Hello @trincowski - I'm glad you like the post. Let's see... My wife has been wanting to go to Portugal for some time. There was a Japanese poet who lived in Santa Cruz for a few years, and his writing inspired many Japanese to visit Portugal. We did stop in that town and saw the plaque, the house he lived in etc. We have friends who love to go to Portugal and they told us about favorite places too. But mostly my wife read and researched places to go, and she scheduled the trip. A couple we know go every year to the chestnut festival in the fall, I can't remember which town it's in now. But what's not to like in Portugal? Good food, wine, so much history, beautiful mountains as well as seaside.