Travels of John and Flo – Page 9

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.

July 2, 2015October 19, 2020

Chateau de Joux near Pontalier, France

There’s an amazing winding staircase that goes from one of the top towers to the bottom of the moat, 35 meters deep and dug between 1879-90, and a well was dug starting in 1690 through the rock down to fresh water, going down 120 meters. That must’ve been fun to dig, mostly by hand, by prisoners, back in those days where the only tools were chisels and perhaps some gunpowder for explosives. A few things were most notable: It has been a military fortress since the 11th century, right up until the 2nd World War, where it held back the Germans for eight days before being overtaken. Today it just provides tours to the public and is no longer active as a fortress.

June 4, 2015October 19, 2020

Visit to Dolceacqua, Italy

Italy is not far from Nice, France, about a 1/2 hour by car or train, although it depends on which highway you take. It is definitely more scenic to take the lower coastal roads, but traffic can back-up quickly on these windy, narrow, steep roads. But there is a freeway which can get you into Italy quite quickly.

May 29, 2015October 19, 2020

Pathways…

There’s something about paths that I find intriguing and appealing in a number of ways. Where do they lead to? Who has gone on this path before me? Where would it take me? So what is around that next bend in the path?

May 29, 2015October 18, 2020

Following Flo…

Seems wherever we go, I’m always a few steps behind Flo. Everyone now and then she’ll turn around and give me a look that says, “What, another photo?” or, “Can’t you at least sometimes walk beside me?” Can’t quite keep up to the girl sometimes. So I started taking photos of her from me trailing behind her, and have collected quite a few of them.