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Evil Cats Destroy Lives In Europe

Author: Michelle

  • Put On Your Hard Hat: Spelunking In Loulé

    Put On Your Hard Hat: Spelunking In Loulé

    Michelle: One of the adventures we planned with cousin Elsa was a salt mine tour in Loulé. Andrew visited the mine back in 2023 and found it so intriguing that he recommended another trip. Jorge and his friend visiting from Lithuania had both wanted to see the mine for years, so we made reservations for…

  • Tourists For A Day In Tavira

    Tourists For A Day In Tavira

    During cousin Elsa’s visit we tried to balance relaxation and beach days with travel, attractions, and tourism. One of the best day trips from Olhão is a quick 30 minute drive to Tavira. There are a ton of great restaurants, scads of picture opportunities along the Gilão River, cultural events, plenty of shopping, and even…

  • SO Many Algarve Beaches

    SO Many Algarve Beaches

    We are not sun worshippers by any stretch of the imagination. That being said, we have made our way to a praia or two during our time in Portugal. Usually we visit beaches close to where we live in the Eastern Algarve. Portuguese people ADORE the Algarve for the beaches, and people from all over…

  • Bye Bye B Levels

    Bye Bye B Levels

    Although Andrew and I finished year 1 of Portuguese language class with good results, I felt overstimulated and my brain pleaded for a respite. Despite this, Andrew encouraged us to enroll in B levels for the subsequent year, primarily because we adore our professor and wanted to ensure that we would study with him again.…

  • We Traded That For This

    We Traded That For This

    Our 2 year anniversary of living in Portugal was June 20th! We desperately wanted to change our lives and here we are. Let’s celebrate with a slice of life comparison of then vs. now. Two Cars For No Car: We like the freedom of not worrying about parking, paying for insurance, and planning never ending…

  • Olhão House Tour – Update

    Back in August of 2022 the estimated “2 weeks” to arrange our bounty of American belongings in our tiny Portugal house was a pipe dream. We had done a decent job of Medford packing Step One – sell, donate, gift, or keep and ship. Unfortunately we still had a lot of work to do with…

  • The Perfectly Imperfect Day

    The Perfectly Imperfect Day

    “Where is the jazz concert?” was the question that Jorge asked most frequently on the perfectly imperfect day in May. He had proposed a light dinner out and a concert in Faro and we say yes to almost any outing with him if we are free. Our time together always consist of speaking Portuguese, a…

  • Thursday The Miracle Cat

    Thursday The Miracle Cat

    It was day 5 of the New Year. Out of nowhere we received a call that our cat had been found. WHAT?! How is that possible? She had been missing 40 days. She was being taken to a veterinarian in Faro by firefighters and was found in an abandoned house in Estoi almost 6 miles…

  • Wrapping Up 2023

    Wrapping Up 2023

    October: We headed back for Year 2 of Portuguese language class. With any luck, at the end of the course we will have a B2 (upper-intermediate) language level, and hopefully a bit more ease with conversational Portuguese. Our favorite neighborhood kid Bianca needed help with a school project and it was Halloween themed, so definitely…

  • Sintra: Pena Palace, Petiscos, And Playtime In The Garden

    Sintra: Pena Palace, Petiscos, And Playtime In The Garden

    Sintra is a town nestled in the Sintra Mountains about 15 miles northwest of Lisbon. It was once a summer holiday haven for Portuguese royalty and is a very popular day trip for visitors. The region is chock full of palaces, castles, mansions, viewpoints, a convent, a sanctuary, and multiple beaches. When limited to a…