Steeped in Tradition: Finding Calm at the Gorreana Tea Plantation in the Azores
After a challenging month, we were looking for a place to go to rest and rejuvenate. A non-stop flight was essential. A place where we could decompress with no responsibilities. We chose the Azores. Not knowing more about these islands other than everyone we had ever met from there were genuine people
An easy flight, quick check in, and I headed to the Tea Plantation. There are so many other extraordinary places but for me to visit where tea grows – I was all in.
The Gorreana Tea Plantation, located on São Miguel Island in the Azores, holds the distinction of being the oldest, and now the only, remaining tea plantation in all of Europe. To walk the hills where the plant grows was where I wanted to start my exploration of the Azores
Tea cultivation began here in the mid-19th century, when the Azorean economy, once dependent on oranges, suffered from crop disease. In 1874, entrepreneurs turned to tea as an alternative, bringing in a Chinese tea master from Macau to teach local farmers how to cultivate, process, and refine Camellia sinensis.
Set amid misty green hills overlooking the Atlantic, Gorreana stands as a living legacy, a reminder that even on a remote Atlantic island, the art of tea found a permanent European home.
Read More From Nancy
Jukulsarlon Glacier Lagoon – Iceland
As we drove along Iceland’s Ring Road in the southeastern part of the country, we stopped at Jokulsarlon Glacier Lagoon, one of the well-known natural sites in Iceland. This lagoon is filled with floating icebergs that have broken off from an outlet glacier of Vatnajokull. Vatnajokull is the largest glacier in Europe by volume, and it […]
Copenhagen – 2017
When Erin and I visited Copenhagen in 2017, this large bronze statue of Hans Christian Anderson, fondly reminded us of so many of the childhood stories we shared. Anderson is Denmark’s most beloved storyteller, and he is seated on a tall chair as if he is ready to share a story in the middle of […]
Uluru in the Australian Outback
We have been fortunate to have traveled extensively, sometimes just for vacation, oftentimes, our adventures are attached to one of our teaching events. The last time we taught in Australia, we decided to travel into the Outback and view Uluru. Flying to the Outback is an experience. The landscape gives way to a vast, open […]
