When we arrive in a new city, we love to wander. Sometimes there is a destination, and often there is none, but this day provided a surprise with plenty of excitement ... a bike race!

Sanctioned or unsanctioned, love it or hate it, street art exists. Is it really art? What do you think?

The Douro River flows to the Atlantic from high in the mountains of Spain, passing Porto and Vila Nova de Gaia about 5 km (3 mi) from the ocean. So we went.

The alarm went off at 07h30. The day was expected to be hot, so we decided to go to Porto’s northern beach of Matosinhos, to visit the Mercado Municipal de Matosinhos and eat seafood.

Traditions are everywhere. Some are shrouded in the distant past, others evolve within a couple of generations. Some exist within families, communities, regions or countries, and some are merely personal.

We made plans to visit Viana do Castelo located at the mouth of the Lima River in Portugal. But we didn't see the town, there was too much going on!

Porto is really working hard to clean up and revitalize itself from deep economic problems of the past. Here are two examples of their progress and potential.

On settling into a new country or town, we often search out one of the “walking food tours”. Of all the things we learned on our food tour in Porto, the most interesting, fun, and delicious was how to eat tremoços.

On the shore of a vast, coastal lagoon, Aveiro is a historically maritime city and a prosperous town with a delightful city center known for its, architecture and its highly regarded university.

Guimarães (him-are-esh) the birthplace of Portugal, has wonderfully preserved its past. The old city center is a labyrinth of narrow lanes and charming plazas framed by medieval edifices.

We often like to visit small, somewhat obscure towns and villages on our travels, and though we had no expectations, Santo Tirso certainly turned out to be unexpectedly delightful.

Well, it was a simple way to take the train up into the Douro valley, visit a quinta, have a lunch, then take the train back. We were kind of wrong. It was much better!

The alarm on Jeannie's tablet woke us early to catch the 08h45 train for our overnight in Braga, Portugal's 3rd largest city, built more than 2,000 years ago. It was worth the early wake up.

The dictionary definition is rather dry – “a kind of glazed colored tile traditionally used in Spanish and Portuguese buildings.” But the reality is that azulejos are a beautiful presence throughout Portugal and certainly a part of its cultural soul.

The need to get out into nature led us to discover the ruggedly beautiful scenery of the Paiva Walkways in Portugal's Arouca Geopark. The 8.7 km (5.4 mi) long trail traverses landscapes that are beautiful, peaceful and wild.

Our stay in northern Portugal was coming to an end, but before heading south, there was time for another overnight trip out of Porto.

Our second day in Coimbra again began overcast with a light rain. Undeterred, we roamed off to other areas of town, the remarkable Museu Nacional de Machado de Castro, a walking tour of the centuries-old University, and later the ancient Romanesque Old Catheral.

Porto was a wonderful city, but there were too many sights to devote a post to each, so here is the first “six-pack” to highlight some of the sights, architecture, and history that Porto has to offer.

As with the previous post,  there were too many wonderful things in Porto to devote a post to each. This is the second "six-pack" to share some more of the sights, architecture, and history that we experienced there.

We were packed. The taxi was on its way to take us to the train station to depart Porto. I can’t say that I was really ready to go, but the excitement of going to a new place is always greater than the sadness of leaving.

In our move from Porto and to Lisbon, we first wanted to visit one of Portugal’s best preserved medieval towns, because of its extensive history and proximity to several Neolithic monuments.

After Porto, Évora, and the other charming Portuguese towns and villages, we weren’t sure what to expect from Lisbon, but what we found exceeded our expectations at every turn.

Lisbon is a wonderful place to walk in spite of the hills. We took a very interesting stroll that began near the center of the city. Downhill, the whole way.

While getting around this city is best done on foot, the city’s public transportation system works well, but the 100+ year old trams are the most charming and fun.

Originally, Belem was the location of Lisbon’s shipyards and docks, and was the starting point for the Portuguese voyages that discovered sea routes to India, East Africa and Brazil. It is also home to some incredibly famous landmarks.

Food, Glorious Food! We’ve frequently been asked, what do you like best about travel? There is never a simple answer. Well, Chris says it's all good, ...

The one-hour bus ride from Lisbon was comfortable and scenic, taking us to the village of Óbidos, the most well preserved medieval town in Portugal.

Having a word to describe something doesn't make it easier to deal with. But ...

Rising amidst the industrial bones and old walls of an abandoned industrial complex, the LX Factory now houses one of Lisbon's most eclectic attractions.

While we were in Lisbon we visited many excellent museums. Here are three very different exhibit spaces showing three very different types of art.

Not all good art is in museums. A stroll through Lisbon’s hilly streets quickly reveals an open-air art scene as vibrant and exciting as any we have seen anywhere.