Hi, I'm Lea.
Welcome to my little corner of the internet.
I'm a South African living in Portugal, happiest somewhere between a wild place and a really good cup of coffee.
Life with Lea is my place to collect the things I never want to forget — places worth going, food worth travelling back for, thoughts I probably overthought, and all the little moments in between.
I don't have life figured out. But I'm having a very good time figuring it out.
A little more about me
Somewhere between here & home.
South Africa
where I'm from.
It's where my love for wild places started. There's something about the bush that makes everything else go quiet. Early mornings, dusty roads, endless landscapes and that feeling of being somewhere much bigger than yourself. No matter how far I travel, it'll always feel like home.
Portugal
where life is now.
Portugal has become the place where I'm building my life. It's slow mornings over coffee, spontaneous weekends somewhere new, long lunches, ocean air, tiled streets and discovering that there is almost always a good glass of wine nearby. Living here has also given me one of my favourite things: a whole new part of the world to explore.
Things I take very seriously
Finding the best coffee within walking distance.
Ordering the thing on the menu I've never tried before.
Sunsets.
Window seats.
A good glass of wine.
Taking the scenic route.
Saving approximately 47 places on Google Maps before every trip.
And finding places that make you think, how did I not know this existed?
Life isn't just the places you go.
I've always loved collecting things — not things exactly, but moments.
A coffee somewhere I can't pronounce. A road through the middle of nowhere. A conversation over a bottle of wine. A sunset that makes everyone go quiet for a second.
The tiny details you don't realise are going to become memories until they already have.
I'm learning that a good life probably isn't one big extraordinary thing. It's a collection of very ordinary things that somehow become extraordinary when you look back.
This is where I'm keeping mine.
So, where should we go next?
Travel guides →
Take me somewhere.
Travel guides, weekend escapes, hidden places and the occasional detour that turns out better than the plan.
Food & drink →
Show me what's worth ordering.
Coffee shops, restaurants, markets, wine farms and the things I'd happily travel back for.
Lifestyle stories →
The everyday stuff.
Life lately, little favourites, routines and everything that doesn't quite fit into a travel guide.
Thoughts & ideas →
Stay for the overthinking.
Creativity, work, growing up, figuring things out and whatever else has been taking up space in my head.
see you somewhere beautiful,
Lea x