An Actually Fun Road Trip from New Jersey to Ohio (and back)

When I went to visit my sister in Cleveland this spring, I decided to turn the eight hour road trip into an actually fun and enjoyable adventure across state lines.

On the departure day, I woke up extremely early, so early that the roads of central Jersey were dark and spooky. I hoped that no deer would venture to cross my path. They obliged, and by 8am I’d made it to my sister’s former home in Harrisburg and picked up some bagels to bring to them as a treat and breakfast for me.

By lunchtime, I was in Pittsburgh and stopped for lunch at Mediterra Cafe. The patio is laptop and dog friendly, and the day was beautiful, so I spent a couple hours having lunch and catching up on work.

Getting up so early really helped, because by about 5pm I was in Cleveland for a fun weekend with my sister. I wrote about my Cleveland favorites in another post.

After that, it was the return road trip that really stood out. I decided to take the long way for maximum sightseeing purposes. I booked a hotel to spend the night in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.

On the way, I stopped and had some yummy coffee and breakfast tacos from Drip Coffeehouse + Kitchen. And snuck in some work calls on my pesky laptop again. Afterwards Bailey and I walked through Historic Brookville and saw the Jefferson County Courthouse.

We made it to our hotel in Williamsport around 5. The Genetti Hotel is a dog-friendly hotel that’s technically owned by Best Western, but they put in all the care and heart of an independently run hotel. Look at this note they left in the room:

Bailey is not usually allowed to be a bed dog, but sometimes she gets a special treat at hotels. Shhh!

Hot Yoga Williamsport was right across the street, so I dropped off the bags and ran right over for class. It was a heated studio and really nice class taught by a wonderful teacher named Jenelle (@the_body_aligned).

Next up, it was time for some tourism, so I took a walk through the town and onto Millionaire’s Row, a strip of old victorian mansions that used to be occupied by the wealthiest Pennsylvanians. Today some of them are a bit run down, but many are still beautiful and impressive to see.

It was almost dinner time, so my next stop was the Bullfrog Brewery, which was back closer to my hotel. It was easy to walk around the town since nothing was too far away, but far enough to get some steps in after being on the road all day.

At the brewery, I had a tasty apricot beer and a giant plate of nachos (with a small side salad for balance!) and followed it up with a homemade root beer. It was a perfect dinner stop in my book.

After dinner, I headed back to Bailey and we settled in for the night. It would be another early morning.

I knew I had a long drive ahead of me, but I’d always wanted to visit Ricketts Glen State Park. Bailey and I packed into the car super early and got to start hiking just after sunrise. The sky was cloudy and a little drizzly, but that meant uncrowded trails and rushing waterfalls.

The Glen Falls Loop trail passes 21 waterfalls (21!!) and is considered to be the best waterfall hike in the eastern US. I didn’t keep count, but trust that there were so many amazing waterfalls.

There’s a 7 mile version of the hike and a shorter 3ish mile loop that still passes the same number of waterfalls. I decided to take the shorter route, since I still had quite a bit of driving to do that day. Bailey loves hiking, but she agreed to get back in the car.

I hadn’t found any breakfast places on the way, so I ate a few sad soggy leftover nachos and then we finished the rest of our 3.5 hour drive home to NJ.

If you have the time, I definitely recommend taking the long way to make your road trip maximally fun!

Two Day Trips from Savannah

You might have noticed I got a little bit behind on blogging earlier this year… so this post is from the spring, but I hope you enjoy it!

My mom and stepdad live in New Jersey during the summers. During the winters, they live in the magical little town of Savannah, Georgia. They’ve been snow-birding for a while now, so I’ve gotten to visit Savannah many times and, of course, I have my Savannah favorites.

But since I’ve visited the city so many times, sometimes I like to get off the beaten path. My mom has taken me to do many wonderful things not too far away, and in my opinion, these are some of the best day trips from Savannah.

1. Bluffton, South Carolina

Bluffton is a small, quaint little town that would be cute to visit on any old day. But in my opinion, the best day to visit is for Mayfest.

This year was my second time visiting for Mayfest (and for Mother’s Day), and even though it rained, it was still a hit.

We started by browsing the little shops in Bluffton. Then we walked through some of the vendor tents before it started to downpour. It was the perfect opportunity to duck into a store that was serving mimosas and to grab lunch at The Cottage. Their shrimp and grits are so good!

Although the rainstorm put a damper on the outdoor activities, we still got to experience some of the joys of Mayfest. The last time we came, we got to watch the pie-eating contest and the silly “ugly dog contest”. It’s always a fun-filled day in Bluffton!

2. Tybee Island

Another favorite day trip from Savannah is out to the beach at Tybee Island. It had been a few years since I last visited Tybee, and I was due for a return. I’d love to try surfing there someday, but the conditions are pretty inconsistent. Instead, my mom and I stopped to explore the lighthouse and museum.

