Gretch Runs

Hi everyone! Today will be the final post in my Portugal travel journals, and the final leg of my journey. After exploring Porto , drinking my way down the Douro River , and hiking up mountains in Sintra , we had a short but sweet visit in the capital of Lisbon. Our flight heading home was super early (like 4AM), so we only had one full day and the half day left after visiting Sintra. We tried to make the most of it!  Here's what we did- Day 1 Hotel Lisboa Plaza We made the quick drive from Sintra to Lisbon, and pulled up to the most gorgeous and historic hotel. Everything here felt old fashioned- the room had an actual key (no cards here!), wooden grand staircases, and grand balconies. The area was really cute too- the hotel was located right by the Avenida da Liberdade, which is a beautiful main street with wide tree-lined sidewalks. Praça do Comércio After getting our stuff situated in the room and changing, we made our way down the Avenida da Liberdade an...

Hi everyone and happy Friday (and Valentines Day!). Today I'm going to be sharing the next part of my trip to Portugal- the last time we left off I just got done drinking my way up and down the Douro river in the beautiful wine region. Our next stop was in Lisbon, but before that we wanted to stop in the nearby town of Sintra. I heard a lot about Sintra before the trip and knew I had to squeeze in a stop there. Luckily, it's located about a half hour from Lisbon and was an easy drive (apparently it's also a quick train ride, which would make it an excellent day trip if we had more time!). Known for its picturesque hills and lavish palaces with over the top gardens, it's been considered a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1995. After parking near the Sintra train station, we grabbed some food and coffee at the first cafe we saw (I got a Portugese specialty called pasteis de nata, which is a custard tart) and set out for a hike around town. Our first stop ...

After a whirlwind of a trip to Porto (where it felt like we were always on the move), it felt great to head to our next stop- the Douro Valley. Known as the demarcated region where grapes are grown for port wine, I knew this would be the relaxing part of our trip. We had one tour scheduled as part of our Groupon package, but other than that we were on our own! Day One We left Porto around lunchtime, and made our way east to the mountainside. It was really hilly, with small, twisty roads wrapping around the hills and rivers. The drive took about an hour and a half, and then we arrived to our hotel to relax for the rest of the day Hotel - Douro Valley Palace Hotel This hotel was absolutely beautiful, with a gorgeous view of the famous Douro River (the same river that we had a boat tour on the previous day). There were a lot of different restaurants and bars all over the property, along with an outdoor pool and spa area. Unfortunately, since we were there in the off se...

A very happy Monday to all of you! I hope you all enjoyed your first weekend of the New Year and haven't forgotten any goals or resolutions yet (I'm going strong with mine ...so far). I have a fun set of posts that I'll be kicking off today- highlights from my recent trip to Portugal. Dan and I went on this trip during Thanksgiving, and mostly found it by luck. We were a few months back from our trip to Japan early in 2019 and were already itching to go overseas again. Instead of booking a trip right away, we decided to find something months in the future as something to look forward to. We browsed Groupon Getaways (a favorite of mine- check out older recaps from Costa Rica ; Budapest and Prague ; and Ireland and Scotland ) and found a great deal for a week in Portugal! This trip included flights, car rentals, hotels in three cities, and a few scheduled tours. I immediately bought two packages and sat waiting for months for our trip to happen! The first city that ...