Cleveland ➡️ New Jersey ➡️ London ➡️ Porto ➡️ Cascais ➡️ Cleveland
Planes, trains, automobiles…and A LOT of walking.
Five flights. Two trains. Plenty of driving. More steps than I care to count. Three weeks, three very different destinations, countless incredible meals and another adventure filled with memories that will last a lifetime.
This trip was a little unusual because it combined just about everything: a long weekend with friends in New Jersey, a work trip to London and then a much-anticipated vacation in Portugal with Steve and our friends Bill and Sarah.
By the time it was over, I had an unexpected visit to Scotland, ridden trains across two countries, eaten everywhere from neighborhood restaurants to Michelin-starred dining rooms, tasted port overlooking the Douro, climbed what felt like every hill in Portugal, eaten more pastries than I could possibly count and fallen completely in love with Cascais.
So, yes. This is going to be a long one.
Grab a glass of wine. Preferably Portuguese.
First Stop: New Jersey
The adventure began with a long weekend in New Jersey before I headed overseas.
And there was really only one appropriate way to kick things off: Patricia’s.
Patricia’s has given us so many great memories over the years, and their chicken parm remains THE BEST. Add in the fact that it’s BYOB, and it was the perfect first stop for a fun weekend with friends.
New Jersey was intentionally the short and easy portion of this three-week adventure—a chance to spend time with friends before things got considerably busier.
Because next up was London.
Or at least London was the plan.
London…Eventually
Following a great weekend in New Jersey, I headed to Newark for the second leg of the trip: London.
What should have been a relatively straightforward overnight flight turned into nearly 30 hours of travel.
After flying for about 6½ hours, our flight was diverted to Edinburgh because of an airport disruption in London.
And that's where the fun really began.
No sleep. No hotel. No replacement flight. Hundreds of stranded passengers sleeping anywhere they could find a spot in the Edinburgh airport.
At 6:30 the next morning, we finally boarded a train for the roughly 4½-hour ride to London.
Planes. Trains. Automobiles.
Thankfully, I had two wonderful ladies with me, and I truly don't know what I would have done without them. We eventually made it to London—exhausted, but there.
And fortunately, things improved considerably from there.
A Lot of Work and a Little Bridgerton
This portion of the trip was mostly work, and some of our work trips can be intense—long days, late nights, early mornings, lots of pressure and very little sleep.
But somehow, no matter where in the world we are, we usually manage to squeeze in at least a little fun.
London gave us one particularly memorable day.
Dearest gentle reader…
Duchess Davenport, Lady Schur and Viscountess Ristau spent a most respectable amount of time shopping at Harrods before making our way to The Lanesborough for a Bridgerton Afternoon Tea.
And it was absolutely divine.
Tea. Beautiful little sandwiches and treats. A little indulgence. Excellent company.
What more could three ladies of the ton require?
Lady Danbury may have approved. Queen Charlotte, however, might have raised an eyebrow at just how much laughter was coming from our table. At one point we were laughing so hard we were crying—not exactly the composed behavior expected of ladies of society.
Without question, it was one of the highlights of my time in London.
I also had the opportunity during the week to dine at one of London's very exclusive private clubs—where absolutely no photos were allowed (you better believe I took a selfie and pictures of the food!)—and we hosted our meeting at Kensington Palace Gardens.
And after a week of work, I was more than ready to trade meetings for vacation.
Steve, Bill and Sarah were already waiting for me in Portugal.
Portugal: Let the Vacation Begin
My early morning flight from London to Porto was, thankfully, completely uneventful.
After the journey to London, uneventful was exactly what I wanted.
Steve, Bill and Sarah had arrived the day before, and by the time I joined them, they had already done a little reconnaissance and were ready to show me around.
We chose an apartment in the heart of Porto with incredible panoramic views over the city.
The location couldn't have been better.
What I wasn't prepared for?
THE HILLS.
Portugal would spend the next week and a half teaching me that seemingly every destination was uphill. Porto was basically a daily workout disguised as sightseeing.
And Porto was only getting started.
Porto: Port Wine, Pastries and Hills
The views alone were worth the trip.
We settled in along the river at Sandeman with vinho verde and a Portuguese charcuterie board.
Not a bad introduction to Porto.
