Beja
On our drive to Évora, we made a stop in the town of Beja. Beja has an interesting history as it was founded by Julius Caesar in 48 BC and has long been an important and prosperous city.
Read MorePraia da Bordeira
We decided for our last full day in the Algarve we would head back to the west coast as the scenery is much more dramatic with jagged cliffs and pretty hiking trails. We decided to visit Praia da Bordeira. The weather was very interesting this morning as it was mostly cloudy. However, half the beach had some blue skies and the other half had an almost eerie feel due to low clouds and a hazy mist of sea spray. We were able to take a long walk on the beach and even found a small flounder fish in the shallows!! The waves were especially strong and there were several people taking surfing lessons on the beach.
Read MoreSeville, Spain
We drove to Seville from Cádiz where we have been the last couple of days. Located on the banks of the Guadalquivir River, Seville used to be a prosperous port city which carried out trade with the Americas. It is a beautiful city with lots of palaces, churches, and winding narrow streets.
Read MoreCádiz, Spain
¡Hola! We decided to take a short road trip to Spain as it is not far from where we are staying in Tavira. We drove about 2 1/2 hours to Cádiz on Sunday and spent the day touring around the city. Cádiz was founded in 1100 BC (yes, you read that correctly!) by the Phoenicians and is the oldest inhabited city in Spain and one of the oldest cities in all western Europe. Cádiz is small and easy to walk around; however, it is densely populated with 126,000 people living here.
Read MorePraia do Barril
Yesterday we headed to Praia do Barril which is located a few miles from where we are staying in Tavira. The beach was once the location of a small tuna fishing community and now has a permanent collection of anchors, known as The Anchor Graveyard, to recognize the profession. There is a mile-long footpath to get to the beach; however, you can also take an adorable mini train. We ended up walking there and taking the train back!
Read MoreAlcoutim & Mértola
On Thursday we took a break from the beach and headed north to the small village of Alcoutim which boarders the Guadiana River. When you look across the river, you are looking right at Spain and the mirror village of Sanlúcar de Guadiana. It was such a funny feeling to know we were standing in Portugal and looking out into Spain!! We spent the morning walking around the castle, church, and pretty cobblestone streets.
Read MoreBenagil Sea Cave & Praia do Carvalho
Over the past week we have been monitoring the sea tide report to determine when the waves would be most calm. We kept seeing Tuesday would have very little waves, so earlier this week we headed back to Benagil Sea Cave.
Read MoreIlha Deserta
We arrived in Tavira on Sunday afternoon and checked into the Airbnb where we will be staying for the next two weeks. Tavira is an ancient Moorish town and has many historic buildings, churches and pretty plazas to explore.
Read MorePraia das Furnas
On our last full day on the southwestern coast we drove to Praia das Furnas. Originally we were hoping to go to the neighboring beach, Praia de Blimunda e Baltasar. However, after driving up a rocky and narrow road, we found ourselves at the top of a cliff with no way to get down to the ocean! So we backtracked and parked at Praia das Furnas where we learned you could walk from one beach to the next through a hole in the cliff during low tide.
Read MorePraia da Barriga
Yesterday we checked out Praia da Barriga ("Beach of the Belly") about 30 minutes from our apartment. We've been having a blast exploring this region and each beach we visit seems to have something unique about it. Praia da Barriga was no exception with its rugged black cliffs and bright algae covered rocks.
Read MoreLagos
Yesterday we spent our day in Lagos, an ancient maritime city, about 10 minutes from our Airbnb. Our first stop of the morning was to the bakery, Padaria Central, for pastries. We each got a donut filled with cream and a pastel de nata (Portuguese egg tart). They were delicious and I wish every morning could start with dessert!! Haha!
Read MoreA Beach to Ourselves...
Wednesday we headed to the small beach town of Salema where we hiked through a forest to get to the isolated beach of Praia da Figueria. The hike is only about half a mile and once we got down to the bottom of the hill, we were rewarded with a small beach we had all to ourselves for the first two hours we arrived. Even after that, we shared it with only one other family.
Read MoreCliff Hike
Yesterday morning we woke early so we could be the first to arrive at Benagil Sea Cave, a 45-minute drive from our Airbnb in Luz. This sea cave has a naturally occurring oculus overhead of its own secluded beach. We read the beach gets busy later in the day when lots of boats and people try to visit; however, if you arrive early you can have the place practically to yourself. It does require about a 10 minute swim to get into the cave and unfortunately the morning we went had some really high and rough swells. Since we do not have a death wish, we were unable to do the swim. I'm hoping we can try again another time!! Luckily, we will be in this region for about 3 weeks so fingers crossed we can find a day without crazy waves!
Read MoreOlá Portugal
We arrived in Lisbon on Sunday after an early morning flight from London. Going through customs in Portugal was a completly different experience this time around. In London, we were grilled as to why we were going to be in the United Kingdom for so long and were asked to show proof we were leaving the country in two months. So this time I made sure to be prepared! I had printouts of our outgoing flight back to the States in addition to all our Airbnb reservations and car rentals while here. However, all of that was not necessary as the Portugal customs agent was excited we were going to be in his country and gave us recommendations for places to visit and food to eat! Ha!!
Read MoreCheers London!
We have officially checked out of our London flat and are currently staying at an airport hotel awaiting our early-morning flight to Portugal tomorrow. It feels so bittersweet typing this knowing our time in London is officially over.
Read MoreRye
For our last road trip while we are in the UK we rented a car and headed to Rye, a 2 1/2 hour drive South East of London. We started our morning at Pett Level Beach. Online, I read during low tide you are able to see stumps of ancient trees which are part of a fossilized forest dating back to the most recent ice age. Luckily we came at the right time and were able to spot a few of these stumps.
Read MoreHighgate
On Sunday we woke up to a perfect fall day, sunny and low 70's. We wound up taking the bus to Highgate in North London where we started the morning by visiting Waterlow Park, a 20-acre green space. It was the perfect place to sit in the sun and watch the people go by. We spent a bit of time walking around the park and enjoying the weather.
Read MorePop Brixton
Yesterday, Alex and I headed South to the neighborhood of Brixton. Brixton is an interesting area in London as it recently went through a gentrification process; however, it was able to maintain its strong African-Caribbean influence.
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