fell in love with it. São Miguel is such
a magical place: a surreal mix of tropical
banana trees on French-like fields; herds
of black-and-white cows under broad-
leafed trees; misty, volcanic hills with vast
crater lakes; natural, rust-coloured hot
springs; and the botanical garden
leading down to the sea.
The island had an instant impact on
us. After we’d finished shooting, we took
some time off to explore. One afternoon,
we were at the beach of Água de Alto,
on the south coast. We went for a swim
in the ice-cold Atlantic as the sky started
turning grey with heavy rain clouds. But
we didn’t care, as that was the moment
we became a couple.
That was September 2007 and,
11 years later, we are still happily
together and dream of going back to
these magical islands. We’ve done lots
of trips together since, but none will be
as special as the Azores.THE
FAMILY GETAWAYTHE ALENTEJO,
PORTUGAL
REJINA PYO,
FASHION DESIGNERSince having our baby son Luka, time
with him has become very precious. I’ve
always loved to travel – to explore
other cultures and cuisines, spending
a few days or weeks living somebody
else’s life – but with a one-year-old, the
way we travel has had to adapt. My
husband is a chef and I love cooking, so
we always try to book self-catering.
Recently, we fell in love with Portugal.
Starting in Lisbon, we roamed around
the cobbled streets, taking in the
museums and the food – especially
Vasco Lello’s cooking at Café Príncipe
Real (memmohotels.com).
After two or three days, we found
ourselves longing to escape to the
wonderfully rugged Alentejo region,
which has been described as the
“Tuscany of Portugal”. This large area
takes up most of the central and southern
swathes of the country below Lisbon,
and yet remains largely undiscovered in
contrast to the touristy Algarve.
Our favourite place there was São
Lourenço do Barrocal (slh.com),
a 200-year-old farm with beautiful
cottages, just outside the ancient walled
town of Monsaraz. The cottage was
perfect for us, with a kitchen, living room
and fields for Luka to run around in.
I considered studying architecture
and it’s a great inspiration for my
collections, so I love to stay in places
that have been thoughtfully designed –
in this case it was transformed by one of
Portugal’s most illustrious architects,
Eduardo Souto de Moura. Even with
a toddler wreaking havoc, I still find
myself calm and at peace here. >184
THE
ROMANTIC IDYLLSAO MIGUEL,
THE AZORES
STELLA DE WITTE,
COLLAGE ARTISTIt was meant to be a work trip, but it
turned out to be so much more. The
Azores (the Portuguese volcanic islands
in the Atlantic) was where it all started for
Gus and me. We were good friends, but
on the Azores we took it a step further.
We’d been given a photography
assignment by Gus’s dad, who ran
a travel agency, and we flew to Ponta
Delgada, the capital of São Miguel, the
largest island of the archipelago.
We had so much fun discovering this
beautiful part of the world and instantly@maisonstella
@gus_and_stella