Category Archives: Europe

Trips in Europe

Eiffel Tower and Sacre-Coeur at sunset
Cities, Europe, France, January

Paris in January

Paris can be crisp in January, and Paris can be dreary in January. Regardless, it’s wonderful in January. The city is quiet yet alive. Christmas crowds have gone, but lights and decorations remain. It’s a perfect time to go, bundle up, and walk, and walk, and walk, stopping in at sights or for un chocolat chaud.

Rather than summarize any one trip, I’ll mention a few of my favorite highlights, both in the city and day trips, across a few trips.

Continue reading

Kyle and a succulent, with a vibrant pink bloom, along the Rota Vicentina.
Cities, Europe, March, Multi-day walks, Portugal

Southwest Portugal Coastal Hiking: Overview

In March 2017, we hiked the Rota Vicentina along the southwestern Portugal coast from Porto Covo to Carrapateira, via sections of the Fisherman’s Trail and Historical Way. This series of posts covers our travel and explorations between the starting point of Lisbon, and our endpoint of Lagos. The Rota Vicentina is a network of official trails that connect the historic fishing villages of the southwest Alentejo region and Vicentina Coast Natural Park.

This post covers the resources we found helpful for trip planning, while subsequent posts describe our travels.

Continue reading

Cities, March, Multi-day walks, Portugal

Southwest Portugal Coastal Hiking: Part 1 – Lisbon to the Fisherman’s Trail

With a half-day in Lisbon after our flight, we took a scenic train ride to Sintra for some exploring and made it back to the city in time for dinner. The next day, we set out for Porto Covo by bus to begin our trek along the Fisherman’s Trail (Rota Vicentina).

This post covers our half day in Sintra and starting our trip on the Fisherman’s Trail in Porto Covo. From there, our route took us to Vila Nova de Milfontes, Cavaleiro, and Zambujeira do Mar, with Odeceixe and Carrapateira covered in a subsequent post.

Continue reading

Cities, Europe, Italy, June

The Dolomites Prelude: Venice

In June 2016, we visited the Dolomites, stopping in Venice first. This post covers our time in Venice, while two other posts cover our time in the Dolomites:

An additional post covers logistics of our trip to the Dolomites: where we stayed, some decisions about transportation, and resources we found helpful in planning the trip.

Continue reading