And had a surprisingly delicious lunch of oysters and hot dogs at Sea Wolf! It was the perfect Mother’s Day celebration, and both trips made for an entertaining rainy/overcast weekend.

There are so many fun things to do in Savannah that you might not need to stray from the beaten path, but if it strikes your fancy, these are two nearby trips I would definitely recommend.

Cleveland Favorites

My family just found out that next month, my sister will be moving from Cleveland to New Jersey! She’s been living in Cleveland for the past year with her husband who was completing a medical fellowship.

When I first found out that’s where they were heading, I have to admit I was a little bummed. Cleveland has a reputation of being cold and grey… and it’s far away from the east coast! But I had the chance to visit them twice during the past year, and the city absolutely surpassed my expectations.

I was surprised to find lots of nature activities, hip new shops and restaurants, and the usual friendliness and good neighborly vibes of the midwest. We’ll be happy to have them back on the east coast, but I think they’re pleased with their year in Cleveland.

So, in honor of their last few weeks in Ohio, here are some of my favorite Cleveland things they introduced me to:

1. Nature Walks at Rocky River Reservation

   The biggest surprise I found was that Cleveland has a lot of nature areas to explore. The weather might be grey a lot of the time, but the city’s parks are full of color and activity. The Metroparks system has tons of hiking and biking trails to explore.

2. Watching Games at Lakewood Truck Park

Cleveland is definitely a sports city. While we were waiting for my sister to get out of work, my brother-in-law brought me to the food truck park for a few drinks. It was a fun atmosphere with lots of young people watching games, drinking beers, and eating snacks.

3. Spotting the Cleveland Signs

There are six Cleveland signs around the city. I’ve only seen about three, but spotting them can take you to other cool locations, like this view of Lake Erie and downtown from Edgewater Park.

4. Climbing the Tower at Holden Arboretum

The Holden Arboretum is about a 30 minutes drive from the city, but I would say it’s worth it for climbing the Emergent Tower and exploring 20 miles of nature trails. The canopy walk was closed when we visited, but the leaves were changing colors which gave us an awesome view.

5. Hiking at Cuyahoga Valley National Park

I have a goal of visiting all the national parks, so of course Cuyahoga Valley was on my list of want-to-do activities. It’s one of the smaller national parks, and the hike we did was close to the road so not very immersed in nature, but I would still say it’s worth visiting if you happen to be in Cleveland.

6. Day Tripping to Chagrin Falls

We went to Chagrin Falls during both my fall and spring visit. It’s a great place to take visitors or stop for the day, with lots of shops, restaurants, and views of the falls.

7. Sunsets over Lake Erie

I haven’t gotten lucky enough yet to see people surfing on Lake Erie (or to try it myself), but the sunsets sure are pretty.

8. Vintage Shopping at Paradise Galleria

Paradise Galleria is THE COOLEST VINTAGE STORE I’VE EVER BEEN TO. Actually, it’s the coolest store I’ve ever been to! It’s kind of a big warehouse with sections for different vendors, and it’s full of amazing stuff. It has a ball pit and a slide! Wow! I could spend hours there.

9. Mediterranean Tapas at Zhug

My sister took me to lots of yummy restaurants in Cleveland, but Zhug really stood out. I love mediterranean food and all the plates were delicious and very shareable.

10. Indoor Mini Golf at Birdietown

Last but not least, indoor mini golf! We played a quick round at Birdietown and had a great time. The course is neatly designed—challenging enough to keep you interested and fun to play with friends. Plus they have food and drinks.

I guess I won’t be back in Cleveland anytime soon that I know of, but I’d be more than happy to visit again!

Recap: Portugal, Spain, France Surf & Road Trip

We’re back in New Jersey now, so I have more time to recap our whole trip. We spent six weeks in July and August 2025 traversing the coast of Portugal, parts of Spain, and a quick dip into France. This was technically a “surf trip” in that we brought surfboards, but we weren’t expecting much for waves in Europe in the summer. We were pleasantly surprised! Most of the spots we found had at least a little bit of surf. Sometimes the wind was strong, but we made it work and were pretty happy with what we got.

We divided the trip into two parts, because our credit card rental car insurance has a max of 31 days, so we knew we would need to come back to Lisbon mid trip. That worked out well, and I would highly recommend either of these road trip routes. I think you would need a full month to do the first part. We spent 2-3 nights in each place, and we definitely could have spent longer, but I don’t think we could’ve done it in any less time and still enjoyed ourselves the same. We’ve determined that three nights is the ideal minimum stay to truly enjoy a place when you’re road tripping around. The second part of the trip on the southern coast of Portugal could probably be done in any amount of time. It’s a beautiful place, but I’m not sure if we would go back again in August, if given the choice, because of the crowds.

