Travel Budget: a long weekend in Portugal

After spending just over a week in Morocco, we took advantage of a long layover in Lisbon on our way back home to the States. We only had 3 days/3 nights in Portugal, yet were still able to visit two major cities. It's a lot to cram into a short period of time and was quite the whirlwind, but we loved every minute of it. 

Whenever, we have the opportunity to do a long layover in a new place, we take it. And this proved to be the perfect way to visit the country of Portugal on a Budget because we didn't have to worry about the most expensive travel cost...the flights. Here's a breakdown of our real life budget for a weekend in Portugal below...

day trip diaries: Sintra Portugal

 Whether at home or far away, I love a good day trip because it's the perfect way to explore. While doing a long layover in Lisbon, we decided to take a day trip out to Sintra-the city of fairytale castles. You could easily spend a week in Sintra and not have enough time to tour all the palaces. 

It definitely took a bit of effort to make it to Sintra using public transport. We walked from our hostel to the train station, did an hour long train ride, and then shared a 30 minute taxi before finally arriving at the famed colorful Instagram worthy Pena Palace.

15 cities. 6 countries. 23 days.

What an incredible whirlwind! 

It has always been the plan to take a BIG trip after finishing up with grad school. And I've been planning and saving for this graduation trip for years, all without even knowing where we were headed. 

We had a unique opportunity with having the time to travel this summer (that we will probably never have again) and we wanted to take advantage of it. We were torn between Asia, Northern Europe, and South America initially with no idea of which direction to take. The logistics of Asia just weren't working out though and at the end of the day, we opted for the activities in Europe over South America.  I mean, how can you beat spending your days touring castles, walking cobblestone streets, and soaking in the most amazing history? 

I have so much to share from this amazing adventure of a lifetime and literally thousands of photos. I've honestly been a bit overwhelmed with where to even start. I've decided to kick things off with an overall overview of our entire trip itinerary below. Then I will do recaps on each country/city, including our travel budget per country, followed by our overall budget for the entire trip. Sound like a plan? Ok, let's jump in. 

living my best life

Oh, Hello There! 

And happy August. I managed to disappear from this space once again with not blogging during the past month. You will have to please just excuse me as I was out and about living my best life!

The Amalfi Coast: Positano Italy

a long layover in Lisbon

With traveling to Morocco in Africa, we had to take several flights from the states. On the way home, we were passing though Lisbon Portugal-a place that has always been on the top of my bucket list because who could resist this colorful city? So I decided to have us stop here on a long layover. 

Not only did stopping in Lisbon give us a chance to experience a new country together, it also broke things up so that we didn't have a crazy 24hour+ travel day. It was an easy decision and the best choice to make. Here's what we did with one day in Lisbon...

Like most major cities, Lisbon is broken down in several major neighbors. We split our day between the most picturesque of them all...Amalfa, the Barrio Alto, and our unexpected favorite...Belem.

We started our morning in Belem, stopping into Pasteis de Belem to pick up the classic pasties de nata that Lisbon in famous for. We also grabbed some Starbucks and just had the most relaxing morning stroll through the park eating our pastries and sipping on lattes. 

just back from Europe & Africa

 We are just back from an incredible trip of a lifetime, spending the holidays traveling through Morocco and Portugal. And when I say "just back", I mean that we only arrived home maybe an hour ago…enough time to start a load of laundry and shower off the travels of the day.

an arctic adventure…4 days in iceland

From volcanoes to glaciers to Icelandic ponies to cave hikes to chasing the northern lights to soaking in geothermal pools---somehow two poor grad students managed to visit one of the world's most expensive countries on a budget. 

We had a hectic 4 days in Iceland and I've enjoyed sharing bits and pieces of our adventure here from what we packed to what we did. So I thought I would finish out Iceland by sharing our exact itinerary and budget below. 

iceland winter packing list

When we were prepping for our Iceland trip, I found lots of cute girly girl packing lists, but most of them weren't overly functional. Iceland is really an outdoor lovers dream. Since we spent the majority of our time there out in the winter weather, I thought I would share my packing list that's reflective of that. 

 We spent several hours outside each day braving Iceland's winter and felt comfortable doing it thanks to packing a few key items. 

spelunking in a lava tube cave

spelunking = n. the exploration of caves 

soaking in a geothermal pool

If you're going to visit Iceland, than you have to stop by one of their geothermal hot springs or pools, especially if you're visiting in the winter like us. And the most famous of them all is of course the Blue Lagoon. So on our very last day in Iceland, we spent the morning soaking it all in before heading off to catch a flight home. 

sunrise ride with Icelandic ponies!

