The day of travel from Milan was exhausting. We caught the train to Malpensa airport after a 15 minute uber, the train takes 35 minutes from the main station. It is the best deal to get to the airport, tickets are only 14€, where a cab would set you back 80€. The train was stuffy…

There are an abundance of churches here in Milan, nearly matching Portugal, but the facades are mainly brick instead of the dazzling tiles of the Portuguese. Inside however is a completely different story. The basilicas range from gothic, romanesque and baroque, or sometimes a combination of all three. Beautiful vaulted ceilings elaborately decorated with frescoes…

I had already been getting used to cooking on a two range hot plate from when we were in Porto. This place was no different, I say this because calling it a stove top would be generous. I have been becoming increasingly creative when making our meals, in Milan there is an abundance of beautiful…

Getting to Milan was a breeze. It was just a 20 minute uber to the Porto airport, which to me is hands down the best airport in the world so far. Security only took a few moments, as there was no one in line. The security agents were cheerful and friendly, one recognized the Arch…

It had been awhile since Mark had eaten a hotdog, so I agreed to take one for the team and join him one evening at Frankie. You can get a choice of frank, brat, chicken, or soy dog which is great but I am not too big into fake sausage so I opted to go…

The green spaces and Porto transport you to another time. All of the gardens are meticulously maintained and even in December there are blooms. The Jardins do Palacio de Cristal in front of Super Bock Stadium are home to peacocks and peahens that freely roam the area. The gardens are filled with fountains, flowering trees…

You could just spend your days walking around and never need to go into a museum. Every street has a church, from Gothic to Baroque and everything in between. Sightseeing is inexpensive here, a few Euros will grant entry to most churches and museums. There is always a free day or afternoon each month, so…

There was a brief panic after booking our tickets for the train, a rail strike was planned the 30th of November, the day we were leaving Lisbon. As our luck would have it, our train was one of the few (25% of trains that day) that was still running. A wave of relief washed over…

In reality you are hiking everywhere you go, even to our favorite neighborhood for drinks Barrio Alto. It lives on top of one of the Seven Hills, but is the absolute best for night life. We were grateful to find a pub called Corner Tavern which felt very much like home. We were relieved to…

Everywhere you look is one perfect scene after another. All of the streets are cobblestone works of art. Cobblestone was introduced to Lisbon in 1498, by order of King Manuel I. The techniques were learned from the Roman occupation. Although most of the ancient streets we demolished during the earthquake of 1755, most you see…