Wandering Works for Us

Date: 21 December 2024

Title: Christmas in London (our first trip!)

We went to London to catch the Christmas Markets and hang with our niece Katey. London was definitely “Giving Christmas.”

The Christmas decorations and markets were great but we also got to see the London Tower, Tower Bridge, Buckingham Palace, the changing of the guard and King Charles!!

We also enjoyed the pubs and afternoon tea at the Dalloway Terrace. Find out what else we did on our first trip to London (together).

[02:30] Christmas Markets in London and everywhere 

[7:45] Christmas lights tour

[11:00] Fortnam and Mason (Yikes)

[13:00] Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace

[16:00] Tower of London and Tower Bridge

[10:00] The British Museum

[21:50] Big Ben, St. James Park, pelicans, Royal Opera House, and other fun stuff

[24:00] Evensong in Westminster

[27:00] Pubs–George Inn and Blackfriars (we’ve listed more on the blog)

[31:15] Cahoots bar

[33:00] Afternoon Tea 

 [35:00] Things we will do next time 

To follow all our antics and adventures, please visit our social media pages and website at wwforus.com! You can send us a message at any of these places and feel free to email us at [email protected]

Like what we are doing? Buy us a gin and tonic and help us keep going!

• Instagram
• Facebook
• Tiktok
• YouTube
• Looking for a tour guide in Portugal? I have a whole list!
• Blog post for this episode: Christmas in London--will link as soon as it is finished!
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Special thanks to all of you who have listened, subscribed, followed us on social media and just took the time to say hello and tell us how much you enjoy our podcast and blog. YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST!!

Date: 29 November 2024

 Amsterdam is a city we must always return to because well, there is never enough time to see it all!

We spent 7 full days exploring the city and the surrounding area and had an amazing time. Museums, restaurants, and things to do are featured in our podcast!

Our full itinerary can be viewed on our blog post and we will also make some notes below and places we mention.

[2:30] Beth starts to tell us what she loves most–which there is a lot of food 

[3:30] Rijksmuseum 

[5:20] Van Gogh Museum

[6:35]  Anne Frank House

[10:55] Getting around  Amsterdam   –and there is a metro line (we just never used it).

[13:55] Dutch Food: pancakes, poffertjes, drop, stroopwafles. We went to Hans Egstorf, the oldest bakery in Amsterdam! But they are just as good off a truck somewhere. Stampots are awesome. Bistro Amsterdam is the restaurant we mentioned.

[23:07] Cheese shop: De Kaaskamer

[24:00] Genever tasting: A. van Wees Tasting Locality, Mango the bar cat…Beth loves that cats get to come inside. There is such a variety of food –not just Dutch.  

[27:43] Types of Cafes–don’t get them confused 🙂Get your space brownies at Tweede Kamer.

[30:55] Take a canal tour  

[30:52] Best time to go to Amsterdam–when it’s less crowded 

[35:51] Utrecht and DomUnder 

[39:10] Haarlem: St. Bavo’s Organ, Jopenkirk Brewery, Shopping district

For more information or a look at the Google Maps , check out the Blog post.

To follow our antics and adventures, please visit our social media pages and our website at wwforus.com! You can send us a message at any of these places and feel free to email us at [email protected] 

Like what we are doing? Buy us a gin and tonic and help us keep going!

• Instagram
• Facebook
• Tiktok
• YouTube
• Looking for a tour guide in Portugal? I have a whole list!
• Blog post for this episode: What we did on our first visit to Amsterdam

Special thanks to all of you who have listened, subscribed, followed us on social media and just took the time to say hello and tell us how much you enjoy our podcast and blog. YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST!!

Special shout-outs to AL and Leanne of A Sideways Life that has given us so much help and support for the move. To Gal and Mayaan at Smoozitive with their love and support. Please check out their podcasts on Apple Podcasts 

• A Sideways Life website and podcast
• Smoozitive website (if you are moving abroad, these women are experts and will help you out!)

