Wrapping up Month Two of Remote Year with a bang (although rather than a bang,  the sound is ocean waves crashing combined with Kanye tunes on a ukulele, with overtones of rooftop whisky).

I’m having trouble with words today but I really wanted to explain Portugal in all its amazingness.  Someone described Lisbon as if the city has a secret hidden in plain sight, waiting for you to discover it.

The roads and walkways are done with a Portuguese pavement, which is small flat-ish stones arranged like a mosaic.  This is both beautiful and treacherously slippery.

Lisbon’s downtown is hilly, which means you can come upon a vista out of nowhere.  Pleasant surprise!

One of my favorite spots is the Time Out Market, which is a big hall that brings together a lot of the local restaurants in a shared space.  You can go with a group and each eat something from a different food shop – just be prepared to hunt for a seat.

But what’s going to bring me back to Portugal isn’t Lisbon alone, but the surrounding towns.  Easily accessible by train or car, these places are what make Portugal so fascinating.

I spent a weekend in Porto, the home of Port wine, bridges, and a landscape that rises from the river as if it’s 2 dimensional; colorful and begging to be explored.

My favorite part of Porto we stumbled upon accidentally-on-purpose.  My friends and I heard some music drifting down a small walkway, and decided to follow our ears.  We ended up at a street market with gorgeous art (my weakness!) and some stupid good sandwiches.

I have so many other places I’d like to eventually explore in Portugal – like the fishing town Ericeira and the breathtaking Lagos.  I always say you need a reason to come back and explore somewhere more (the reason I’ve been to Nevada four times and still haven’t gotten a picture with the Welcome to Las Vegas sign) so I don’t mind that I didn’t hit all of the hot spots.  Portugal, I’ll see you again.  Xoxo

Next stop:  Morocco!