Delving into some family history, we took a side trip to Weilheim in Oberbayern on our way from Rothenburg to Hohenschwangau. While this may seem like a simple little town, just southwest of Munich, it was more important to our family lore on my dad’s side growing up. This seemed like an opportune time to show the girls a bit […]
When we first arrived in York, we all wanted to establish routines while we were there to find more stability during the fall period. One routine that the girls and I took on was regular visits to the National Railway Museum. In turn, this gave Micheka regular time in York at least weekly to get out, explore, and experience the […]
Sunday became a busy, routine day for us in York. While we did have exceptions due to various experiences we planned (such as our walking holiday to Northumberland), it was nice to have some activities to rely on each week. Sundays were our lazier start to the week where we’d let the girls sleep in. We’d aim to leave the […]
Our time in Oria and in Spain (for now) has come to an end. Compared to Portugal, the Spanish lifestyle was definitely more challenging to adapt to. Our hosts concurred and did mention that it took them a good year when they moved to Spain from the UK to adjust to that lifestyle. For example, almost every store in town […]
In Oria, we are mainly in a small town and rural area. One of the main features of living in such a place is the cats and dogs everywhere! Here at Shepherd’s Rest, they alone have three cats – Patsy, Livvy, and Evie – as well as four dogs – Taffy, Saffron, Lucky, and Ivy. The girls are completely obsessed […]
Daily hikes have been more of a challenge in Oria due to the heat, but on Monday, Katia and I woke up bright and early (if you consider 07:30 early) to tackle the mountain up to Castillo De Oria (Castle of Oria). It was also a good reason to have a daddy-daughter day while Micheka and Emmeline spent some time […]
None of us had been to Portugal until this trip. I know many friends who have been there before but did not honestly give a lot of attention to visiting Portugal until we were planning this trip. Coming off a more typical working lifestyle leaving Canada, arriving in Portugal first feels like you are just coming into “vacation mode” at […]
In preparation for our transition to Spain, Jon spent a 14-hour “planes, trains, and automobiles” day to Madrid and back on July 28 to get a vehicle for the next leg of our family journey through Spain. Having a vehicle for the past week was a nice change from all of the walking and gave us the ability to explore […]
Today, we dug into our adventurous side and booked a paddleboard outing with a guide in the Douro Valley. For those who aren’t aware, the Douro River is the famous waterway connecting inland Portugal to Porto and the Atlantic Ocean and it is gorgeous! We were very fortunate to have an amazing guide, Pedro from Enjoy Douro to lead us […]
After a couple of lazy days around Tabuado, we woke up feeling a bit restless this morning, so we decided to try something new. While we still need to do many of the typical chores from back home – groceries, laundry, cooking, etc. – it is nice to have the flexibility to follow where the day or the mood takes […]