I would be remiss if I didn’t talk about what amazing times we had between Thanksgiving and New Zealand. But, because I’m so woefully behind in blogging (read: we’ve had way too much fun), I am going to start with New Zealand and then intersperse posts from late November (Morocco) through the first week of …
Category: Travel
More Portugal touring & Turkey Day 2023
View from Convent Of Our Lady Of Arrábida This convent has a rich history dating back to the 1530s-40s, depending upon which history you read/hear and believe. It is set on this incredible hillside that abuts Parque Natural da Arrábida, a protected park. As the story goes, the first Duke of Aveiro funded the creation …
Porto
C and I had been to Porto before and loved it. Of course, this time we did different things. Only a few of us wanted to go to the famous bookstore Livraria Lello where supposedly J.K. Rowling found inspiration when creating some of the Hogwarts scenery. The picture is of the magical staircase leading to …
Douro Valley Day 1 with Busaba and Cathy
Shortly after Busaba and Cathy arrived, we headed to the Douro. The Douro is "the world’s largest area of mountain vineyard and a Unesco World Heritage site" according to Bomfim 1896 (more on Bomfin later). And, it is breathtaking. The steeply terraced hillsides are a marvel. All around, it's a magical place to sit and …
More fun guests!
After Seville, we traveled north back toward home. We stopped in another cute Portugal town called Évora where Al and Maren tried a Francesinha, which is a meat, white bread, and fried egg sandwich smothered in a slightly spicy gravy with fries thrown in for an extra shot at a heart attack. It's really a …
Seville (Sevilla)
Carnet here... in my quest to follow the sun this year we decided to hit the road after a month of intense rains in Portugal and look for sunshine in Spain. We hopped in our sort of beater rental car and started driving south to the Algarve where we met up with our dear friends …
Portuguese Olive Oil
This post is in honor of KM who has a keen interest in olive oil. Some of us have been having discussions about how to assure we get the freshest extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) from around the world without any preservatives or additives. Over the past few years in CA, we've been getting deliveries …
Happy birthday, love of my life!
It has been a BIG weekend and October 23 (C's birthday). We met our good friends who just moved from Miami at Herdade da Malhadinha Nova for lunch and a wine tasting. Fabulous! Then, we headed over to Herdade dos Grous for a tour, wine tasting, dinner, and a night full of laughter and games, …
Another fine evening and day in Portugal
It has been raining on and off for the past two days - still. Élio told us we brought the worst storm they've had since 2018. Mmmmm (think Marge Simpson groan: https://images.app.goo.gl/PhZ1khEc98xt1LqU9). Well, it has not deterred us! We drove down random roads and found some gorgeous ag land, beautiful cliffs and the ocean yesterday: …
9 years later. We’re baaack!
There is so much tell and to remember. But I'll start with now. The plan is to blog through our journeys this fall into 2024, wherever those journeys take us and for however long. It's all starting in Portugal, near Ericeira to be a bit more specific. We have fallen in love with the people …
Salty Apron 