Balabanova All Over

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[Porto, Portugal, May 8, 2025] Our only full day in Porto turned out to be a busy one! And this was without any planning on my part! My only contributions to the day were a couple of sights in the morning and the lunch reservation. The rest was up to the group and I loved not having to look up all the sights myself. With our 12:30 pm lunch reservation looming, we… Read More

[Porto, Portugal, May 7, 2025] A rail strike that had just started sent us scrambling for other transportation options to Porto. Luckily, our friend Vessi, who lives in Lisbon, was aware of all this and got us tickets for the bus a couple of weeks prior. The tickets only cost EUR6 for a 3-hour bus ride! We had some time in the morning before our bus departed. I set out to get… Read More

[Lisbon, Portugal, May 6, 2025] My second day in Portugal was also a workday, so I had limited time to sightsee. I waited for Teddy to arrive (a whole day late!), then I headed out for the Belem district of Lisbon. I was itching to see central Lisbon but I knew I wouldn’t have enough time. It would have to wait for the tail end of my trip when I’d have 2… Read More

[Last Updated June 25, 2025] Now that I’ve been to 52 of the 63 national parks, I’ve also covered all the different caves you can find! Here’s the run down on the 4 different types of caves you can see in 7 national parks. Be sure to read till the end for 3 bonus cave locations that are not national parks. Karst Caves Karst caves are usually formed through the dissolution of… Read More

[Phoenix, AZ, Feb 22 – Mar 1, 2025,] Are you’re running low on vacation days and/or live in a colder climate? Spending a week in Phoenix, AZ while working from there can be a great way to soak up some vitamin D without putting a dent in your PTO balance. That’s exactly what we did when we found ourselves in Phoenix for a Saturday night wedding in February 2025. We extended our… Read More