How it came together Cindy and I had discussed a possible trip to Croatia in fall 2023 as our next big trip. As we watched travel videos of people navigating steep hills and many stairs in Dubrovnik and Split, it became clear that Cindy’s knee was not yet ready for a physically demanding trip like […]
Europe
The Netherlands
The last stop on our trip: Two nights in The Hague, three nights in Amsterdam, and the last night at an Amsterdam airport hotel. Our flight at 12 noon on Friday from Bilbao to Amsterdam was in KLM business class, using miles. For flights within Europe, most airlines, including KLM, use the same 3×3 seating […]
A Long Stay in Basque Country
After what will be nine nights in one place, we are flying to Amsterdam tomorrow out of Bilbao, Spain. We’ve learned a lot here. It has really been worth the stay. Those tiny specks on the beach are people. This country is vertical. But it’s prized for it’s outdoor trails and beaches as well as […]
Quinta do Vallado, Douro Valley, Portugal
Tom was entirely responsible for this one. “It will be great,” he said. “It is elegant,” he said. “It will be relaxing.” Oh wow was he right. (Screenshot that. You know why.) The rental car pickup from Porto turned out not to be from the airport as I last mentioned but from the business district. […]
This Week in Laundry – Lisbon, Portugal
The title is in homage to our oldest, who kept a blog of that name while he worked and played across the United States years before it was cool. (Well dang. I suppose that offspring, if even for a little time, caught a bit of our wanderlust.) Anyway, we are in Lisbon, and I owe […]
Helsinki, Lisbon, then Évora, Portugal
We’re traveling! Four weeks in Europe including Portugal – a first for us – and Spain. We’ll finish in Amsterdam. Tom’s been there, but I have not. I’m really looking forward to it. And yes, you might notice that we’re down from six weeks to four. It felt right to shorten this trip. As we […]