1/27
2/27Comporta village is a chameleon. Go once and it’s a deserted movie-set of postcard-pretty abandonment. Return and loiter in the square over rosé or a smoothie at Colmo Bar at rush hour (it switches up from 6 to 60 in a heartbeat) before drifting around the local stores and galleries—all a stone’s throw away though hours can vanish as pop-up markets, wine bars, art shows and more seduce and inspire.... My favorites are Babouchette for gifts ( the catalyst for my daughter transformation from ultimate tomboy to white lace beach dress girl..), and Vintage Department for fantasy lifestyle browsing.
3/27In Comporta, I mostly wore a Lisa-marie Fernandez bikini under a vintage Mexican slip or lovelorn denim—years old Isabel Marant shorts and J.Crew shirt. But I can’t resist packing a couple of special dresses just in case. Alice Temperley gave me a few advance samples from future collectsions for my summer travels and her godson Luc snapped this in the stripey magic light amidst a photo-safari I’d designed for the kids which included dead wasps, custard tarts, and Chanel No 19.
4/27Majestic Comporta pines.
5/27On the way to breakfast.
6/27My favorite enormous Lock & Co sun hat: creating my own shade.
7/27A bronze smudge of Chanel and Boy Brow by Glossier
8/27There are places in Comporta to go dressed up and be grown-up at night should you desire like Dona Bia or Cavalarica—but that wasn’t our trip. We’d drive straight from the beach, drift around town trying on things we didn’t need or want, and then buy the bare necessities—milk, moisturizer, After-Bite— before getting in line for a pizza slice or a piadina at one of two trucks camped in the village square for the summer. If we were hungry later we’d eat cheese late at night over a game of Scrabble back at the hotel or head to the hotel bar for a cocktail or an ice-cream whilst the kids played darts or pool or crazy car racing games on a giant computer screen.
9/27Just mostly following instructions from my daughter with her menu and lists and requests that I buy apples and conditioner as she won’t share hers…
10/27Casa da Cultura offers ever-changing program of artists, designers, wineries, chefs. My son, who didn’t even want to go in (pizza was calling) sat and drew a whole ice-bar concept with which he is now convinced he’ll make his fortune. (I think it’s been done but still—pencil and paper...).
11/27Luc and I. The two of us. Lucky in love.
12/27Comporta
13/27Babouchette is Tiger's favorite store in Comporta and the best place for gifts and clothes—and a girl's first white lace dress.
14/27Most of the time here was spent watching my son skimboard the entire length of the pool filmed by his friend in slo-mo. (I couldn’t be trusted to get it right.) But still, I got to read-and do the occasion Ballet Beautiful stretch workout on my iPhone with half an eye on the action..
15/27Half wanting to check out and tan and read. Knowing that’s not an option. So getting ready to join in the underwater swimming competition.
16/27I wish I’d brought a Fern Fan for everyone. We all shared mine. Nothing more chic whilst reading Virginia Woolf. I love a tan but Chanel UV Essential is my new best friend in the sun.
17/27J Brand X Bella Freud T-shirt.
18/27The spa at Sublime Comporta—intense reflexology is my treatment of choice.
19/27I travel light but my five essentials are a Fern Fan, Lisa-Marie Fernandez bikinis and sundresses, Zanzan eyewear, Lock & Co sun hat, and Prada sandals.
20/27Sunblock and lip balm and last night's tea lights.
21/27Child's play.
22/27I always want to wear what the lifeguards/ waitresses are wearing.
23/27Tiger refusing to leave the beach.
24/27Sal, a favorite spot for cold treats.
25/27Dining with a view.
26/27Crosswords are a team effort over lunch at Sal.
27/27Josh and Tiger. I tagged along for a while, through the herb garden at Sublime, offering to chop a tomato a two. But they were in their own world, inventing a feast for the seven of us. So I laid the table and went for a swim, and I so hope she brings her new skills home.
