The first thing I notice is the sound of a manual coffee grinder—a low, rhythmic crunch coming from the kitchen of a sunlit apartment in Lisbon’s Alfama district. Gloria Atanmo, the woman behind The Blog Abroad, moves with the unhurried precision of someone who has turned slow mornings into a ritual. She pours hot water over a paper filter, the steam carrying the scent of Brazilian beans. This is not a rushed start. It is a deliberate one, and it sets the tone for a day that balances deep work, spontaneous exploration, and the quiet care that solo travel demands.
Morning: The Writer’s Hour Before the World Wakes
Gloria’s morning routine is built around a principle she calls “the writer’s hour.” Before checking email or social media, she sits with a leather-bound notebook and a fountain pen. She writes three pages—stream of consciousness, travel notes, or a single observation from the previous day. “It clears the mental clutter,” she tells me over a second cup of coffee. “When you travel alone, your mind can become a crowded room. Writing gives each thought a seat.”
After writing, she reviews her itinerary for the day—not as a rigid schedule, but as a loose framework. She checks the weather, opens Google Maps to mark a few neighbourhoods she hasn’t explored, and decides on one “anchor” activity: a museum, a cooking class, or a long walk along the Tagus River. The rest of the morning is left open for serendipity.
Breakfast is always local. Today it’s a pastel de nata from a bakery three blocks away, eaten standing at the counter. She chats briefly with the baker in Portuguese—a few phrases she learned from a language app during her flight. “Even five words can change the energy of an interaction,” she says. “It shows respect.”
Midday: Deep Work and a Walk Without a Map
By 10:30, Gloria settles into a co-working space in the Chiado district. She prefers spaces with high ceilings and natural light. Her work session lasts exactly two hours, timed by a Pomodoro app. She edits a blog post about slow travel in the Algarve, responds to a handful of collaboration emails, and outlines a newsletter about solo rituals. She avoids multitasking. “One tab open. One task. That’s the rule.”
At noon, she closes the laptop and steps outside. Her favourite way to explore a new city is to walk without a map, using only visual cues: a narrow alley, a church spire, the sound of water. She lets herself get lost for an hour. Today she finds a small courtyard with a tiled fountain and a cat asleep on a bench. She sits for ten minutes, just watching. “These moments are the real purpose of travel,” she says. “Not the photos, but the stillness.”
Afternoon: Connection Over Lunch
Lunch is a deliberate social ritual. Gloria often uses platforms like EatWith or local Facebook groups to find shared meals with other travellers or residents. Today she joins a small group at a family-run tasca in the Graça neighbourhood. The menu is handwritten, the wine is served in ceramic pitchers, and the conversation drifts from food to politics to the best hiking trails in the Azores. She takes notes on her phone—names of places, tips from locals, a recipe for grilled sardines.
For Gloria, solo travel is not synonymous with isolation. “I used to think independence meant doing everything alone,” she reflects. “Now I see that true independence is knowing when to invite others in.” She credits much of her growth as a solo traveller to the community she built through blogging and attending events like TBEX. In her earlier post about a day in Granada, she first articulated how these connections shaped her path. That same openness continues to define her travels today.
Late Afternoon: Creative Work and Self-Care
Back at the apartment, Gloria edits photos on her tablet. She has a strict workflow: import, cull, edit in batches, then export only the top five images from the day. “If you keep everything, you see nothing,” she says. She writes captions that tell a story rather than just describe a location. One caption today reads: “Lisbon taught me that solitude is not a void. It is a canvas.”
At 4 p.m., she takes a break for movement—a 20-minute yoga flow on the balcony overlooking the red rooftops. She follows it with a cold shower, a practice she adopted after a trip to Iceland. “It resets your nervous system,” she explains. “Especially when you’re moving through unfamiliar places alone.”
Evening: A Quiet Dinner and a Night Walk
Dinner is a solo affair tonight. Gloria chooses a restaurant recommended by the tasca owner: a tiny spot serving bacalhau à brás. She orders a glass of vinho verde and eats slowly, watching the street life through the window. She doesn’t scroll on her phone. Instead, she people-watches and writes a few lines in her notebook—the way the waiter laughs, the colour of the light at dusk, the smell of grilled peppers from the next table.
After dinner, she takes a night walk along the river. The air is cool, and the lights of the 25 de Abril Bridge reflect on the water. She stops at a viewpoint and listens to a fado singer performing for a small crowd. She doesn’t record the song. She just lets it exist in that moment. “Some experiences are not meant to be captured,” she says. “They are meant to be lived.”
Practical Rituals That Sustain Her Solo Life
Over the course of our day together, Gloria shares a few habits that keep her grounded on the road:
- One digital-free hour each morning. No phone, no laptop. Just writing, stretching, or sitting with a cup of tea.
- A packing capsule for self-care. She always carries a small pouch with a silk sleep mask, a lavender roll-on, and a book of poetry.
- The “three-word” daily intention. Every morning she picks three words that define her energy for the day—e.g., “curious, slow, open.”
- Local language phrases. She learns at least five phrases per destination: hello, thank you, please, excuse me, and “one more coffee, please.”
- Weekly solo date. Every Thursday evening, she treats herself to a nice dinner or a concert, no exceptions. “It’s a way of honouring my own company,” she says.
Why This Day Matters
The takeaway from Gloria’s day is not the destinations or the aesthetics—it’s the intention behind every choice. She doesn’t travel to escape; she travels to meet herself in new settings. Her routines are not rigid but responsive. She adapts to the rhythm of each place while keeping her core rituals intact. For any solo traveller, that balance is the real skill worth cultivating.
Before you book your next solo trip, try starting your morning with just a notebook and a cup of local coffee—no phone for the first hour. Let the city wake up around you while you write. That small act of presence might change everything.
