In August, 2025, we visited our dear friends Sam and Brian in Portland, Oregon, before heading up to Vancouver, British Columbia, to celebrate our 20th Canadian Anniversary. We’ll post pictures from Vancouver in a separate post.
During our stay in Portland, we visited the famous Portland Rose Test Garden and the Grotto.
For our first extended-travel trip, we visited Portugal and Spain for four weeks, which was longer than any trip we had taken previously. Most of our previous vacations have been seven- to twelve-day cruises, typically accompanied by two or three nights in a hotel before and/or after, or a week at an all-inclusive resort. In 2022 and 2023, we took 12-night land tours in France and Portugal, respectively, where we stayed in local hotels that included breakfast buffets.
This time, we stayed in rental apartments for several reasons. (We’re choosing not to call them B&Bs, since none of them offered breakfast.)
For our last leg of the trip, we visited Tenerife, the largest of Spain’s Canary Islands. We stayed in downtown Santa Cruz de Tenerife, the capital.
We enjoyed our visit. We both agree that this was our favorite stop on the trip. We stayed three days, and could have stayed a day or two more. Santa Cruz was modern, safe, and inviting, with plenty of culture. It had a good vibe. It seemed very livable to us.
In this post, we’ll share some photos from the Museo de Bellas Artes (Museum of Fine Arts), Museo de las Ilusiones (Museum of illusions), and Parque Garcia Sanabria, a beautiful city park with sculptures and colorful plants. We’ll also share a few photos from Piramides de Güímar, a short drive south of Santa Cruz.
On our second day on Tenerife, we drove from our apartment in Santa Cruz de Tenerife to Puerto de la Cruz, on the north side of the island. The main points of interest there are the Jardin de Aclimatacion de la Orotava (botanical garden) and the Agatha Christie painted stairs.
We parked in the parking lot adjacent to the botanical garden (Adequate, convenient parking! A rare commodity on our trip.). After visiting the garden, we walked twenty minutes to the stairs. Our walk took us through a charming, upscale area of resort hotels, restaurants, shopping, and nice homes. (more…)
We enjoyed four days in Funchal, Madeira. Madeira is an autonomous region of Portugal, located approximately 500 miles southwest of the mainland.
Here are some highlights. Photos from the Monte Palace Tropical Garden are in a separate post.
During our stay in Funchal, Madeira, we visited the Monte Palace Tropical Garden. We were inspired to take dozens of photos, so we decided to create a post specifically for this destination.
Of course, it’s not only the destination, it’s also the journey! The best way to reach the garden is by cable car from downtown Funchal.
During our recent trip to Portugal, we spent five days on São Miguel, the largest of the nine islands that comprise the Azores. We stayed in Ponta Delgada, the largest city on both the island and the Azores (pop. approx. 48,000), and saw much of the island during our day trips.
For the third stop on our month-long Portugal adventure, we stayed in Carvoeiro, a beach resort town on the Algarve coast.
Carvoeiro differs from most other Portuguese towns in that it doesn’t have several centuries of history. While it started as a small fishing village, its development began in the 1960s in response to the growing tourism industry. Almost all of the buildings are noticeably newer than in most other Portuguese towns. (more…)
During our day in Portimão, we visited the 3D Fun Art Museum. Calling it a museum is a bit of a stretch, but we had fun taking goofy pictures against backdrops. Dave was a bit more into it than Jeff, which is why Dave is in most of the photos.
Sand City, near Lagoa, Portugal, claims to be the largest park of sand sculptures in the world, with at least 120 sculptures spread over 12 acres. We believe it! We spent an hour and a half wandering around, admiring the work and taking dozens of photos.
Yes, it’s touristy – sort of like Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum. But the sculptures were impressive! We enjoyed our visit.
Here is a sample of the sculptures on display.