Date: 28 October 2024

Title: Our Trip to America

We are back in Portugal after spending 2 ½ weeks in the USA. This is our first trip back since we moved and we were a little…surprised. 

Our first big impression? America is overwhelming. But it isn’t America that has changed. It is us!

Find out what made us feel like living outside the US is the best decision ever. 

[06:00] First impressions

[07:30] Restaurants

The food

Halloween fun

Walking vs cars

[27:45] Shootings and gun advertising 

We bought way too much stuff

[34:40] Hurricane Helene

Other things we did

[38:50] Upcoming trips: Netherlands, Christmas market in Lisboa, Barcelona, Ireland, and Scotland

To follow our antics and adventures, please visit our social media pages and our website at wwforus.com! You can send us a message at any of these places and feel free to email us at [email protected]

Like what we are doing? Buy us a gin and tonic and help us keep going!

• Instagram
• Facebook
• Tiktok
• YouTube
• Looking for a tour guide in Portugal? I have a whole list!

There is no blog post for this episode but feel free to visit our site at wwforus.com

Special thanks to all of you who have listened, subscribed, followed us on social media and just took the time to say hello and tell us how much you enjoy our podcast and blog. YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST!!

Special shout-outs to AL and Leanne of A Sideways Life that has given us so much help and support for the move. Thanks to Gal and Mayaan at Smoozitive with their love and support. Please check out their podcasts on Apple Podcasts 

• A Sideways Life website and podcast
• Smoozitive website (if you are moving abroad, these women are experts and will help you out!) They also have a great app out! 

Date: 06 September 2024

It’s been a year!! We have been podcasting now for one year! Thank you all for your love, support, donations, subscriptions, EVERYTHING helps us and we really enjoy doing this and want to keep doing it so THANK YOU!!

We also sum up the last of our epic road trip with our stop in Aveiro, the Venice of Portugal. We spent two nights in Aveiro checking out places we have not been to yet and even did a day trip to Águeda to see the sky umbrella project.

Aveiro has lots to offer including Moliceiro boat rides down the canals, shopping, great restaurants, museums including the Art Nouveau Museum and the town museum, plus the salt flats and Praia da Costa Nova. 

• [00:56] BIG THANK YOU’S and meeting awesome people this summer
• [04:20] Aveiro Moliceiro boat tour
• An interlude about how we travel and why we came home early
• [12:00] North of the main canal (Art Nouveau Museum, shopping, fish market, Ovos Moles)
• [16:00] Old Train station
• [17:45] Rua de Coimbra ceramic mural and Gloría neighborhood (M Bakery, Taco Loco)
• [20:15] City Center, Aveiro Forum, and ribbon bridges
• [22:22] Cathedral of Aveiro mention
• [23:25] Salt pans/salt production
• [27:00] Praia da Costa Nova
• [32:30]Águeda sky Umbrella Project
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To follow all of our antics and adventures, please visit our social media pages and our website at wwforus.com! You can send us a message at any of these places and feel free to email us at [email protected]

Like what we are doing? Buy us a gin and tonic and help us keep going!

• Instagram
• Facebook
• Tiktok
• YouTube
• Looking for a tour guide in Portugal? I have a whole list!
• Blog post for this episode: Aviero, Portugal: what to do and Águeda Portugal, the colorful city of umbrellas 

Special thanks to all of you who have listened, subscribed, followed us on social media and just took the time to say hello and tell us how much you enjoy our podcast and blog. YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST!!

Special shout outs to AL and Leanne of A Sideways Life that has given us so much help and support for the move. To Gal and Mayaan at Smoozitive with their love and support. Please check out their podcasts on Apple Podcasts 

• A Sideways Life website and podcast
• Smoozitive website (if you are moving abroad, these women are experts and will help you out!)

Date: 24 August 2024

In this episode, we continue the saga of our epic road trip up north. We visited the cities of Guimarães, the birthplace of Portugal and Ourense in Spain. 

Guimarães is amazing and we do not know how this could be a one day/day trip from Porto, but it is. We visited the Palace of Dukes, the main square of Largo da Oliveira and the cathedral in the historic center of Guimarães.  