Port wine and pastéis de nata?
Yes, please.
Eventually we crossed back over the upper level of the Dom Luís I Bridge—which provides a very different perspective of Porto—stopped at Porto Cathedral and continued exploring.
Aperol spritzes.
There would be quite a few of those on this trip.
Dinner at Cozinha das Flores
Our first dinner in Porto was at Cozinha das Flores, where we shared a number of creative dishes.
This was also our first indication of just how interesting the food scene in Portugal was going to be.
Two of the standouts were the spider crab donuts and beef tongue.
Not necessarily dishes I would have predicted I'd be writing about afterward, but both were memorable.
After dinner, we found room for one final nightcap before calling it a night.
Great food. Great wine. Beautiful weather. Serious hills.
Porto was off to a very good start.
Eating Our Way Through Porto
The next morning began exactly how mornings in Portugal should begin: pastries and cappuccinos from a neighborhood bakery, enjoyed on our balcony in absolutely perfect weather.
Then we headed to Mercado do Bolhão.
Markets are one of my favorite ways to experience a city, and this one didn't disappoint.
We tried our first sardine along with oysters and octopus before wandering down Rua de Santa Catarina.
Eventually we arrived at Gazela, where we tried one of Porto's famous cachorrinhos—a thin, crispy little Portuguese hot dog sandwich.
So good.
Naturally, we kept walking.
And somehow all of that walking led us right back to the waterfront, where the four of us ended up with Aperol spritzes.
But we had a very big dinner ahead of us.
The Yeatman: A Two-Michelin-Star Experience
We chose the tasting experience with wine pairings, and the entire evening felt like an event rather than simply dinner.
This is one of those dinners where I couldn't choose a favorite dish because the experience itself was the highlight.
It was special, theatrical without feeling gimmicky, and an incredibly memorable evening for the four of us.
And somehow, after all of that food and wine, we still had another full day ahead.
This time, outside Porto.
The Douro Valley
Our day in the Douro Valley ended up being one of the most beautiful days of the entire trip.
Clear blue skies. Green mountains. Terraced vineyards stretching across the hillsides. The Douro River winding through the valley below.
The scenery almost didn't look real.
Our guide and driver, Vasco, was quite the historian, so our nearly two-hour drive from Porto also became a very thorough lesson in Portuguese history and the Douro region.
Read: he talked a lot.
😂
The Douro felt completely different from Porto—rugged, mountainous, green and peaceful.
Quinta de Santa Júlia
We learned about vintages, the area's different microclimates and some of what makes Douro wines unique.
We ate surrounded by vineyards and olive trees with spectacular views in every direction.
And then there was the charcuterie.
It came with the most delicious port wine jam.
So delicious, in fact, that some of it needed to come home with us.
Quinta de Santa Eufémia
Next we visited Quinta de Santa Eufémia, a beautiful family winery with generations of history.
We were hosted by Teresa, a descendant of the family, and learned that they still use the traditional method of crushing grapes by foot.
There was something particularly special about drinking wine in a place where winemaking has been part of the same family's story for generations.
It was the kind of experience I hoped we would find in Portugal.
We finished our day in the valley with a boat ride along the Douro River.
Absolutely.
Exciting?
Well…
It was quite boring.
😂
But the views were gorgeous!
Mito and a Porto Speakeasy
After returning to Porto, we headed to Mito for dinner.
We shared several small plates, with the beef croquettes, savory donuts and confit cod emerging as our favorites.
It was the perfect ending to our time in the city.
The next morning, we were trading Porto's hills and bustling streets for somewhere a little slower.
Porto to Cascais
We took the train from Porto to Lisbon and continued on to Cascais, where we'd spend the rest of our vacation.
Choosing Cascais as our home base was very intentional.
After New Jersey, London and several busy days in Porto, we wanted somewhere that would allow us to slow down.
A beautiful town. A pool. Sunshine. Restaurants within walking distance. Easy access to Sintra and Lisbon.
Cascais gave us all of that—and ended up being the place we loved most.
Sometimes referred to as the "Monaco of Portugal," Cascais is undeniably beautiful, but what struck us most was how comfortable it felt.
We could wander into town, stop for a drink, explore the little streets, walk along the water, have an incredible meal and stroll home.
