Driving through Spain and Portuga

Driving through Spain and Portugal

From the white sand and sparkling beaches of Playa del Carmen, we've flown over the North Atlantic ocean to the historic cities of Spain and Portugal. Our lives have quickly sped up from the leisurely pace of snorkeling and beach-going to match the buzzing, vibrant cities of Southern Europe. It's our first trip to Spain and Portugal, and we're finding ourselves caught up in a whirlwind of visits to lovely local bakeries and wandering through seemingly endless city plazas full of history and monuments. We spent our first week in Madrid adjusting to the seven hour time change and touring its cobblestone streets.

On our last day in Madrid, we rented a car and are slowly driving over three weeks across Spain and along the Portuguese coast. From Madrid, our first stop was the beautiful mountain town of Avila, Spain, where we walked along the medieval fortress walls and experienced a quieter side to life. From there, we took a short drive to the university town of Salamanca, with wide streets perfect for walking, and took refuge from the chill and even snow next to looming cathedrals and trendy cafes. After Salamanca, we veered West across the border to the warmer city of Porto, Portugal, a city so picturesque and quirky that I swear it's impossible to take a truly bad photo.

After port tours and boat rides along the Douro River, we headed south and I'm now writing this from Lisbon, Portugal. We're right in the heart of this charming city, in the Bairro Alto district, with steep, crazily vertical cobbled streets that are hundreds of years old and dodging century-old trolley cars careening through the twisty cobblestone roads.