June 05, 2018

Postcards from Portugal

June 05, 2018/ Meghan Oaks

I know I haven't written much about Portugal and I really should. The country was beautiful, the food is amazing, the wine is cheap AND delicious in a way only Europeans can do, and the week we spent there was perfect. But, since that trip was over a year ago, some of the details have been lost to time. That's another reason I blog about all our trips - so that I can remember small details that may otherwise be forgotten. But alas, this one has slipped away from me. I will try to get a few posts published about the more notable parts of our trip, but Portugal is far too beautiful a country to let these pictures sit on a hard drive somewhere. So my loss is your gain. A post light on words, but full of pretty pictures. Going through these to choose the best ones has made one thing painfully clear to me - I need to go back to Portugal.

May 18, 2018

Pena Palace, a Colorful Day Trip From Lisbon

May 18, 2018/ Meghan Oaks

We maintained a break-neck speed when we were in Portugal. In retrospect, it might have been nice to slow down just a bit, but when there's so much to see in the world and so little time in which to see it, well, slowing down isn't much of an option. We spent the last few days of our trip in Lisbon. And if you google, "things to do in Lisbon," the iconic Pena Palace in the small town of Sintra is bound to pop up. Sure, it's cliched, and expected, for a travel blogger to go there, but, I'll admit that I actually enjoyed it. You don't need a full day to visit the palace, especially if you have your own vehicle and aren't relying on public transportation, which means you have the afternoon to seek out and sample the best Pastel de nata in the city.

April 18, 2018

Port in Porto

April 18, 2018/ Meghan Oaks

One of the great things to do when traveling is to sample the local beverages. In Belgium and the Czech Republic, this is usually beer, in France and Italy it's wine. Turns out Portugal has a pretty fantastic wine culture; the most well-known of these varieties being Port. Aptly named, the city of Porto is the historical trading and export hub for these fortified wines which vary in color from a light amber to a deep purple-red. The wine is typically sweeter and often drank as a digestive or after-dinner drink. Not a big fan of sweet wines to begin with, I wasn't sure I would be a fan of port, but, I was pleasantly surprised to find that I was wrong.

May 16, 2017

Reflections on Portugal

May 16, 2017/ Meghan Oaks

It's been quite a while since we've gotten back from Portugal. I have to say, Portugal, for being such a small country, is packed full of charm and oozes authenticity from every corner. In short, I fell hard for Portugal. The food, the people, the wine, the port, the countryside, the food (oh wait, I already mentioned that) - all were out of this world! When I was planning this trip, I wanted to try to see as much of this little country as we could in the week we were there, certain that we would likely never go back. But after our time there, my mind has been changed, just like when I finally realized why so many people love Italy. I can say with almost certainty, we will probably be back there at some point. Perhaps on our next delegation, we will have the opportunity to go there for a week, rent a house in the country side, and just relax. Hey, I can dream!

February 16, 2017

Upcoming Travel: Portugal!

February 16, 2017/ Meghan Oaks

Set on the western most edge of Spain, the long, thin country of Portugal is not one frequented by many tourists. This is one of the reasons we chose to visit! That, the cheap airfare we scored back in November, and the fact that people absolutely gush about this little country. I'll admit I've spent more time planning this trip than a lot of others, but I feel like it's now a "big trip" for us. Living in Germany, we were able to do trips like this more often, and the flights were much shorter, meaning it didn't quite feel like such an undertaking. Now that getting to Europe takes 8+ hours of just flight time, trips like this have gone from "weekend jaunts" to full blown, highly coordinated weeks of carefully curated sites to see, things to do, and food to eat (and wine to drink). And let's not even mention how long I've spent researching places to stay. So what are some of our plans for Portugal? Read on to find out!