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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…
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Casa De Chá Da Boa Nova
On almost every trip, we try to book a meal at an upscale restaurant. We aren’t food snobs, we’ll eat street food and sandwiches without a single complaint, but we like fancy food too. I love collecting cookbooks, reading about food, experimenting with new recipes, and watching shows like Top Chef, Iron Chef, Chef’s Table,…
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Porto Street Art And A Tuk Tuk Tour
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Pinhão And Port Wine
Port tastings and vineyard tours was another request made by our visitors and Pinhão, a gorgeous village in the Douro Valley about 80 miles from Porto, is one of the best places to indulge in this endeavour. In Oregon we frequented many a vineyard, and were long term wine club members with more than one…
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Bom Jesus Do Monte
Cousin Susie had this sanctuary on her “must-see” list and we wanted to visit different regions, specifically the north of Portugal, to scout locations for a future relocation. Could we really trade 300 days of sun and bright blue skies in the Algarve for a rainier, cooler climate in the north? We couldn’t even remember…
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Festival Med 2023
Our wonderful friend Jorge (our Portuguese professor) loves live music of almost any variety. Jorge had been telling us and other students in his classes that Festival Med in the nearby town of Loulé is an amazing event, he was going and offered to have us join his group if we were interested. The festival…
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We Skipped Ugly Christmas Sweaters This Year
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Giving Thanks Abroad
November sits right between two movie filled months, Michelle’s horror extravaganza in October and Andrew’s Christmas romantic comedies in December. It’s that time where many Americans make a full transition to having lives dictated by various holidays and parties for six weeks or so. Fittingly, it was a transitional month for our lives in Portugal…
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To Lisbon And Back In 37 Hours
Andrew had successfully navigated his residency appointment in October, and now it was my turn. We still haven’t found a house sitter in Portugal, so I traveled solo to Lisbon and back via train while Andrew stayed home with our furry kids. My primary goals were: pack light for easy travel, find something delicious to…
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Fall Reading
Andrew: The Space Between Worlds by Micaiah Johnson. A digital library loan. My Rating: ***** Even if, like me, you are kind of sick of stories about multiverses, don’t skip this amazing novel if you are a sci-fi fan. A scientist discovers a method to jump to other dimensions that are similar to our own BUT…