Here’s a list of the places we stopped and stayed:

Part One:

• Ericeira

• Peniche/Baleal

• Nazaré & Praia de Mira

• Porto

• Salinas

• San Sebastian & Zarautz

• Bordeaux & Saint-Émilion

• Capbreton

• Salamanca

• Cascais

Part Two:

• Aljezur

• Sagres

• Burgau & Praia da Luz

• Alvor

• Vila Nova de Milfontes

• Lisbon

And a map of the whole route:

Some other details: We flew in and out of Lisbon airport on American Airlines, and we luckily didn’t have any trouble with the boards in a 7’6” board bag that actually measured a bit too long for their baggage limits. We worked remotely the entire time, and the only place we ran into any issues with wifi was in Alvor, which is pretty deep into the Algarve region.

Overall, it was a lot of driving and moving around, but I’m so glad we did it the way we did. We really got to see some amazing places, and it was a perfect mix of surf, nature, and culture. It was a really nice trip and one that will provide great memories for many years to come!

Thanks for following along on the journey.

Namaste,

Cori

**It’s always a privilege getting to surf in other countries. I make sure I’m always covered with affordable and reliable travel medical insurance in case anything goes wrong. I choose SafetyWing because their Nomad Insurance policy covers activities, including surfing, in 185+ countries. To sign up, visit this link.

Portugal Road Trip: Last Stop in Lisbon

We finally reached the end of the road. And I’m very sorry to tell you, I didn’t take many photos on our last night in Lisbon. It was a busy day.

We woke up in Vila Nova de Milfontes and ate Tomas’ delicious breakfast one more time. Then we went for quite a fun surf. After that, it was about a two hour drive to Lisbon.

We stayed at a hotel near the airport that was pretty convenient (Le Jardin Lisbon). And we tried to clean the intense amounts of dust and dirt off the rental car with a large water bottle.

We were still working—hence not many photos, but we took a break to go into the city for dinner. We found the most amazing Portuguese vegan restaurant (Kong).

They make all the typical Portuguese dishes—bacalhau a bras, octopus, pasteis de nata…—and everything is vegan! We’re not vegan, but we like eating vegan food, and it was awesome. We started with some “sausage” croquette appetizers, and then I had these yummy seitan ribs:

We skipped dessert at the restaurant, because it was time for our last round of pasteis de nata. We went to Manteigaria and bought a dozen to bring back home.

And that was a wrap on six weeks of Portugal, Spain, and France! It was a really fun trip, filled with food, surf, new places, different languages, and an exploration of whether we’d want to try to do a longer term stay in Portugal or somewhere nearby in Europe. After all, I’d say the answer is a definite yes.

Portugal Road Trip: Vila Nova de Milfontes

We saved some of the best accommodations for last! At this point we were nearing the end of the tip and kind of tired from changing locations every 2-3 nights. We knew we wanted to check out Vila Nova de Milfontes based on the surf forecast, but all the places left to stay were looking like duds. I probably would have given up and stayed anywhere at that point. But Bryan never gives up. He kept checking and refreshing booking websites until a diamond appeared in the rough. Apparently, someone had canceled last minute and there was an opening at a beautiful house called Casa do Lado.

We left the tiny streets of Alvor and headed back to the west coast, stopping at a nice beach bar for lunch on the way.

After about a two hour total drive, we made it to Milfontes. I had to work right away (are you sensing a theme here?), but the room was luxurious. It was nice on its own, but it was extra nice after coming from a journey of shared bathrooms and kitchens and sometimes single beds. There was a fruit bowl, tea, and glass water bottle in the room, for goodness sake. It felt like all of our needs had been accounted for.

In the morning, Thomas the owner (with his sister Mariana) served us an amazing breakfast in the garden.

It was a lot to eat before surfing, but we were not about to pass up such a wonderful breakfast! Then we got lucky and found some fun waves.

It was a Saturday, so we spent the rest of the day exploring some nearby surf spots and the town of Porto Covo.

We surfed a couple days, and the one day there weren’t any waves, we went for a coastal hike to a secret beach.

At night, we found a few nice places to eat—a really good vegan spot, a casual pub, and, on our last night, a highly recommended seafood restaurant.

One night, walking back through the town, everyone was out and about and we came across both a clown show and a musical performance in the streets. It was fun to see everyone out and about on a summer night.

I definitely started to feel like Milfontes should be added to the list of places we could stay longer term. I hope to make it back again someday!

Portugal Road Trip: Alvor

The next stop on our southern Portugal portion of the road trip took us even further into the Algarve. We left Sally’s guest house and peaceful patio for the great unknown of European tourism in August.

