Madeira is a volcanic island located about 1000 km from Portugal. Portuguese sailors discovered the archipelago in 1419 and settled there shortly afterwards. It is often referred to as the “Hawaii of Europe” because of its mountainous landscapes, volcanic features, crystal blue water, dramatic coastlines and lush green hills. Flying to Madeira is quite affordable…Continue reading Portugal – Madeira
Tag: Old Town
Portugal – The Algarve
The Algarve is Portugal’s most southerly region stretching across 100 miles of coastline. It is famous for sandy beaches framed by jagged cliffs, rugged rock formations, sumptuous seafood and picturesque villages. Our 8 day visit was during the off-season and we really enjoyed the lack of crowds and temperate winter weather. From Lisbon, we took…Continue reading Portugal – The Algarve
Mauritania
During our first visit to Mauritania in December 2010, much of the country was off limits. Needless to say, we were really excited to revisit 13 years later to see how much it had changed. The border crossing from Western Sahara into Mauritania took a tedious 7 hours and we were happy to finally get…Continue reading Mauritania
Bulgaria – Rila, Bansko, Melnik, Plovdiv, Nesebar & Varna
Bulgaria was the last country of our European adventure and luckily, we had reserved a rental car way in advance of the peak tourism season. Our car was waiting for us as soon as we landed, and all the paperwork was on hand so a quick signature and we were off. After grabbing a local…Continue reading Bulgaria – Rila, Bansko, Melnik, Plovdiv, Nesebar & Varna
Poland – Warsaw, Lublin, Kazimierz Dolny, Zamość, Rzeszów & Kraków
Poland is a country that we were really excited about as we were curious to see how much it had changed since our first visit over 20 years ago. After flying into Warsaw, we spent a night before hopping on a bus to the pretty city of Lublin. Lublin was our base for a day…Continue reading Poland – Warsaw, Lublin, Kazimierz Dolny, Zamość, Rzeszów & Kraków