The Algarve's western and southern coasts offer spectacular cliffs and pristine sandy beaches (praias), so it is no surprise that...

We had heard so many good things about Salamanca that it was, in a sense, the focal point of our September 2025 road trip with Paula,...

Continuing north from Monsanto on our September 2025 road trip, we drove into the Serra da Estrela mountain range which has the highest...

In Central Portugal, east of Coimbra and close to the Spanish border, lies the town of Monsanto. While it has a rich history of human...

The old town of Monsaraz, with a population today of less than a thousand, was settled before Roman times. Given its hilltop location and...

In September 2024, Jennifer, her sister Paula, and I signed up for a river cruise on the Guadiana river which forms the border between...

Sagres is a small town in the southwest of Portugal, and a few miles to the west is Cabo de São Vicente, the most southwestern point of...

During the late spring and summer months, many towns and villages host festivals to celebrate just about anything, it seems. These are...

After leaving Granada in the summer of 2023, we headed to Málaga for a day. Spain's Costa del Sol is a popular tourist destination and...

On our tour of Spain's Andalusia autonomous region, we visited Granada, a beautiful ancient city and home to one of the most famous...

In the summer of 2023, Jennifer's sister, Paula, visited with us and we decided to spend a few days in Andalusia, Spain. Andalusia is the...

Loulé is the most populous municipality ('concelho') in the Algarve and is located about 15km to the northwest of Faro (where the 'A' in...

Faro is the capital of the Algarve region, its southernmost and its biggest city, although second in population to Loulé. Faro's...

In May of 2023, we were thrilled to have the opportunity to meet up with three couples, friends from Austin, during a three-day trip to...

Ana, our lovely Portuguese language teacher, lives in Alte and talks fondly of her small village. It is nestled in the Algarve hills,...

Quarteira is our home town! Technically, we are outside the town's limits but the Vila Sol 'urban development' (urbanização) does have a...

The Sintra mountain range stretches from the town of Sintra to Cabo da Roca, the western-most point of continental Europe. Its highest...

Portimão, located on the River Arade estuary, is a port town and is relatively big for the Algarve. Known for its fishing and canning...

Albufeira is a charming old town whose name is derived from its Moorish name, al-Buħayra (the lagoon). It was once a Moorish stronghold...

Driving from Aveiro back to Cascais with our friends, Will and Heather, we took the easterly route via the ancient Roman city of Coimbra....