Europe – Travels of John and Flo

June 22, 2026June 22, 2026

Two Weeks in Italy (Part 2)

We’d just spent a week in Puglia and now headed back to Naples to take a ferry over to the island of Procida. The ferry ride was so quick (we didn’t realize how close Procida was to the mainland), that we missed the docking and had to stay on board as the ferry travelled to the neighboring island of Ischia and then returned to Procida. We arrived in time, though, to board our sailboat, unload our suitcases and then go shopping for provisions.

June 22, 2026

Two Weeks in Southern Italy

Jon and I had been talking for years about a sailing trip somewhere in the Med. His background in sailing was mostly west coast, between San Francisco and Puerto Vallarta while mine was mostly in the Med, sailing with our good friend Jack in Croatia, Italy, Greece and Turkey. When I decided to take the skipper’s course in San Francisco Bay (out of Berkley), I did the final back in Puerto Vallarta. To prepare for it I practiced with Jon on his 42’ sailing boat, and afterwards enjoyed many wonderful days sailing with him and friends in Banderas Bay.

March 20, 2026

Back to the Côte d’Azur to Ski

We were fortunate enough to get in one more ski holiday before the end of the ski season with a visit to Valberg, situated in the Maritime Alps above Nice. And at the same time it was an opportunity to walk the streets of a place that was home to us for more than five years.

February 12, 2026February 12, 2026

Back to the Pyrenees to Ski

Fog blanketed Lisbon as we left the city early in mid’ January, heading northeast on A1 towards Spain and eventually to our destination, the Pyrenees mountain range. The fog continued, becoming even thicker at times, all the way to the Spanish border before finally burning off.

March 17, 2024February 4, 2025

Skiing in the Pyrenees

Flo and Ali were in Paris with Ali working while Flo was visiting friends. I was back in Lisbon with a car full of ski equipment and luggage, about to begin a long drive to the Pyrenees. Our plan was to rendezvous in Pau France – me driving and them arriving from Paris by train.

May 15, 2023May 16, 2023

A visit to Extremadura Spain

Extremadura is a region in Spain that runs along side the Portuguese border, directly east of Lisbon, so in the central/west region of the country. From Lisbon it’s 200 km, or just a couple of hours drive away. We decided to do a short circuit tour of this region that would take us first to Merida in the south, then north taking in the towns of Cáceres, Trujillo and Plasencia, and then further up and then back west to La Alberca and Cuidad Rodrigo, before heading back to Lisbon.

January 21, 2023March 19, 2023

The Canary Islands – Tenerife

Since selling our home in Mexico we’ve been looking for a place to replace it, an escape from the cold in the winters but somewhere a little closer to Lisbon. Our searching first took us to Madeira, but that wasn’t quite warm enough. The next place to check out was the Canary Islands, which we visited in January of this year (2023).

October 23, 2021November 6, 2021

Cruising the Cyclades – Santorini

I had no expectations going into Santorini, and perhaps that’s the best way to first get to know it. I had done very little reading about it prior or during our trip, just knew it was our last stop before flying back to Portugal. My education on Santorini began when Hariz, who we rented our car from, picked us up at the ferry port and brought us to his office, a few blocks from our beachfront hotel. On the way he told us about Thera, the volcano, and what we should see and do in Santorini.

October 14, 2021November 6, 2021

Cruising the Cyclades Islands on Prosecco III

In the Spring of 2015 we cruised the eastern seaboard of the United States, from Florida to Washington, on board the yacht Sockeye Blue with our good friends John & Tina Philippson. Their 80-foot Nordhavn was a beautiful ship, and we enjoyed three fun-filled weeks exploring this coastline. They would eventually sell Sockeye Blue, but in 2021, eager to get another Nordhavn and this time to explore the Mediterranean and the rivers and canals of Europe, they bought Prosecco III, a 41-footer fresh off the production line in Turkey. Prosecco was purchased purposely smaller, so it could fit inside the locks and canals.

July 31, 2021November 6, 2021

Back to Paris (by Train & Bike)

Mid-July we ventured into Paris to attend the wedding and enjoy the city when Parisians are at the beach and the number of tourists is dramatically down because of Covid. We decided to spend the summer on the island of Noirmoutier and this trip helped break it up a bit.