Within days, we had our favorite pastry shop, favorite restaurants and favorite streets.
It started to feel like our little home away from home.
Our First Taste of Cascais
Our first full day was intentionally uneventful.
Pastries and cappuccinos by the pool.
Drinks by the water.
Then back to our Airbnb for cold drinks, hot sun, pool time and absolutely no agenda.
That evening, however, we had one of our most anticipated reservations.
Fortaleza do Guincho
We chose the 10-moment tasting experience, and I will say this:
It challenged me.
😂
This was probably the most seafood-forward tasting menu I have ever experienced, with considerably more barely cooked seafood than I knew what to do with.
I wanted to love it.
I really did.
And had it not been Michelin-starred and so very expensive, I probably wouldn't still be talking about the fact that I didn't.
The wines, however, were fantastic.
And the setting?
Absolutely spectacular.
Watching the sunset over the Atlantic was easily the star of the evening.
You can't love every meal. And as we'd discover over the coming days, there was plenty of food in Cascais that we absolutely adored.
Sintra, Colares and Cabo da Roca
Our next day was devoted to exploring Sintra with our guide, Pedro.
First stop: the colorful Pena Palace.
It was gorgeous.
It was also HOT.
After touring the palace, we had free time to wander through Sintra village and stopped for lunch at Loja do Vinho.
From Sintra, we headed toward Colares and Mare et Corvus, a tiny winery with only four employees.
This was completely different from the Douro wineries we had visited.
We learned about Colares' unusual microclimate and were told that their summer lasts less than three weeks and arrives in September.
Apparently we had timed our visit perfectly.
They produce wine in extremely small quantities and we were told no two vintages are exactly alike.
Our final stop was Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point of mainland Europe.
Another spectacular Portugal backdrop.
But that night, we discovered something else worth remembering.
Cantinho do Avillez
Dinner was at Cantinho do Avillez in Cascais.
And this ended up being one of our favorite meals of the trip.
The unquestionable star?
Tagliatelle with prawns.
Absolute showstopper.
After our extremely adventurous seafood experience the previous evening, Cantinho was exactly what we wanted: approachable, delicious food in a relaxed atmosphere.
We loved it.
The following morning, Bill and Sarah headed home, leaving Steve and me with a few more days to explore Cascais at our own pace.
Falling in Love With Cascais
The streets felt incredibly safe, and the beautiful Portuguese mosaic sidewalks made even an ordinary walk feel special.
The sidewalks became one of those details I started photographing constantly.
Tiles, too.
Portugal's buildings are covered in beautiful ceramic tiles in seemingly endless colors and patterns, and I couldn't stop taking pictures of them.
From there, we just kept walking.
We wandered through town, checked out restaurants we might want to try later and eventually headed back to the Airbnb for a few hours by the pool.
It was HOT, and by then we'd become very good at balancing sightseeing with vacation.
And then came SULT.
SULT: One of Our Favorites
Our first dinner at SULT was outstanding.
We shared a Caesar salad topped with fried calamari, asparagus and mascarpone tortellini, and grilled white fish with baby vegetables and beurre blanc.
And then dessert arrived.
Pistachio tiramisu.
Gasp.
This was easily one of our favorite meals of the trip.
So much so that before we were even finished with Cascais, we made another reservation.
SULT had officially joined the favorites list.
A Day in Lisbon
We went into Lisbon managing our expectations.
And it pleasantly surprised us.
Our guide, Sofia, picked us up in Cascais and began filling us in on the history of both Cascais and Lisbon.
We also quickly learned something else:
Cristiano Ronaldo is basically worshiped in Portugal.
😂
We were even told he has a house in Cascais.
We followed the coast into Lisbon and began in Belém, the city's historic riverside district.
We saw Jerónimos Monastery, the Monument to the Discoveries and Belém Tower.
And obviously, we weren't leaving Belém without pastries.
Pastéis de Belém
We stopped at the historic Pastéis de Belém bakery to try the famous custard tarts and even got a little look behind the scenes.
Were they worth the hype?
Absolutely.
Portugal is pastry heaven.
Nearly every morning of this trip started with some combination of pastry and cappuccino, and I regret nothing.
My only complaint?
Portuguese napkins.
They may be the least absorbent objects ever manufactured.
