John – Page 9 – Travels of John and Flo

November 5, 2015October 18, 2020

Walks & Hikes of the Cote d’Azur

The Conseil General Alpes Maritimes publish a number of booklets (available online as well) that describe many of the walks and hikes that can be discovered enjoyed along the Cotes d’Azur. We’ve been enjoy many over the past few years, and below are some of our favorites. There are 60 in total in three books; Pays Cotier, Moyen Pays, Haut Pays. If I’ve written previously about it, a link is included. “A” means they are from the first book (closest to the coastline walks) and the number signifies the number of the hike in their book. They are rated as Easy, Medium, Difficult and Sportive.

October 31, 2015October 18, 2020

Work and Play

This past week we decided to take the #81 bus up to Eze from Nice and hike one of the trails close by. We chose a marked trail that would take us up to the Fort de La Revere (and goes by the same name), which is about a 4 km hike and would takes us a couple of hours. It’s a loop that leaves Eze, heads north and upwards, and there returns back down to Eze village. And all along the way there are amazing views looking back at the Cote d’Azur coastline. On this particular day the air was clear and you could see far down the coast towards Antibes and Cannes.

October 27, 2015October 19, 2020

Portugal’s Non-Habitual Resident Taxation Regime

Portugal has become increasingly popular recently for people wanting to obtain residency in the country, because of its fiscal advantages and the opportunity to be able to live and travel throughout the European Union. Done correctly, the amount of tax payable on incomes earned outside of Portugal, can lead to one paying 0% in tax.

October 20, 2015October 18, 2020

Sailing the Caribbean

In 2010 we arrived in the Dominican Republic to visit our friends Jack and Yvonne. Our plans were to take their sailing boat, Busco Viento, with them, to the Caribbean. We sailed around Puerto Rico, visited the Spanish Virgin Islands of Culebra and Vieques, and on to the U.S. and British Virgin Islands. We had a great time. Drank a lot of rum (our favorite was Mount Gay) and because of that don’t remember a lot of the trip. But we still have photos to help us remember, here are some of them!

October 20, 2015October 19, 2020

Getting to know Portugal, Part III

Our original plan was to spend a week exploring the south of Portugal, especially the Algarve region, but after so many days on the road, and pressing matters in Lisbon, we decided to just go south halfway for a couple of days, to a hotel we already had booked and would lose otherwise.

We went along the coastline from Setubal, following the coast as much as we could. The coast, for the most part, is very much made up of sand dunes, brush, beaches and rock cliffs, and it is all quite remote. We passed through Porto Covo which looked nice and seems that it would be pretty popular for surfing in the summer. But it was all pretty dead in mid’ October.

October 20, 2015October 18, 2020

Getting to know Portugal, Part II

Our second journey took place when we returned in the fall to take care of our residency papers and close on the sale of our apartment. We headed north to visit Lousa, the Douro region, Porto and Nazaré. Along the way we also met up with some friends from Canada, Dru and Ted and Kimi from Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.

Lousa was chosen as a break for our drive up to the Douro River, and because we liked the pictures of the Lousa Palace Hotel in this small town just east of Coimbra. Not really a lot to see or do in town, but the hotel is quite something. There are large, elaborate sitting areas, the main dining room is amazing, and the rooms are spacious and wall appointed. And the price is right as well. But again, not a lot to do in Lousa!

October 19, 2015October 18, 2020

Getting to know Portugal, Part I

Since Portugal is going to be our place of residency for the next few years, we returned there this fall to travel the country and get to know it a little better. Portugal is not a big country, just 1% the size of the country I grew up in – Canada. So getting to know it shouldn’t take a lot of time. Our first journey out took us west and north, to Cascais, Sintra and Ericeira.

October 19, 2015October 19, 2020

Portuguese Residency

We have been working on becoming Portuguese residents for some time now, as we have started a process to leave Mexico. Becoming Portuguese offers me full-time residency in Europe, so I can come and go as I please. Portugal also comes with some nice fiscal benefits. One part of the residency process involves having a home in the country so we bought an apartment in Lisbon. It was completely gutted when we saw it, which allowed us to design the layout ourselves and put in everything new. It was a fun experience and the contractors were great. They came in on budget and finished ahead of schedule.

July 13, 2015October 18, 2020

Summer visit to Portugal

Last weekend we decided to take a trip over to see Lisbon. Flights were very cheap from Nice and we’ve been wanting to visit for some time. We stayed in a very nice boutique hotel in central Lisbon called Lis Baixa (ask for room 305 or 405 as they are much larger). Good price, nice breakfast included and the people are super friendly.

July 2, 2015October 18, 2020

Roundabout Drive from Nice to Paris

This was a rather roundabout way to get to Paris, as it took us through Italy, Switzerland and Luxembourg, but it made for a great trip. We took the coastal freeway to Savon and from there, turned up to Turin, until we reached our first night’s stay just north and outside of Turin in the the Canavese Valley. There are numerous small towns in the area, situated in the foothills of the Alps. We stayed at a small B&B just outside of the town of Strambinello, called the Castello (Castle) di Strambinello. It would be just outside, west of Ivrea, off the freeway that travels from Turin to Aosta.