-
Olhão: We’ll Miss…
We’ve talked a lot about why we decided to move to Guimarães but wanted to take time to go over some of the counterarguments. We weighed each of these ten things (and more) as we made our decision. In no particular order here are ten of the things we know we will miss that won’t
-
Suika Game
Once or twice a year Michelle and I sink our teeth into a video game that we play individually but simultaneously. We almost always have a game we are playing cooperatively, but Suika Game is a separate type of play where we each do our own thing. The two experiences lead to very different conversations
-
Goodbye Dear Neighbor
I have been totally neglecting my cross stitching hobby. I purchased a couple of cross stitch magazines at a bookstore within months of moving to Portugal and unfortunately they sat on a shelf untouched. Maybe I am dedicating more time to playing piano and more frequently saying yes to social engagements. Maybe the arrangement of
-
About That Wedding Dress…
While sifting through our massive international shipment of belongings from the States in August 2022 we discovered two items that definitely didn’t belong to us. One was a small container of expensive looking technical cords which looked as if they belonged to a TV camera person or a sound and lighting specialist. The second was
-
UEFA: 3 Ways
UEFA (Union of European Football Associations) is the European branch of FIFA that hosts a European Championship tournament every four years. This tournament is the second most popular in the world with only the FIFA World Cup ahead of it. Football (soccer for our readers in the United States) is extremely popular throughout Europe, but
-
Random Adventures With Elsa
Have you found that the most memorable parts of a vacation are the surprises, unplanned excursions and serendipitous diversions that lead you to something unique? Sometimes unexpected themes emerge. We stumbled onto a few of these awesome adventures with cousin Elsa. All You Can Eat: We have never been huge patrons of all you can
-
Lisbon: Tejo Bar, A Telecabine Ride, And Another Tuk Tuk?!
We have mentioned traveling to Lisbon in multiple posts but haven’t really dedicated a full write up to Portugal’s capital so far. The sun was setting on Elsa’s visit and the three of us made our way into the city. In order to hit the highlights we decided on a comprehensive Tuk Tuk tour as
-
Halfway To 100
July 1st was my golden jubilee of a birthday, the big 50. We had kept busy with Portuguese language school through the end of May, we finalized our house purchase the beginning of June, and then hosted cousin Elsa who arrived on June 18th. By the time my birthday actually rolled around, I hadn’t really
-
Coimbra: Creepy Art In A Cryptoporticus And Higher Education
When we wrote up our last trip to Coimbra we mentioned that we hadn’t seen some of the historic highlights of the city, specifically the University. During the planning stages of Elsa’s trip we explained that Portugal (for a first time tourist) has two major cities (Lisbon and Porto), the sunny beach filled Algarve region,
-
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