We put together a trip to two places that have been on our to-do list for awhile: Istanbul and Crete. Then we added a four-night stop in Rome (our third visit there) on our way home to Porto. Istanbul and Read more…

For this trip, we thought we’d try something a bit different. I put together a slower-paced trip without a rental car. We used primarily trains, with some buses, and metros. We flew into Cologne, Germany and started our 12-day journey Read more…

Português communities love parades and so do we. Parades happen frequently in many villages for a variety of reasons. Many, like the one below, are to honor a Christian saint and have history dating back decades or more. Foz do Read more…

Ever since we visited the Provence region of France way back in the fall of 2011, I have had it on my bucket list to return during the lavender blooming season. In spite of our aversion to traveling in peak Read more…

The highlight of June each year in Porto is the São João festival. Even though we have been nearly every year, we never tire of the wholesome fun. This year we had ideal weather and especially enjoyed sharing it with Read more…

We started our European travel season with a quick trip to Nantes, France and the Loire Valley. It had been twelve years since we had visited this part of France. It was just as lovely as we remembered. We enjoyed Read more…

After spending all winter close to home, we decided to venture out in March on a couple of different road trips. At the beginning of the month, we headed south to Torres Vedras for the town’s popular Carneval parade. Every Read more…

We love to travel and have been fortunate to experience several very special trips again this year. But, no matter where we visit, we are always excited to return home to Portugal. We truly appreciate the life we have made Read more…

Old friends from the US met us in Madrid to spend ten days in southern Spain together. We took the high speed train from Madrid to Malaga then got our rental car. We spent a few days exploring the coast Read more…

We spent three amazing weeks exploring all the little corners of Chianti, Tuscany, and Umbria in Italy. While we had been to this part of Italy twice before, that was  12-15 years ago. Before retiring and moving overseas, all of Read more…