to go back! 


At dinner, we played adult Clue/had an interactive murder mystery game. I’ve always wanted to do this and it was so much fun! The only awkward part was that my character had an affair with my boss’s character, but we had to play the part! I had to cry every time someone mentioned my dead lover’s name, which was “Sal Fee” (like selfie)! 


Sitting around the bonfire with a view like this was something special. Tonya, Steve, Kevin and I played corn hole and the sunset came alive. I can’t wait for next year’s retreat!