The day we road-tripped through Iceland's Golden Circle, what mesmerized me most wasn't the waterfalls or the geysers or the cute Icelandic homes dotting the countryside. It was the ponies! We would whiz by them and I would swoon. So the very next day, we headed on a sunrise horseback ride---a definite highlight of the entire trip. 

chasing the northern lights

While we spent our days in Iceland soaking in geothermal pools, riding Icelandic ponies, and hiking through lava tube caves; our nights were spent chasing after the northern lights.

europe by the numbers

I wanted to do one last share from my Europe trip with my little sister because I found myself making lots of lists during long flights and train rides with no internet and a sleeping sister. I thought it would be fun to list off some of the things I kept track of to help pass the time. 

hola barcelona

The last stop on my Europe trip with my little sister was Spain. This county was a first for us both and we ended up ringing in the new year here. I couldn't have asked for a better place or a better way to kick off 2017. 

We visited the famed Park Guell, which was designed by Gaudi to be an outdoor utopian city. Spain is covered with the unique architecture of Gaudi, which was so fun to spot and visit, especially La Sagrada Familia, a church that is taken 100 years to build (it's still not finished).

 Starting the day at Park Guell with the sunrise, my favorite time of of day

monastery on a mountain

Happy Easter! 

 Since I'm spending my easter weekend locked away studying at my desk, I thought it would be a good time to finally share this European Adventure. I've been on a virtual tour though Europe this weekend with posts from France, Italy, and now Spain. And if you're a regular around here, it will come as no surprise that I managed to find a mountain top to visit while in Europe.  

Part of the reason I've always loved hiking is because it's a transcendent experience for me, the top of a mountain has always been where I feel closest to HIM. So imagine my surprise and genuine gratitude when we stumbled upon Montserrat in Spain, most known for being home of the "black madonna" and linked to the "holy grail". I can't think of a better time to share this experience than Easter Sunday, so here goes...

ciao cinque terre

After landing in Milan, Cinque Terre was our first official stop on our European Adventure. And I was immediately kicking myself for not having gotten here sooner. Because this wasn't my first trip to Italy, nor was it my second. It was my third and I have no idea what took me so long. But thankfully, it was my little sisters first trip to Italy, and Europe in general which gave me a whole new perspective with seeing this place through her eyes. 

I actually was a little worried that it wouldn't be the picturesque place I dreamed because we were visiting during winter,  just a few days after Christmas actually. But the fact that it was Christmas actually made Cinque Terre more magical as all the towns were lit up with festive holiday lights and nativity scenes. 

Cinque Teerre = 5 lands

It's made up of 5 villages: Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Cornelia, Manaroloa, and Riomagggiore. While Vernazza is probably the most well known town (that view!), I think that you can't visit one without seeing the others. The villages are small enough that you can easily do them all in a single day, especially if you go by train that passes through each of the towns.

a charming town in France

If you took a survey asking people where they would most like to visit in Europe, the majority would say France, particularly Paris. And I was the same way, until I was actually there that is. While I have fond memories of Paris....climbing the stairs of the Eiffel Tower, visiting Mona Lisa at the Louvre, touring Versailles, I decided Paris and France in general were not for me.

The people and my interactions there made me never want to step foot into France again. So when my Europe trip with my sister rolled around, I was not exactly happy that our itinerary included several stops through France. But when we visited the charming little town of St. Paul du Vance, this place has completely changed my mind. France is redeemed in my eyes and I can now completely understand why it is the most visited country in Europe.

the gorgeous town on a hilltop coming into view in the early morning light 

the best gift ever!

Wanderlust Wednesday 

If you're following along on instagram then you already know that I'm in Europe right now. And I will forever be grateful to my parents, for giving me the best gift ever. The gift of travel is one of the greatest things you can give in my opinion. But even better than that is the gift of quality time because I’m travelling with my little sister.

My sister and I are more than a decade apart in age so I have been there from the day she was born. I remember changing her diapers and making her bottles and babysitting. I was there for bath-time and her first steps. And as she got older, I taught her to read and helped her practice writing her letters. I even took her trick or treating every year (no parents allowed) Ha!

But with me moving away for college + grad school and her getting older, it’s harder to maintain that closeness. There will always be a bond between us that I can’t quite explain. But this trip together will give us a chance to expand our relationship in a different way. With her being a little older now, I don't want to just be her big sister anymore, I hope to be a true friend.

And traveling with someone will forever change your relationship with them for the better. I promise you that. So, you can see now why this trip really is the best gift ever. We’re headed for 9 days split between Italy, France, and Spain. There will be lots of adventures, lots of exploring, lots of girl talk, and lots of gelato ;)