A beautiful day in Sintra

We were lucky enough to find an old friend in Lisbon who happened to visiting at the same time as us.  Sundar is from Wisconsin but has very similar travel tastes.  We all headed out to the amazing historical town of Sintra just 30 minutes from Lisbon.  We visited a couple of the Palaces (there were too many to count in this city) and enjoyed riding a tuck tuck up and the down the hills.  We also had an amazing lunch thanks to Lily's food sleuthing skills and just generally had an amazing time catching up with a dear friend.

I am just looking back at these pictures two months later and realized I totally forgot a few pictures of the lovely town of Cascais that we visited.

Obidos & Peniche

Today we headed out first to discover the historical town of Obidos.  Very cute town to walk around, do some sightseeing and a little shopping.  Lily even found a meringue the size of her head to eat.  After that we headed back to Peniche and did a little exploring of the Peniche coastline and had some great sushi for late lunch.

Obidos

Peniche

Portugal here we are - Sao Bernardino is our new home away from home

We arrived Portugal safely and made our way to the tiny town of Sao Bernardino (near Peniche) on the Central Western coast of Portugal.  Our exchange house is nice and large with three stories and four rooms.  Quite big for just the two of us, but we are enjoying it.  We made it to the grocery store in the next town over and have found the most beautiful beaches in our little town.  Like a little undiscovered area.  We definitely stick out as tourists in this little town, but everyone has been very kind. And the sunsets are phenomenal.

City of Rennes

We have had a great time hanging out in the city of Rennes the past several days.  Walking around the downtown area has been great.  We've found both sushi & Mexican food here.  Double bonus.  Must be why they say this city is one of the best for Expats.  We have sure enjoyed it.  Off to the sea house tomorrow in Saint Armel. Getting the most out of this summer.

Northern France - Brittany

We flew up to Brittany for a stay for 7 days at another house exchange.  The weather is a lot cooler here.  We are in a 3 bedroom townhouse that reminds me very much like a US row house.  Very narrow and straight up.  But we have a little backyard and are super close to the grocery store.  Plus it is very easy to get around from place to place.

We spent our first day out in St Malo up on the Northern Coast.  We explored the Ramparts and the surrounding beaches.  I had recently read the book All the Light You Cannot See so the city seemed even that much more magical.  We even had crepes and hot chocolate overlooking the sea.  It was truly special.

Last Day in Marseille - Palais Longchamp

Our last day in Marseille was spent looking around the Palais Longchamp.  There are two museums at the Palace but unfortunately they were closed so we just walked around and enjoy the beautiful gardens.  Oh, then we went to have some yummy sushi!