Europe
Learning to live with eating seasonal fruit and vegetables
Travelling around rural parts of Europe we regularly spot roadside fruit and veg stalls, a good way of seeing what are the seasonal ‘in things’ in any destination. […]
Portugal
Hiking
Slow travel, overtourism and rural locations
“Bom dia,” the woman smiles at us. She leans on the granite window frame of a traditional farm labourer’s cottage, watching inquisitively as we stroll through the tiny hamlet. “Little does she know we might be harbingers of a mini invasion,” Andy ponders. […]
Europe
The end of spring in central Portugal
The season has changed. This hit home on Friday in the supermarket where there was a distinctly different vibe. People were dressed in full on summer uniform. There were telling empty places on the shelves where boxes of Sagres beer and sacks of BBQ briquettes should be. […]
Europe
No magic required, how to make cities smaller
Meeting up with a friend from Manchester for an afternoon and evening in Lisbon recently, the realisation dawned that in the last two years Lisbon had also shrivelled in size. […]
Chile
The good, bad and ugly of hire cars and airports
A factor often connected with satisfaction levels is picking up/dropping off rental cars. The experience, good or bad, doesn’t impact on how we view a destination, but it can leave a lasting impression. […]
Douro
Plain Sailing on a Douro River Cruise
…the bridges and houses of Regua give way to layer upon layer of slopes braided in vines as the river narrows and the banks draw closer, embracing us in their unbridled beauty. […]
Aveiro
The saucy canal boats of Aveiro
Lounging beside a lagoon on Portugal’s north west coast, Aveiro is often referred to as the Venice of Portugal. Quite a few places with canals are referred to ‘the Venice of… ‘. It’s a description which dangles a pretty picture on the end of a fishing hook. […]
Europe
Choco frito, the taste of Setúbal
The obsession with choco frito is said to have started in the days when cuttlefish had no commercial value. So the fishermen who sailed the waters south of the Tagus, from the Sado Estuary down to Sines, tended to keep chocos for themselves […]
Food & drink
Raising a glass to the vineyards of Europe
It was the second time in just over a week we’d stayed in a vineyard. Both cases prompted thoughts of many other visits to vineyards around Europe, visits that had formed long-lasting, warm and fuzzy (not just thanks to enthusiastic tasting) memories. […]
Alentejo
Into Alentejo, a road trip around the Sado Estuary
Although no distance as the crow flies, the transformation between bustling Setúbal and the sparsely populated, tree-fringed, white sands on the other side of the estuary was astounding. Within moments of disembarking we were on our own… […]
Hiking
Community, capitalists, and the Douro Valley
The rosy glow from this rural community, people bonded by the production of Port wine for over 300 years, was like being wrapped in a Merino wool blanket on a chilly morning. […]
Europe
The seven marvels of Portugal
A wee bit of research uncovered it was a competition which had been held every year since 2007, each year involving a different aspect of Portugal’s many natural and human-made attractions. It was like finding a direct insight into a ‘best of’ the country as known by residents. […]
Bavaria
There’s no guarantee you’ll like this travel destination
There’s history as rich as anywhere, Roman ruins, golden beaches, forests, plains, scenic ridges, Moorish castles, traditional towns, sprawling vineyards, more gastronomic specialities than you’d find in a trendy London deli, the people are exceedingly friendly, and there’s the Virgin Mary on a giant mule. […]
Food & drink
You say patata bravas I say batta harra, it’s all tapas
Tapas might be considered a Spanish ‘invention’ but it’s actually a sociable way of eating which is popular in many countries. […]
Andros
Adjusting to rural transport around Europe
As we specialise in hiking we regularly find ourselves in areas where figuring out how we’re going to travel to, or return from, a linear walking route using whatever local transport is available can prove somewhat of a ‘suck it and see’ exercise. […]