😂
Seriously. The pastries are incredible. The napkins are absolutely useless.
Exploring Lisbon
From Belém, we continued into Lisbon.
It was another completely cloudless day, and temperatures reached around 88 degrees.
Lisbon is a city of hills, hills and more hills—which suddenly makes those famous yellow trams seem less quaint and considerably more practical.
And then there are the tuk-tuks.
They are everywhere.
We toured primarily by car, which was occasionally an adventure all by itself, but it allowed us to see a tremendous amount in one day.
By evening, we were happy to return to Cascais.
Especially because we had another restaurant waiting.
Hífen
Dinner that night was at Hífen, a fun, energetic restaurant near the Cascais waterfront.
We shared: Tuna tataki salad, beetroot tartare, shrimp tempura, pica-pau veal and the peanut butter parfait dessert.
The two standouts were unmistakable.
The tuna tataki salad and pica-pau veal were phenomenal.
There were now multiple restaurants on that list.
This was becoming a problem.
A very good problem.
A Quiet Morning and an Amazing Lunch
One of my favorite mornings in Cascais started before most of the town had really woken up.
Steve and I wandered through the quiet alleyways before the shops opened and before the crowds arrived.
It was such a peaceful way to experience the town.
We stopped at PAUL for croissants and cappuccinos, walked along the waterfront and eventually made our way to lunch.
Lunch was another memorable dining experience.
Izakaya
We splurged on lunch at Izakaya, where we sat at the counter with a direct view into the kitchen.
I will admit that I had been a little nervous about this meal.
I'm not typically someone who gravitates toward raw fish, and the menu was nearly impossible for us to understand.
So we did the smartest possible thing.
We stopped trying.
We left the decision-making to the chef.
And it was fantastic.
Sitting at the counter made the experience incredibly immersive. We watched the kitchen work while course after course appeared in front of us.
We shared six courses, including:
Yellowtail sashimi with yuzu sauce
Crab salad over rice and nori
Grilled calamari with miso butter
Chicken skewer
Pork katsu sandwich with BBQ slaw and hot mustard
Tres leches cake
We loved the yellowtail sashimi.
The grilled calamari was another standout, and the pork katsu sandwich was fantastic.
It was one of those meals where letting the restaurant take control resulted in something much better than we probably would have ordered ourselves.
After lunch, we did a little boutique shopping and wandered home for a much-needed siesta.
Vacation mode: fully activated.
Souldough Pizza
Dinner that evening was considerably more casual.
Souldough is a cute little vegetarian pizza restaurant in downtown Cascais serving Neapolitan-style pizza.
And there's an added bonus:
You eat it with your hands…and scissors.
✂️🍕
Give us a good Margherita pizza and we're happy, and we loved everything about this little place.
After so many elaborate meals, wine tastings and tasting menus, pizza was perfect. Dessert that night was gelato from a local shop.
One Last Day in Cascais
For our final full day, we decided not to chase anything new.
Instead, we revisited some of our favorite things.
And that started with breakfast.
By this point, we'd discovered bolas de Berlim from Sacolinha.
These delicious little Portuguese doughnuts had become one of our favorite ways to start the morning—especially with cappuccino.
It’s important to note: I don’t drink coffee. Except, apparently, when I’m in Europe. It just feels right. No jitters, no regrets. Their coffee is simply better.
From there, we wandered through one of Cascais' old coastal forts, which has been transformed into a collection of art galleries.
History, art and ocean views.
Not a bad combination.
And then it was time for lunch.
Where else?
Back to Hífen.
We ordered cocktails and another round of that tuna tataki salad we'd been thinking about since our first visit.
Still phenomenal. Dessert was a pistrachio pudding and espresso martinis. Their drinks were the best!
Then we headed back to our Airbnb to squeeze every last minute out of the Portuguese sunshine.
Pool.
Sun.
Relaxation.
And one final dinner.
One Last Dinner at SULT
Choosing our last dinner was harder than expected because Cascais had given us so many favorites.
Ultimately, we went back to SULT.
And I'm very glad we did.
We repeated several favorites: the Caesar salad with fried calamari, asparagus and mascarpone pasta, and obviously the pistachio tiramisu.
But we also added something new.
Octopus risotto.
Honestly, we ordered it partly because it was simply too beautiful not to order.
