We spent a packed, beautiful week in the capital of Spain right after Christmas. The city was magical, charming, and a ton of fun to just wander around. Outside of a few dining reservations and tickets to Flamenco, we didn’t have a lot planned. We lucked out with mostly crisp and clear winter weather which…
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Coimbra is a very cute college town that’s about a 90-minute bus ride from Porto. We spent a day there and it was our favourite day trip that we took from Porto. It is a fun mix of old charm with young, vibrant energy. The only thing we really planned for our day trip was…
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We spent a long weekend in Lisbon around Thanksgiving and definitely could’ve spent more time exploring Portugal’s capital city. There are a lot of similarities to Porto — lots of hills!, amazing food, being situated on the water, beautiful buildings, and friendly people. Lisbon definitely felt bigger, more bustling, and a bit more impersonal. The…
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The food in Porto was absolutely outstanding and this included everything from traditional low-brow Portuguese food to fancy prix fixe meals to non-European cuisines including Brasilian, Vietnamese, Argentinian, and more. Be warned — this post is not recommended if you are hungry! Also, please don’t judge the number of photos! We were in Porto for…
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We visited the charming town of Óbidos at the start of the Christmas season and instantly fell in love with it. Walking into this historic village felt like entering a storybook. The town itself is surrounded by stone walls and no cars are allowed through the gate (except for deliveries of both supplies and people…
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We visited Sintra after spending a few days in Lisbon and on our way to Óbidos. The picturesque town is in southwest Portugal in the foothills of the Sintra mountains. We only spent a day in Sintra and it feels like we just barely scratched the surface. For a relatively small town, there is a…
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After hiking just over 100 miles on the Camino (see previous posts here, here, and here), my friend, Laura, and I spent a couple of days in Bilbao. We had an amazing airbnb that was right on the water and it had breathtaking views of the city. The location (across the water from La Ribera)…
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Hiking some of the Camino was not originally part of my Europe travel plans. I had heard of the Camino, it sounded like a cool trek that took people weeks to complete, and that was about the extent of my knowledge. Well, I fell down an internet rabbit hole about the Camino (see here, here,…
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Prague blew me away. The city is full of stunning architecture, beautiful parks, and charm. I only spent 3 nights in the capital of Czechia and I would definitely return! It also felt like a city full of contradictions and extremes. While it is quirky and creative and whimsical, Prague also had more western chains,…
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To be truthful, I went back and forth for a few weeks before deciding to book my trip to Krakow. The trip would be just a few days before a two-week trip to Spain to hike a portion of the Camino and I was feeling a bit worn out from the amount of travel I…
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