Lisbon, Porto and Faro, Portugal 2019

After we’d bought our flights for what we hoped was one of the warmer areas in Europe over the holidays I messaged a friend and asked about what to do in Portugal. “Don’t go in December, it’s the rainy season,” was the first thing he said. After a quick Google to confirm that, yes, my Portuguese friend knew a thing or two about the weather in his home country, I steeled my resolve and admitted that it was too late. I had already booked flights. After a bit of finger-wagging, he sent along a list of things to do and wished me luck.

I forgot about the expected weather to come until two days before the flight when the airline sent a message about our upcoming flight: 

Weather Conditions in Portugal

Due to the adverse weather conditions in Portugal, air traffic is heavily conditioned and may cause delays or cancellations on flights from or to national airports.

TAP Airline Services - 12/21/2019

Despite our last-minute fears there was nothing to do but hope for the best.

Luckily for us, the best was all we got.

After arriving in Lisbon we made sure to take advantage of the good weather by exploring the whole city on foot. We hit all four of the biggest churches, dodged streetcars on Lisbon’s impossibly steep hills, and sank our teeth into some of the city’s local food. On our last night in town, we timed it perfectly—along with what felt like every other tourist in Lisbon— to watch the sunset over the Torre de Belem.

On our way to Porto the next day we stopped at Cabo Carvoeiro, a peninsula that holds an ancient walled city along with a Rip Curl outlet for the surf tourists that come for the point break with never-ending Rights. As we clambered over the rocky cliffs and watching the surf I couldn’t help but feel like I was standing somewhere on the California coast. The water, the sun, even the ice plant beneath our feet felt like home.

After exploring the peninsula for a few hours we charged straight to Porto for the next adventure.

Our first day in Porto was spent taking in all of the sights (read: more churches). On day two we explored the Serralves Estate’s museum, mansion, gardens, and farm before making our way to the coast for the final sunset of both 2019 and the decade.

After enjoying our time up north we headed as far south as you can go for some R&R in warmer weather. On our way south to Faro we happened upon an ancient hilltop fort with views for miles where we sat down for a quick canned sardine picnic before continuing south.

Feeling rested and ready for one last push before flying back to Berlin we made our way to Cabo da Roca, the western-most point in Europe for the final sunset of the trip. Again, it felt like half of the tourists in Portugal had the same idea—bus after bus of tourists piled onto the already crowded cliffs surrounding the lighthouse at the point.

Torn between the prospects of actually seeing the sunset and the inevitable traffic-jam leaving the Cabo we hustled back to our parked car to get a head start on the mad dash back to Lisbon. The winter sun set quickly as we zoomed up into the hills towards the city, with Big-Sur-Esque views unfolding around us.

London, England 2019

My cousin Jared was set to graduate from the National Film and Television School at the end of March; so my dad and I planned on meeting in London to celebrate his graduation as well as recent engagement.

But life had other plans.

Less than a week before my dad was scheduled to fly to the UK his partner slipped on a pesky patch of ice in the Sierra Nevada mountains and broke his back. Logically, this meant that my dad needed to stay home in California and ensure that a drugged and mostly bed-ridden Vince made a speedy recovery.

So I was forced to tough-out London on my own.

OK, maybe tough-out isn't the right phrase. My aunt and uncle wine-and-dined me to the moon and back and it felt more like a luxury cruise than a struggle of any sort. From sun-up to sun-down on Saturday the five of us (Aunt Sandi, Uncle Jack, Jared and his fiancée) hopped from beer to beer with champagne in between.

We started the day by taking the train from Kings Cross to Cambridge where our first stop was lunch, of course. I excitedly stuffed fish and chips down my gullet and washed it all down with a pint of local ale.

From there we meandered (slowly, remember the pint of ale) through the charming old town before snagging a bottle of champagne for our punt ride on the River Cam—we were celebrating a master's degree and an engagement after all. I may have snuck a couple of cans of pre-made Pimm's Cup aboard also. After the leisure cruise we made the logical next stop—more beer—before walking back to the train for London.

As if all of that wasn't enough we decided we needed to go out with a bang at Le Relais de Venise, a French restaurant with no menu and only one delicious option: steak and fries. After plenty of beef and potatoes and three bottles of wine we rolled ourselves out of the restaurant and made our way home.

The next morning I woke up with a headache (no idea why) and slowly made my way to the British Museum (to look at artifacts stolen from all around the world) and Hyde Park before taking the Heathrow Express to the airport.

And finally, as reconciliation for such a taxing weekend British Airways consoled me with a completely empty row of seats to spread out on for the short flight back to Berlin.