And we stopped for a bifana (pork sandwich) on the way:

We arrived in Alvor and navigated the tiny narrow streets up to our next guest house. It was a tight squeeze, but we were blessed by the parking gods and unloading the car wasn’t too difficult.

I had to work right away, but later we took a break for dinner in town. Alvor is definitely a heavily vacationed town with a busy strip of restaurants and souvenir shops. We grabbed sushi and walked down to the water just in time for sunset.

I’m in the midst of planning a work event in Australia, so there were some late night calls that week, but the work view wasn’t too bad:

One of the main reasons we wanted to stay in Alvor was to be close to the Benagil cave. And since we were so close, we decided to wake up early one morning for a cave kayaking tour.

How cool! We went into the most well-known Benagil cave with its circular skylight, then paddled around a few other darker caves. And we stopped on a nice beach.

A lot of other tourists were doing the same thing at the same time, so it was quite busy! But overall, kayaking was a nice way to spend the morning.

Afterwards we found a really great spot for breakfast (Earth Shop & Cafe), headed back to work, and at night went out for Portuguese-Mexican food.

That was all for our short and sweet time in Alvor.

Portugal Road Trip: Burgau & Praia da Luz

At this point in the trip, we were flying by the seats of our pants when it came to accommodation. We thought about taking a flight to another European country when we were back in Lisbon exchanging the car, but flights were expensive and that would have meant another trip to plan and missing out on a lot of southern Portugal.

So, we decided to stay and dive deeper into the Algarve.

We got extremely lucky and found an amazing place to stay. It was a bed and breakfast in Praia da Luz owned by a friendly and funny British woman (Salsalito Guest House).

The property was gorgeous and came with a lovely breakfast every morning. We knew there wouldn’t be any chance of waves for surfing, so it was the perfect place to relax and recharge.

Of course I was missing my puppy back home, and as a bonus, the B&B had two very nice dogs.

During the days we worked on the patio, I did some yoga by the pool, and we got the most incredible massages.

At night, we walked into the quaint fishing village of Burgau and found two great restaurants (Miam & A Barraca.)

We also took one night to go into Lagos for an outdoor cinema event. We watched Forrest Gump with wine and popcorn at the marina.

As it turns out, sometimes not planning is the best plan. It leaves room for wonderful surprises of where you might end up.

Portugal Road Trip: Sagres

If we were going to stay longer term in Portugal, Sagres would definitely be a top contender of location for me.

It’s a small town, but it’s one where we could have a not-too-different life full of the things we enjoy. This time, we went to yoga, visited our favorite coffee shop (Laundry Lounge), and even made a friend.

For surf, we’d have access to the south and west coasts. The south coast is flat this time of year, but we drove less than 30 minutes back up to Carrapateira for a few waves.

We also visited the “end of the old world”:

And found a seagull eating a sausage!

Our Airbnb guest house was nice— another fairly private apartment with its own terrace and a shared kitchen. The owner had a cat that he kept on a leash after it had escaped and gotten hurt too many times. Here’s Gato:

One night, we were driving home from dinner and stumbled upon a band playing rock music on a big stage. We parked the car and walked over, and it turned out to be a free concert in the park with Xutos & Pentapes, a famous Portuguese rock band from the 80s. We didn’t know the words, but everyone was singing along and we were very impressed!

It was a short visit, but just like last time, I think I’ll see Sagres again.

Portugal Road Trip: Heating Up in Aljezur

On a Monday, we headed back to Lisbon to drop off one rental car and pick up the next. It went smoother than we expected with having to possibly illegally park, get the new car, switch over the luggage, and drop the old car at a different location.

We got through it without hassles, then we headed south to Aljezur.

It was about a three hour drive to our next guest house. As expected, it was slim pickings for finding last-minute accommodation in Southern Portugal in August. We found a private room, but this was definitely our most “hostel-y” experience (shared bathroom, community kitchen, lots of people in and out), which can be fun, but isn’t always the best for digital nomad life.

Things might have been fine on a normal day, but the day we arrived was a 95 degree heat wave with no AC or fan. At night, it was way too hot to sleep. I went out and jumped in the pool at 1am to cool off— and saw that other guests had also gone out to sleep in the cooler living room and outdoor patio.

The moonlit dip actually worked, and I dozed off for a few hours. The next day, they brought us two fans and the heat broke, so all was well.

There were waves that week, so we surfed at Carrapateira, Monte Clérigo, and Amoreira. I think the heat and tiredness got to me, because I had a struggle with surfing a few of the days. Plus the conditions were sometimes shore break close outs that I don’t really know what to do with. Anyway, afterwards there was açaí (Sea You Surf Cafe):

And we found a couple of multi-cultural restaurants, including Indonesian (Maxi’s Warung) and Middle Eastern (The Hummus Kitchen):

Back at the guest house, it was still stuffy, buggy, and hard to work in the communal spaces. We weren’t too sad to say goodbye to that place.