Ourense was a totally different experience! Spain was beautiful but HOT and probably not the best time to visit the hot springs. But the city of Oursense is beautiful. We walked down to the Plaza Mayor, the city center of town to enjoy our meals. There is a cathedral and Roman bridge that crosses the Miño River.

Across the banks of the RIver Miño are the thermal spas that are free and open to the public. There is also a private spa you can visit for less than €7.  You can also get a very thorough massage there.

We stayed at the NH Ourense Hotel

[01:50] Guimarães

• [04:45] Palace of Dukes
• [08:14] Historic Center of Guimarães (Largo da Oliveira)
• [11:32] Serra (mount) Penha

[12:15] Oursense, Spain

• [14:00] Old Town Oursense
• [16:15] Spa day at the Thermal pools
• [21:40] European massages are…different
• [33:40] Milongas Parrillada Ourense–great meat restaurant in Ourense

To follow all of our antics and adventures, please visit our social media pages and our website at wwforus.com! You can send us a message at any of these places and feel free to email us at [email protected]

Like what we are doing? Buy us a gin and tonic and help us keep going!

• Instagram
• Facebook
• Tiktok
• YouTube
• Blog post for this episode: Best Day trip to Guimarães
• Private tours and tour guides in Portugal

Special thanks to all of you who have listened, subscribed, followed us on social media and just took the time to say hello and tell us how much you enjoy our podcast and blog. YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST!!

Special shout outs to AL and Leanne of A Sideways Life that has given us so much help and support for the move. To Gal and Mayaan at Smoozitive with their love and support. Please check out their podcasts on Apple Podcasts 

• A Sideways Life website and podcast
• Smoozitive website (if you are moving abroad, these women are experts and will help you out!)

Date: 08/08/2024

We start our Epic Road Trip series with this episode on Braga. We took an 8 day trip up north to Braga, Guimarães, Ourense, Spain and Aveiro.

In this episode, we cover our lunch escapade at the Hotel Palácio de Buçaco, located in the heart of Portugal, about 20 minutes north of Coimbra. This Hotel was once a convent, then a palace for the royal family, and then a hotel. The lunch at the hotel was amazing but expensive. The gardens and architecture were incredible.

We then drive north into Braga and hang there a few days soaking in the fun…and heat. We visited the Bom Jesus de Monte and the Braga cathedral as well as walked through the Santa Barbara Gardens, ate AMAZING FOOD, and reveled in the beauty that is Braga. 

Epic Road Trip Introduction

[04:45] Hotel Palácio de Buçaco and Convent

[13:08] Intro to Braga

[16:08] Bom Jesus de Monte

[22:44] The food in Braga is very good

[27:00] The Braga Cathedral 

[32:16] Other cool things in Braga to see: Old Town restaurants and shopping, Santa Barbara Gardens, Palácio da Raio, Avenida da Liberdade for big shopping

To follow all of our antics and adventures, please visit our social media pages and our website at wwforus.com! You can send us a message at any of these places and feel free to email us at [email protected]

Like what we are doing? Buy us a gin and tonic and help us keep going!

• Instagram
• Facebook
• Tiktok
• YouTube
• Blog post for this episode: What to see and do in Braga 
• We are also on Threads!
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Special thanks to all of you who have listened, subscribed, followed us on social media and just took the time to say hello and tell us how much you enjoy our podcast and blog. YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST!!

Date: 19 July 2024

In this episode, we talk about our favorite things we love in Lisbon–as tourists! We’ve been to Lisbon several times as tourists ourselves and accompanying guests and we have picked the places we would recommend to those visiting the city for the first time. Keep in mind this is just our opinion. There is so much to see in Lisbon and we still haven’t seen it all!

If you want to see pics, check out our social media posts on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok and Threads.

[03:07] Tile Museum

[07:35] Alfama Neighborhood

[11:15] Lisbon street art: Bordalo II

[14:18] Belém (Pastéis de Belém, Jerónimos Monastery, Maritime Museum, Monument of the Discoveries) 

[27:50] Chiado and Rossio Square

[30:45] An unexpected happy place.

