A Perfect End to Our Holiday

We spent the morning of our last day doing laundry and packing. While not much fun, they are necessary tasks especially when travelling for 16 days with minimum baggage. Also, figuring out how to work washers and dryers in a foreign country is both challenging and rewarding (depending on the results!) Once our chores were complete, …

Exploring Reykjavik: Cool Art and Good Eats

When people envision Iceland, they picture waterfalls, glaciers, volcanoes, and vast expanses of open space. Nature has indeed been busy there and the results are some of the most stunning landscapes on our planet. But there's another side to Iceland, a wildly creative side shaped by its residents and prominently featured in its capital, Reykjavik. …

Dining in Paris

You can't go very far in Paris without running across a place to dine and that's a very good thing. But choosing the perfect spot can be a challenge, especially when faced with so many choices. My best advice is to use your ears. If most patrons are speaking French, that's a great sign as …

Experiencing the Louvre

The Louvre in Paris is not only the most famous museum in the world, it is also the largest with over 652,000 square feet (nearly 15 acres) of exhibition space. Its massive collection features works from the 6th century BC to the 19th century and includes the Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo, and Winged Victory of …

When in Paris, Be in Paris

Since this was our third trip to Paris and stay in the Latin Quarter (5th arrondissement), we felt at home right away. Already knowing the "terrain" of a place you're traveling to makes many things easier, especially living like locals. But whether it's your first trip or fifth, letting yourself "be" a part of the destination …

The Ups and Downs of Travel: Will we ever get to Paris?

In this day and age, travel is a challenge at its best and a nightmare at its worst. From long lines at security to flight cancellations and delays, we can never know what to expect as passengers. And the farther we wander from home, the more challenging it seems to become. I fully believe that …

Portugal Perfect

We spent our last day in Alvor enjoying one of the most beautiful and pristine beaches I have ever seen. Since late May is off-season, we had a large expanse of the beach to ourselves and we relished every moment enjoying the sweeping ocean views, endless blue sky, and soft sand between our toes. Besides the gorgeous …

Sights, Smells, and Sounds of Alvor

With four days in Alvor we were able to explore at a relaxed pace and, on our first full day, we took a long stroll on the boardwalk. Beginning in the harbor by the fisherman's huts and over the course of almost two miles, the boardwalk passes by salt marshes, lagoons, and sand dunes. The Alvor estuary is …

Lisbon to Alvor: Tarts, Cork, and Cod

In France, it's the eclair. In Italy, the cannoli. In Portugal, a custard tart called Pastel de Nata tops the list of favorite pastries. These wonderful egg custard tarts were created by Catholic monks as a way to put the unused yolks from starching laundry to use. We tried them still warm from the oven at Fabrica …

Lively Lisbon: Street Booze, Fountains, and Trams

When traveling, there are some things worth spending extra on especially if it makes your travel day easier. Using an airport shuttle is one of those things. Yes the round trip ride to and from Schiphol Airport costs more than taking public transportation, but for us it was worth it in terms of time and …