So, it’s not always fun and games on the travel road. But it’s still pretty good.

Portugal Road Trip: Cascais

It was a long and hot two days drive back through the middle of Spain, but things cooled off once we got back to the coast of Portugal. We’ve both been to Lisbon a couple of times, so we decided to change it up and stay in nearby Cascais for this quick visit.

A lot of Americans have been moving to Portugal in general over the last few years and many of them to Lisbon and Cascais. Our guest house hostess didn’t seem too happy about her town being overrun with American expats, but she was still very nice to us visitors. And lucky for us, her house was a very cool place to stay. It was a three-story, old Portuguese home with seven bedrooms, but we didn’t run into too many other guests.

When we first arrived, the weather conditions were extremely windy. You can tell from the number of kite surfers:

But on the second day, the winds calmed down a little and we were able to surf a bit at Praia do Guincho. It was really foggy and—I discovered—rocky, but we had a pretty good time.

At night, we ventured into downtown Cascais, which sort of has a vibe like it could be plucked from southern California. There were certainly a lot of expats and English speakers from all over. The second night we stayed more local and closer to our guest house and had some really delicious tapas and spareribs at Pateo do Petisco Torre.

Next, it was off to return the rental car and commence the second part of our trip.

**It’s always a privilege getting to surf in other countries. I make sure I’m always covered with affordable and reliable travel medical insurance in case anything goes wrong. I choose SafetyWing because their Nomad Insurance policy covers activities, including surfing, in 185+ countries. To sign up, visit this link.

Stopping in Salamanca

At this point in the Portugal-Spain-France road trip, we had to get back to Lisbon to return the rental car. We use rental car insurance through a Chase credit card, which has a limit of 31 days. That meant we’d either need to make a 12-hour drive straight through or stop somewhere in Spain.

I’ve always heard great things about Salamanca. I studied abroad in Spain twice during college and grad school years ago, but never made it there. We decided to stop as a halfway point to break up the drive.

After we unloaded into our Airbnb (another apartment of our own— what luxury!), our first stop was the Plaza Mayor. We had a quintessentially Spanish first dinner of paella and cochinillo (roasted suckling pig) with patatas bravas as an appetizer (Meson Cervantes). All that plus a tinto de verano summer wine spritzer instantly brought me back to my college study abroad days!

For the next morning, I booked us on a free walking tour, but upon arrival we realized that the tour was in Spanish. It was definitely a dumb American error to assume that the world would cater to English speakers! We tried to keep up with the guide but quickly decided to hop off the tour and create our own.

The city is so impressive that it was easy to find sights to see! This blog was also a big help to me in figuring out where to stop.

We passed by the Casa de las Conchas on our way to the Cathedral. All the architecture is completely awe-inspiring, and the Cathedral (actually two cathedrals—old and new) is massive.

We thought of going on a tour inside, but we read some reviews that visiting the Ieronimus Towers of the Cathedral might provide more interesting views with less of a crowd.

It did not disappoint on either front, and I’m so glad we chose that route. We saw the insides of both old and new Cathedral, and we saw some amazing views of the outer towers.

We tired ourselves out in the hot sun and fully understood the need for a Spanish siesta. Later, once the heat of the day had cooled off a bit, we headed back out for tapas. Our server convinced us to try the city’s famous pork cheeks (tasty, but not something I need to eat regularly.) For dinner, we ended up grabbing takeaway of another local delicacy—hornazo, a pork/ham concoction baked in pie dough (forgot to take a photo, but you can see one here.)

And we capped it off with some gelato back in the Plaza Mayor at the Heladeria Bico de Xeado.

It was a surprising and spectacular stop! If you ever find yourself passing through the middle of Spain, I can highly recommend spending a day or two in this stunning city.

Chasing Waves in Capbreton

The only thing better than France in a city, like Paris or Bordeaux, is France with a beach! Our next stop on this Portugal, Spain, and France road trip was Capbreton. It ended up being a favorite for both of us.

We stayed for three nights and surfed at Santocha bay. The surf was very crowded, but one day was clean and fun, and I managed to catch a perfect wave between the crowds.

The break was really neat because there are leftover WWII bunkers on the beach. On the last day, my leash broke while paddling out, so I got the feeling of arriving on shore like I was going to war.

Capbreton was probably the best place to break a leash, because there are a ton of surf shops near Hossegor, including the coolest one I’ve ever seen, with its own coffee and barber shop and a revolving display of boards:

The town was also really lovely. Our guesthouse (a slightly grown up hostel with private rooms and friendly owners) backed up to the main street with a summer night market. We walked along the river into town for dinners and to the beach.

We found a healthy vegan restaurant (Monkey Mood) and a yummy fish fry (SO’FISH).