To follow all of our antics and adventures, please visit our social media pages and our website at wwforus.com! You can send us a message at any of these places and feel free to email us at [email protected]

Like what we are doing? Buy us a gin and tonic and help us keep going!

• Instagram
• Facebook
• Tiktok
• YouTube
• Lisbon in 2 days–what we would do 
• 
  

Things mentioned in this podcast

• Tile Museum blog post and podcast episode  (day trips we loved)
• Bordalo II Art page

Special thanks to all of you who have listened, subscribed, followed us on social media and just took the time to say hello and tell us how much you enjoy our podcast and blog. YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST!!

If you would like to sponsor our podcast, click here! We would appreciate it so much.

If you would like to buy us a gin and tonic for our episodes, click here and donate as you wish.

Special shout outs to AL and Leanne of A Sideways Life that has given us so much help and support for the move. To Gal and Mayaan at Smoozitive with their love and support. Please check out their podcasts on Apple Podcasts 

• A Sideways Life website and podcast
• Smoozitive website (if you are moving abroad, these women are experts and will help you out!) They even have a new app available that is fantastic!

Today, we take you to the central part of Portugal to Batalha and the Convent of Christ in Tomar. 

First up, the Monastery of Batalha, or Mosteiro da Batalha, is one of Portugal’s greatest Gothic masterpieces. Commissioned by King João I in 1386, it was built to honor the Virgin Mary in thanks for Portugal’s victory at the Battle of Aljubarrota (1385), a decisive moment that secured the country’s independence from Castile. Over more than a century of construction, master builders blended Gothic and Manueline styles, creating a monument of national pride. It also became the royal pantheon of the Aviz dynasty, housing the tombs of João I, Queen Philippa of Lancaster, and Prince Henry the Navigator.

Things not to miss when visiting:

• Founder's Chapel (Capela do Fundador): Burial place of King João I, Queen Philippa, and their famous sons.
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• Unfinished Chapels (Capelas Imperfeitas): An extraordinary open-air architectural experiment, never completed but breathtaking in detail.
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• Royal Cloister: Perfectly preserved Gothic cloisters with delicate stone tracery.
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• High Altar & Nave: Imposing Gothic proportions and soaring vaults that inspire awe.
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• Stained Glass Windows: Among the finest medieval stained glass in Portugal.
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Batalha Monastery isn’t just a building—it’s a stone chronicle of independence, devotion, and the rise of Portugal as a global power.

Tomar and The Convent of Christ

The Convent of Christ in Tomar has just as rich a story as Batalha, but with a very different character. Here’s the essential background you could use for your next set of show notes:

• Who built it & why:
• The convent was originally founded in 1160 by the Knights Templar under Grand Master Gualdim Pais. After the Templars were dissolved in the early 14th century, the Portuguese branch was re-established as the Order of Christ, which inherited the convent.
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• Why it matters:
• The convent became the headquarters of the Order of Christ, which played a central role in supporting Portugal’s Age of Discoveries — most famously under Prince Henry the Navigator, who was its governor.
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• Architecture:
• It blends Romanesque, Gothic, Manueline, and Renaissance styles, thanks to centuries of expansions and renovations. Its centerpiece is the Charola, the original 12-sided Templar church, modeled after the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem.
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• Highlights not to miss:
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• Charola (Rotunda): The richly decorated, polygonal Templar church at the heart of the complex.
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• Manueline Window of the Chapter House: One of Portugal’s most iconic Manueline artworks, covered in maritime and natural motifs.
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• Cloisters: Especially the Cloister of John III, with Renaissance harmony and elegance.
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• Aqueduct of Pegões: A massive 16th-century aqueduct that supplied the convent with water.
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• Castle Walls & Towers: Remnants of the original Templar fortress overlooking Tomar.

