Running Through Countries, Part II: Spain to France to Italy
April 29 – May 1, 2023 Having started two prior motorcycle trips through Europe from Barcelona, we had previously spent a few days touring the city. It had been about seventeen years since Diana had seen La Sagrada Familia, the amazing basilica designed by Antoni Gaudi and still under construction (since 1882!). We agreed that […]
Running Through Countries, Part I: Portugal to Spain
April 27-May 2, 2023 We’ve criss-crossed Spain multiple times on two wheels, beginning in 2006 in Barcelona, last year to store the bike in Malaga, and this year from Malaga to Gibraltar to Portugal and back across to Barcelona. To be honest, we’ve enjoyed Barcelona, Malaga, Manilva, Cadiz, and more, but Spain is a relatively […]
Porto and (Again) the Amazing Douro Valley
April 19-26, 2023 The Douro Valley was calling to us again, and we couldn’t resist. This area of northern Portugal is just so beautiful and relaxing. We would have liked to spend another day or two just chilling in Nazaré but we decided to head north to Porto, Portugal’s second largest city, and do an […]
Criss-crossing Portugal: Troia and Nazaré
April 11-18, 2023 We had already ridden four hundred miles north, from the beaches of southern Portugal’s Algarve region to just north of the Douro Valley. Now we were once again headed south, all the way back down to Troia, which is about twenty miles south of Lisbon as the crow flies. We had accepted […]
Dealing with “All Those Languages”
April 23, 2023 The more we travel, and the more countries we travel through, the more we try to learn, both about the culture and the languages. We feel lucky that we grew up in an English-speaking country, since our native language tends to be a second or third language in most other countries. This […]
The Douro Valley
April 7-9, 2023 Before ever leaving home, back in 2020, I had already made a list of my “must-see” places in Portugal. They included the Algarve, but not the beaches and beach towns that most people long for; Nazare, particularly in November, for the big wave surfing, and Lisbon, because, well, in all honesty, there […]
516 Arouca
April 6, 2023 We based in Arouca for two nights so that we could leave all of our “stuff” behind for a day while doing some hiking. Arouca is a beautiful town of around 20,000 people in a valley, surrounded by hills mostly covered in pines. As usual, we took the “back road” into Arouca, […]
Tomar, via Evora: Knights (Templar) to the Rescue?
April 4, 2023 On the way towards Evora this morning, we rode past another motorcyclist on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere. It looked like he may be in need of help, so I turned around to go back and check on him. He was indeed broken down. He was from […]
Algarve, Portugal: 55 Countries and Counting
March 30, 2023 Portugal marks fifty five countries for me, and thirty six that Diana has been along for the ride. That leaves a lot of the world still remaining, but hey, If Not Now, Soon? We only had eighty miles to ride today to get to our house sit outside of Silves, Portugal. I’m […]
Isla Cristina
March 29, 2023 Just another 137 kilometers or 85 miles from Sevilla, near the border with Portugal, is Isla Cristina. This small island is a popular tourist destination for Spanish tourists, and in particular those from Sevilla, who come here during July and August for the beautiful beaches. We arrived at the end of March, […]
To continue reading about this leg of our journey, click the “700 Travels” link under each post. The story will continue in chronological order. At the bottom of the page, you’ll need to click “Older Posts” to continue, even though it will actually take you to newer (chronologically) posts. Thanks!