On our last night, we ate a massive bowl of mussels at a beachfront restaurant (Nina Cafe) and I forgot to take a photo, but the view was impeccable:

We got our fix of American-style breakfast tacos & burritos at the Pacific Coast Cafe in Hossegor, and on our last day I got another taste of my favorite pastry. I think I might try my hand at making them when I get home.

As we were heading out, I popped my head into the cutest bookstore and cafe in town.

We were sad to leave France, but our time in Capbreton was both memorable and delicious!

**It’s always a privilege getting to surf in other countries. I make sure I’m always covered with affordable and reliable travel medical insurance in case anything goes wrong. I choose SafetyWing because their Nomad Insurance policy covers activities, including surfing, in 185+ countries. To sign up, visit this link.

A Perfect Two Days in Bordeaux & Saint Emilion

The next stop on our Portugal, Spain, and now France roadtrip took us across another border and all the way to Bordeaux! This magical city would be the northwesternmost stop on our trip.

We stayed in an entire Airbnb apartment this time, which felt relaxing and refreshing after a streak of hotel rooms and guest houses.

We headed right out into the city to see and do… and eat! We were so excited to be around french food. Our first stop was a restaurant right on the river. The wine (Bordeaux, naturally) and meals were all delicious.

At night we walked along the water to take in the beauty of the city. And we stopped for dessert in the Place du Parlement.

We didn’t have much planned in advance, so that night Bryan put together an excellent wine tasting itinerary for the next day in Saint-Emilión.

We started the day by stopping at a bakery (not pictured) where we had an amazing quiche lorraine and I discovered my new favorite french pastry (oranais aux apricots.) Then we went for a tour and tasting at the Chateau de Pressac.

We actually arrived 15 mins late for our tour because Google took us to a different Chateau de Pressac, which is an abandoned castle many miles away! It took some speed driving to get us back on track, but we made it without missing too much.

The tasting was really enjoyable, seated at a table with a few samples and charcuterie snacks.

Our next vineyard was Chateau de Cándale. We had a break before the tour, so there was time for lunch. This lentil and hummus salad and the stuffed shells were so good!

The tour and tasting here were also very nicely done. We spent more time near the fields to see the grapes and learn about the crops.

In the late afternoon, we made one more stop at Chateau La Croizille, a small Belgian-owned vineyard. They didn’t have a tour or tasting at the time, but we ordered a glass of wine. We still had a baguette from the morning bakery and took it outside for a mini picnic with a view.

We came back to the Airbnb (there may have been a nap at this point.) But we only had two days to squeeze in all our Bordeaux experiences, and steak frites were on the list.

There was a long line when we arrived at L’Entrecôte, but we found out that it moves fast. The only things on the menu are salad, steak, and frites. So, what you see is what you get, and it’s worth the wait!

The next day we needed some non-eating and drinking activity, so we signed up for a bike tour (with Bacchus Bike Tours.) It was an excellent way to learn some history and explore different parts of the city!

Bordeaux is very bike-friendly, and the route was perfect for seeing samples from ancient ruins to modern times. Our guides were both really kind and entertaining.

Some highlights were trying cannelés and coming across a secondhand market in the hip Darwin neighborhood.

For our last dinner, we had a very french french onion soup at Michel’s bistro. Sadly, I ate it all before taking a photo (you can see one here), but here’s the homemade snickers bar that was dessert:

Yum. Then a walk back along the river was a lovely finale for our weekend in Bordeaux.

Portugal/Spain Road Trip: San Sebastián

After Salinas, we headed west for about four hours to the coastal city of San Sebastián. This was our most stressful unpacking of the car adventure yet, since our accommodation was right in the city with lots of traffic and no stopping zones all around. We managed to quickly unload the bags (giant board bag included) and navigate the check-in instructions in the pitch dark hallway of an old apartment building. We were in!

San Sebastián is a foodie town, and you know when we’re not surfing, we’re eating! These few days, the waves were small and messy, so we decided not to do the work of unpacking the boards and carrying them down from the apartment, but it would’ve been fun just to play around.

Instead, we embraced the local culture of “pinchos” (what they call tapas) and stopped at different bars and restaurants getting yummy little snacks with our drinks.

On Thursday nights, some of the bars in our neighborhood do Pintxo Pote, which gives you a combination of drink + poncho for extra cheap. That took us on a fun food tour around town.

Unfortunately, this week I had a few very late night calls, because I’m planning a work event in Australia. So I had to head back to work after pinchos (though not after Pintxo Pote luckily!) The basque cheesecake made it a bit easier to be on Teams at midnight:

And in case you’re worried about our health (I am, to be honest!), in the mornings we walked it off. One day, we went to the nearby town of Zarautz for a coastal walk.