[00:30] All the fun in June–São João Weekend and big game

[02:50] Batalha Monastery

• Founders Chapel
• Cloisters
• chapter house

[17:55] Tomar, a medieval town in the middle of Portugal, a city not to miss

[21:00] We crash a wedding

[24:30] Convent of Christ

[28:00] a little background on the Templars

[30:00] The actual way you should see the Convent

[33:00] Charola (round chapel)

[41:30] What’s up next

To follow all of our antics and adventures, please visit our social media pages and our website at wwforus.com! You can send us a message at any of these places and feel free to email us at [email protected]

Like what we are doing? Buy us a gin and tonic and help us keep going!

• Instagram
• Facebook
• Tiktok
• YouTube
• Looking for a tour guide in Portugal? I have a whole list!
• Blog post on Tomar
• Blog post on Batalha 
• Blog post on Convent of Christ

Special thanks to all of you who have listened, subscribed, followed us on social media and just took the time to say hello and tell us how much you enjoy our podcast and blog. YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST!!

Special shout outs to AL and Leanne of A Sideways Life that has given us so much help and support for the move. To Gal and Mayaan at Smoozitive with their love and support. Please check out their podcasts on Apple Podcasts 

• A Sideways Life website and podcast
• Smoozitive website (if you are moving abroad, these women are experts and will help you out!)

Date: 18 June 2024

We took a day trip from Peniche to the UNESCO world biosphere reserve Berlengas Island and had an amazing experience! We went in the morning (around 10 am) and left around 2pm. We thought this was plenty of time. We loved the views and the island is beautiful. 

We went with Feeling Berlinga, you can book through Get your Guide also. 

• Don’t go in a small boat
• It is a strenuous hike up to the top and back down to the fort.
• Take water, sunscreen, a hat, good hiking shoes, if you plan to do the hike.
• There is a restaurant and cafe there but no store
• You can swim, snorkel, and play in the water at the beach and at the fort
• The boat caves tour is great and can also take part of the hike off for you

To follow all of our antics and adventures, please visit our social media pages and our website at wwforus.com! You can send us a message at any of these places and feel free to email us at [email protected]

Buy us a gin and tonic!

• Instagram
• Facebook
• Tiktok
• YouTube
• Blog post for this episode: A Day trip to Berlengas

Special thanks to all of you who have listened, subscribed, followed us on social media and just took the time to say hello and tell us how much you enjoy our podcast and blog. YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST!!

Special shout outs to AL and Leanne of A Sideways Life that has given us so much help and support for the move. To Gal and Mayaan at Smoozitive with their love and support. Please check out their podcasts on Apple Podcasts 

• A Sideways Life website and podcast
• Smoozitive website (if you are moving abroad, these women are experts and will help you out!)

Date: 05 June 2024

Title: Exploring the Schist Villages of Serra da Lousã

In this episode, we take you on our journey to the interior of Portugal to visit the schist villages of Serra da Lousã. These medieval villages are made completely out of slate and shale gathered from the mountains and are now being restored. We visited four while we were there and cannot wait to go visit again.  

[00:45] Introduction of Schist villages

[03:14] Gondramaz

[06:20] the mountains are a little different…

[07:30] More about Gondramaz

[10:45] Casal Novo

[13:30] Talasnal

[16:00] Chiqueiro

[18:30] Eating chafana

[19:24] River beaches

[22:00] what’s up next!

To follow all of our antics and adventures, please visit our social media pages and our website at wwforus.com! You can send us a message at any of these places and feel free to email us at [email protected]

• Instagram
• Facebook
• Tiktok
• YouTube
• Blog post for this episode: Exploring the Schist Villages of Central Portugal
• Aldeias do Xisto website
• Mountain whisper–Hotel where we stayed

Special thanks to all of you who have listened, subscribed, followed us on social media and just took the time to say hello and tell us how much you enjoy our podcast and blog. YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST!!

Special shout outs to AL and Leanne of A Sideways Life that has given us so much help and support for the move. To Gal and Mayaan at Smoozitive with their love and support. Please check out their podcasts on Apple Podcasts 

• A Sideways Life website and podcast
• Smoozitive website (if you are moving abroad, these women are experts and will help you out!)