“Are you threatening me?!” a member of the large party joining our Douro Valley tour called out to the driver as she squeezed into the back of the narrow van.

“Not at all,” the driver calmly responded. “I’m just saying that if you feel like there isn’t enough room and you would rather not go, we would be happy to refund your money.” Read More

After spending some relaxation time surrounded by tiles, canals, and overly sugary treats in Aveiro, I was back in a urban exploration mindset. Throughout my travels here, I had heard all about Porto’s good eats, steep hills, and of course port wine, so I was excited to check it all out for myself. Not a bad way to spend my last week in Portugal! Read More

After the dense urban cityscape of Lisbon, I was looking for something a bit more low key before my next stop in Porto.

After a few hours of searching around the web, I came across the small town of Aveiro, known throughout the country as the Portuguese Venice. And at a glance this definitely seems fitting, as even a quick image search will return image after image of brightly colored gondolas slicing through the centrally located canal. These images were unlike anything I’d seen in Portugal thus far. As luck would have it, the train station stop was already conveniently located along the same route as Porto. Read More