In an attempt to make our travel life a bit more streamlined, I’ve been searching for the perfect travel bag for years. If we were just packing for our upcoming Portuguese Camino trek, it would be kind of a no-brainer.  It’s because we have to pack for the Camino and also pack for the days before and after the Camino, that’s making it a bit tricky.  I need the perfect travel bag.  Don’t we all?

In April/May of 2015 we walked 350 miles across Spain following the Camino Francis.  When we finished, I said to Abi, “Well, that was incredible but I will never do it again.”  Ha! You know what they say about never say never, right?  The Portuguese Camino is calling and it has been for a few years.

There’s so much to experience in the city of Porto that unless one spends an extended amount of time in the city, the average length of stay visitor will miss so much.  Most visitors won’t know to take the local train to Espinho to walk the coastal boardwalk or visit the market.  And, most visitors won’t know how to walk from Matosinhos to Porto, which is the path many Camino pilgrims follow to exit the city as they walk toward Spain.

If it’s Monday, then it’s market day in Espinho.  And what better way to get to Espinho than by train and a good long walk along the coastal boardwalk.  It all makes for the perfect day.

There are a multitude of reasons why one should visit the coastal city of Viana do Castelo.  The views from atop Mt. Santa Luzia are breathtakingly beautiful.  The historic city center is charming and a visit to Igreja de la Misericordia is well-worth the price of a train ticket.  But, when you get right down to it, the reason everyone should visit Viana do Castelo is to eat doughnuts.  Yes, you heard me.  The city is famous for the Bola de Berlim.

When I think of Lisbon, I think of the city as being the gateway to Europe.  When we fly from the east coast of the United States, i.e., Washington, DC to Lisbon, it’s about a seven hour flight and no doubt, it is seemingly the shortest distance across the Atlantic Ocean.  Given that I’m not a fan of flying, we always opt for the shortest time spent on a flight.

They say Aveiro is the Venice of Portugal.  Now, having never been to Venice I don’t know if that’s true, but just the same, Aveiro is unique and not like any other small city we’ve visited in Portugal.  Aveiro has lovely canals where the water travels through the historic center of the city.  Oh, and an added perk of visiting Aveiro… it’s on flat land. A far cry from the hills of Porto and Coimbra, another terrific day trip destination.

I’m just about to turn the calendar page and celebrate another birthday.  For the record, having a birthday in January is not exactly ideal. If you think about it, the calendar pages are pretty full in October, November, December and right in to the first day of January.  By the time my birthday rolls around in mid January, people are burned out.

We found our way from the Guimaraes train station to the historic city center only to discover hundreds of school children gathering in the center.  Of all the days we could have chosen to visit Guimaraes, we happened to pick the one day on which seemingly, there was a city-wide school field trip.

Because Washington, DC is almost in our backyard and because it’s that festive time of year, we took ourselves on a fun holiday outing to the United States Botanic Garden.  But, wait!  What happened to the month of November? How did we get to December so quickly?  Is it just me?