Me & Rick Steves ~ One Last Plot Twist

During the pandemic, I continued to travel as best I could, which was online.

I took enough courses in Italian and French art to qualify for a Smithsonian Art History Certificate. And I plotted a future for myself, living on the other side of the ocean.

I considered Italy (of course), Denmark (naturally), France (pourqui pas?!), England (been there/done that), Luxembourg (too expensive), Germany, and Portugal.

After many months of dreaming and research, I decided on Portugal.

Portugal loves books, bookstores and writers – offering a natural fit and a very appealing contrast to the book banning going on in the US.

I spent a week in Lisbon in 2018, tracking down backstories for another book I am writing ~ Lions, Peacocks & Lemon Trees. Much as I loved the city, I knew I didn’t want to live there. So where?

This time, the suggestion that changed my life didn’t come from a film, but from PBS travel icon, Rick Steves.

Although I have never worked on any of his specials, I’d met Rick perhaps a dozen times over the years at public television conferences all over the US. Occasionally I’d ask his advice, as I did back in 2003 when I asked if it was okay to travel to Turkey with my twelve-year-old son.

“Why not?!” he’d said, laughing.

So I decided to turn to Rick when deciding where in Portugal to live. Predictably, he has found many positive aspects in all the parts of Portugal he’s visited. But when I saw him refer to Coimbra as “the Oxford or Cambridge of Portugal” in one of his travel articles, the words immediately screamed out “pick me! pick me!” in my head.

I found a small house (on Facebook!) with gardens and a little stream not far from Coimbra in the spring of 2022 and bought it four months later. And in early 2023, visa in hand, Kiitos and I left Asheville and moved to Portugal.

It was a good decision and the perfect parting gift from the world of public media 🥰

Thanks, Rick!

[b&w photo below of me & Rick, taken by Rick Steves]

Kristin Fellows is a published writer, world traveler, and a well-seasoned documentary film consultant. When not writing, Kristin can often be found listening to someone’s story or behind the lens of one of her cameras.

More about Kristin @ kristinfellowswriter.com