Even without surfing, this was one of my favorite stops on the trip! I loved the little beach city, and I hope to return someday to enjoy it more.

Portugal/Spain Road Trip: Salinas

At this point, our Portugal road trip started to transition into a Spain road trip. The next stop was another city where I had no idea what to expect.

Salinas is a little town in the Asturias region of northern Spain. From what I read, I thought we’d land in a sleepy, old-fashioned village, with a few families enjoying their local beach.

But we arrived to something totally different. The beaches and parking spots were jam-packed, even more than the usual European summer crowds. That’s when we put the pieces together that we’d arrived on the last day of the Salinas International Longboard Festival, a popular surf competition!

It was nearing the end of the day, so we scored a lucky parking spot and went out to surf. Salinas is a big beach break, so there was plenty of space to spread out away from the competition. The waves were too big for me that first day (like they are most days), but I paddled out and managed to survive long enough to ride on my belly back in.

Our room had a view of the ocean, in a nearby part of town. The Asturias region is also known for its food (of course.) We tried some new things, like cachopo, which is two thin slices of meat with cheese and ham in between (La Sidreria had so many varieties to choose from.) Plus a big crepe filled with whipped cream for dessert (not pictured!) And one of my favorite breakfasts that Bryan tried for the first time, Spanish tortilla, which is made of eggs and more like a frittata.

By the third day, most of the pro long boarders had left, and I think I worked up my courage enough to catch a couple of waves.

We also stumbled upon a cool-looking campground area at Xago beach:

Then it was time to carry on our journey across Spain.

**It’s always a privilege getting to surf in other countries. I make sure I’m always covered with affordable and reliable travel medical insurance in case anything goes wrong. I choose SafetyWing because their Nomad Insurance policy covers activities, including surfing, in 185+ countries. To sign up, visit this link.

Portugal Road Trip: Porto

After our stay in Praia de Mira, we made a pit stop for a windy surf session over the dunes in Aveiro, then headed north to Porto. It was about an hour and a half drive for the day.

Porto is a stunning city! We arrived to our Airbnb and had some trouble connecting to the wifi, so I headed right out into the city to find a coffee shop for work (this one was great.) I was instantly wowed by the street markets and this church:

It seems like Lisbon gets all the attention, and I’d only thought of Porto as a wine stop on river cruises. But it’s an artsy and thriving city with so much to see and do!

Since we’ve been keeping US east coast hours, the mornings were free for sightseeing. There were loads of great restaurants, and we went on a free walking tour to learn some of the history of the city.

After the walking tour, we took a cable car out to the coast. It was a totally different scene, and also very nice.

There are lots of gardens to sit in and take in views of the city. We found one with peacocks roaming freely (Jardins do Palacio de Cristal):

On our last night, we went on a mission to watch the sunset from the bridge over the Douro River. Don’t judge me, but I like trying the unique McDonald’s items in other countries! So we ordered some just-OK fast food, but we were excited to learn Mickey D’s serves beer in Portugal!

We carried our beers to the bridge where we were wow-ed once again! The sunset over the bridge was beautiful, and it was the perfect ending to our time in Porto.

Portugal Road Trip: Nazaré & Praia de Mira

It was hard to leave Peniche and Baleal, because it was such a nice area, and there was almost always somewhere to catch a little wave every day (and probably because of the pasteis de nata every morning at our guest house!) But we were headed north and looking to explore more coastal towns along the way.

We decided to stop to check out Nazaré, not knowing what we’d find at this time of year when the famous big wave spot isn’t active.

We found that A LOT of other people had the same idea! The town was packed, with a mass pilgrimage of visitors making their way down the walking road to the surf museum and vantage point. We parked at the top of the hill and joined them.

Along the path there was a minstrel playing Ed Sheeran songs and this half-man, half-deer surfing statue.

Then we made it to the overlook. Even though it was only 4-6 ft that day and not surfable, you could feel the power in the shore break. It’s wild to imagine that the waves can come all the way up to this platform, but the photos and videos in the museum told the full story.

We spent a while in the small museum, which was very well done. It showcased surfers, photographers, and videographers with impressive images of waves and storms.

Big wave surfers must either be insane or existing on a higher level of reality. It’s incredible to see what they do. Don’t let the calm day fool you - there’s a lot lurking underneath!

After a two-hour driving day, we stayed in Praia de Mira. There wasn’t much surf combined with a lot of wind, so that created not-so-great conditions.

But we made the most of our visit, did windy workouts on the roof of our guest house, and went into town for meals and pretty sunsets.

If there had been waves, Praia de Mira might have been a more fun stop, but otherwise after three nights, we were ready to continue our on journey!

**Whether you’re big wave surfing or small wave surfing (like me), play it safe abroad with travel medical insurance. I choose SafetyWing because their Nomad Insurance policy covers activities, including surfing, in 185+ countries. To sign up, visit this link.