And somehow it ended up being the best octopus dish we have ever had.
Absolutely delicious.
It was the perfect final dinner.
Favorite restaurant. Favorite dishes. One unexpected new favorite.
By then, Cascais really did feel like our little home away from home.
What We Loved About Portugal
Portugal was absolutely stunning.
There were certain things we noticed over and over again throughout the trip.
The ceramic tiles covering buildings.
The gorgeous mosaic sidewalks.
The kindness of the people.
The clear blue skies.
The pastries on seemingly every corner.
The wine.
The food.
And, of course…
THE HILLS.
Every one of our guides seemed to have something to say about the Portuguese diet and how everyone stays thin.
I'm calling nonsense.
It's the hills.
Don't fool yourself.
You are essentially living on a StairMaster 24/7.
IT'S NOT THE DIET. IT'S THE HILLS.
😂
They are everywhere.
And About That Portuguese Food…
We went to Portugal expecting seafood to be a major part of our dining experience.
Turns out, we didn't crave traditional Portuguese seafood nearly as much as we thought we would.
And that's okay.
One of the things we loved about the restaurant scene was how much variety we found.
We ate Portuguese food, Japanese-inspired dishes, Italian food, creative small plates, Michelin-starred tasting menus, pizza, pastries, charcuterie and everything in between.
There was only one meal I truly didn't like.
And had it not been Michelin-starred and so very expensive, I probably wouldn't still be talking about it.
😉
But there were far more meals we loved.
If I had to make a list of dishes I would happily eat again tomorrow, it would be a long one:
The tagliatelle with prawns at Cantinho do Avillez.
The tuna tataki salad and pica-pau at Hífen.
The Caesar salad with fried calamari at SULT.
SULT's grilled white fish.
That incredible pistachio tiramisu.
And the octopus risotto we almost didn't order.
The yellowtail sashimi, grilled calamari and pork katsu sandwich at Izakaya.
The cachorrinho at Gazela.
The spider crab donuts at Cozinha das Flores.
The port wine jam in the Douro Valley.
And essentially every pastry we encountered.
Picking one favorite restaurant would be nearly impossible.
Which is exactly the kind of problem I like having on vacation.
We Couldn't Have Asked for Better Weather
We also got unbelievably lucky with the weather.
Clear blue skies every single day.
Not one drop of rain.
Barely a cloud.
Warm summer days and beautiful evenings.
From Porto to the Douro Valley, Sintra, Lisbon and Cascais, Portugal showed off for us.
And I'm very grateful it did.
Why Cascais Won Us Over
We saw some extraordinary places in Portugal.
Porto was beautiful and energetic.
The Douro Valley was breathtaking.
Sintra looked like something out of a storybook.
Lisbon surprised us.
But in the end, Cascais was exactly where we were supposed to finish this trip.
There is nothing unassuming about Cascais—it is gorgeous—but somehow it still feels relaxed, easy and incredibly welcoming.
We loved being able to walk into town.
We loved the little streets.
We loved the waterfront.
We loved having favorite restaurants we could revisit.
We loved our slow mornings, pool afternoons and long walks.
We loved feeling like we didn't need an itinerary every minute of every day.
After a week, Cascais had started to feel familiar.
And when you're traveling for three weeks, there's something really special about that.
We will absolutely return.
Three Weeks Later…
Cleveland to New Jersey to London to Porto to Cascais to Cleveland.
Planes, trains, automobiles and more walking than I care to calculate.
It was a lot.
There were long days and late nights. There was work. There was an unexpected night in Edinburgh. There were ridiculously expensive meals and cheap pastries. Michelin stars and pizza eaten with scissors. Port tastings and Aperol spritzes. Palaces and wineries. City streets and Atlantic cliffs.
And hills.
So many hills.
But there were also friends, laughter, beautiful places, incredible meals and experiences we'll be talking about for years.
We've been incredibly fortunate to have some amazing adventures this year, and somehow the travel itch has only gotten stronger.
I'm grateful for every mile.
Every meal.
Every laugh.
Every ridiculous hill.
And every memory.
Now it's time to unpack, tackle an absurd amount of laundry…
…and start wondering where we're going next.
Cheers to another unforgettable adventure.
🥂✈️
