I don’t usually do food posts, but I have to make an exception for Lisbon because wow, is Lisbon a great food destination. First you’ve got your pastries. Pastéis de nada – the famous Portugese custard tarts – are available around on street corner. But so are every other kind[…]
On the weekend, we took a day trip to Sintra: a charming town just outside of Lisbon. Sintra is like the Hamptons of Portugal: it’s a great place for wealthy people to escape Lisbon’s summer heat. In certain historical periods, the royal family lived in Sintra year round. Our tour[…]
From architecture to fashion to food, Lisbon is a city that deeply values aesthetics. Nowhere is that more apparent than its incredible art scene. Whereas an increasing number of major cities around the world have managed to expel their artists through gentrification, Lisbon (at least for now) still has plenty[…]
Last week, James and I arrived at our very last stop on this wild and wonderful journey. Which is Lisbon! I’ve been a bit negligent with the blog this week, in part because Lisbon is the sort of place where you just… be. And I don’t know how to write[…]
On Sunday, we embarked on our last hike in Madeira before moving on to Lisbon: the Caminho Real da Encumeada hike, or the royal path (PR12). Historically, this route was one of the only options for cutting through the mountains, and was used by royalty, landlords, and other important people.[…]
One of the many strange and beautiful things in Madeira are the levadas: channels that were originally created in the 15th century to transport water around the island. There are about 1400km of these levadas, many of which are now maintained as hiking trails. Have I mentioned that Madeira is[…]
Today, we set out for Madeira’s bucket list hike: the Pico do Areeiro to Pico Ruivo hike (Pr1). This route connects the third highest and highest peaks in Madeira, respectively, with sublime views almost the whole way along. These views are just so consistently epic that I don’t even know[…]
We have not been sticking to the rivers or the lakes that we’re used to. We initially set out for the Vereda do Fanal hike, a point to point trail through a forest that is sometimes coated in a spooky fog. On this day, the clouds had dissipated by the[…]
Yesterday, we visited the Monte Palace Tropical Garden: an oasis just outside Funchal that features about 17 acres of manicured gardens. I was expecting a relatively brief visit to a beautiful but small garden. But, no: this place is absolutely massive. We spent hours wandering around it. The garden has[…]
São Laurenço Point is a peninsula at the most eastern point of Madeira. The trail that loops around it is one of Madeira’s most popular hikes due to its epic coastal views and primordial-looking landscapes. The ride to São Laurenço from Funchal was about an hour by scooter. We arrived[…]