Portugal Road Trip: Peniche

On our last night in Ericeira, we overlapped with their Portuguese Surf Film Festival. It was a really nice event, with a blue carpet, artwork from local artists, and some free food and drinks. We enjoyed the first film, about a surf trip from France to Senegal. The second one was a miss for us, but the event overall was great to see. It seemed like everyone in the town came out to participate.

Our next stop was another surfing hotspot, about an hour north, near the Peniche Peninsula. We decided to stay in the nearby Baleal area for quieter crowds, though of course everywhere was still busy as can be expected in Europe in August.

We found another lovely guest house (with a private bath and balcony this time!) and spent the weekend looking for waves, watching sunsets, and eating fresh pasteis de nata pastries every morning.

I surprised myself by catching some good waves at Supertubos, which is a pretty quick and steep wave. Lucky for me it was very small when we were there.

We were also celebrating the third anniversary of our first date! We enjoyed a bottle of wine out on the beach at sunset while we waited for our table. Then we had a delicious meal of steak and fish in a small Portuguese restaurant (Taberna do Ganhao). It was the perfect place for a special occasion!

There were even more spots to explore! With the wind and conditions, we hardly scratched the surface. But Portugal continued to deliver fun waves, amazing meals, and beautiful views.

**It’s always a privilege getting to surf in other countries. I make sure I’m always covered with affordable and reliable travel medical insurance in case anything goes wrong. I choose SafetyWing because their Nomad Insurance policy covers activities, including surfing, in 185+ countries. To sign up, visit this link.

Portugal Road Trip: Ericeira

Olá! Happy about halfway point through summer (or winter, if you’re reading this from the Southern Hemisphere!) I hope your days have been long, relaxing, and full of sunshine and fun. We’re off on another journey, this time to Portugal and beyond.

It was a bit challenging getting here. Well, not actually that challenging since we’re semi-young, flexible, and can work from anywhere. But the deciding when and where to go took some time. We knew a Portugal summer was in the cards for us, but I had to stay in the NJ area for a family reunion and a last-minute work trip. Bryan wanted to leave earlier and tack onto a European work trip. But we planned to fly together so that we could bring my dog, Bailey. All that considered, we booked our flights.

But it all fell through about two weeks out when I realized that Bailey didn’t have the right shots for travel. The EU has different rules for the rabies vaccine and doesn’t accept the US 3-year booster. According to the customs powers that be, she was unvaccinated. I got her a shot, but it wasn’t 100% certain whether she’d be cleared by our arrival date. I decided not to chance it, and Bryan’s parents kindly agreed to watch her for an extended staycation. It’s never easy to leave a fur baby behind, but we were back on track to leave mid-July.

We packed up the surfboard bag and flew American Airlines to Lisbon. The flight was uneventful, but I tried to sleep as much as possible with my new neck pillow, eye mask, and ear plugs, and we arrived as well rested as you could expect for a red-eye to Europe.

Our first stay was a lovely guest house that I think I could’ve lived in, even with a shared kitchen and bathroom. I’ll make trade offs for a patio and sea view in a quaint fishing village.

Ericeira delivered steep strolls down into the little town, gorgeous sunsets, cobblestone streets, and tiny, outstanding restaurants. The one that stands out most in my memory was Caminito with its most flavorful tapas plates and chocolate mousse!

The coast of Portugal is often very windy, but there’s a very protected, nice surf spot in Ericeira. The reddish, rocky cliffs provide a picturesque contrast with the teal blue waters and there’s a built up board walk with a cool, dog-friendly cafe.

Our surfing was cut a day short by some rental car troubles. It’s only a blip in the rearview now, but it was a tough and long day waiting in the surf parking lot for Hertz roadside assistance to answer our call, send maintenance, then send a tow truck and a taxi. It was about a 9 hour waiting endeavor that eventually brought us back to Lisbon to get a new rental car. All in all, it wasn’t the best start, but it could’ve been a lot worse of a stranding, and the trip could only go up from there!

As the days went on, we got some fun waves and some small, still enjoyable waves at the busy break of Ribeira D’Ilhas. We saw amazing sunsets, ate at delicious restaurants, and I even tried my hand at cooking a Portuguese soup called caldo verde with chorizo, potatoes, and collard greens. It was tasty and I’d definitely make it again.

The 2-10pm work schedule was different, but not too difficult to adjust to. And totally worth it for mornings free to surf and eat brunch!

Even with rental car struggles, Portugal is always a 10/10 for me!

**It’s always a privilege getting to surf in other countries. I make sure I’m always covered with affordable and reliable travel medical insurance in case anything goes wrong. I choose SafetyWing because their Nomad Insurance policy covers activities, including surfing, in 185+ countries. To sign up, visit this link.