To Portugal We Will Go

The month of July flew by. I worked two jobs because I’m a complete sucker for stress and anxiety. No, I really worked two jobs because one paid me an entire quarter of Anderson tuition for a grand total of four weeks of work that is sometimes long, draining, and onerous  but most of the time interesting, rewarding, and inspiring,. I worked at the other job because I need to satisfy requirements for my MPH, it pays me very well, and I actually like it. There were a few times this month when I wasn’t so sure, but I have amazing opportunities ahead of me through this company, so we’ll see where it takes me. And the rest of the family.

So, to celebrate our hard work, we decided it was time for an international trip. We considered staying closer to home and visiting the Grand Canyon, since I have never been there, and definitely do want to see it at some point. But Jeremy and I made a rule when we were on our honeymoon in France that we would leave the U.S. at least once EVERY YEAR. Where to go quickly became an ongoing debate.

I had to keep working throughout August, but school doesn't start at UCLA until the end of September. So we decided to take two weeks in September for our first REAL family vacation with Parker. September is the start of hurricane season in the Caribbean, so no to island places like the Dominican Republic and Cuba. And it's basically rainy season in Central America, too, so no to Costa Rica and Belize. Asia was decidedly off limits, because Parker is too young, and we are afraid to take him there. I just went to South Africa last year (Jeremy is still very jealous of this trip) so I didn't want to go there again. And the rest of Africa was off limits because Parker is too young and would need a shitload of shots. Australia or New Zealand are places we want to visit, but we want to bungee jump and do a lot of adventurous things that Parker will enjoy more when he's older and can participate, so no to these locations as well. 

Which basically leaves just Europe. Which is also, basically perfect, because September in Europe has lovely weather and smaller crowds than August when the entire continent is on holiday at once. We thought about driving around Italy or Switzerland, but realized it would be a lot of time in the car getting from place to place. Jeremy adds that we would need more than two weeks, too, so I guess we'll have to either wait for retirement or schedule that trip in between jobs when we can take another month off of work again -- I don't recall UBC being very pleased at us for taking July 2010 off to celebrate our union with a marriage and an in-person following of Le Tour de France. 

What about Portugal? It's located on the Iberian peninsula, which means it surely offers lots of cured meats. (Points from Jeremy.) It has a lot of beautiful rocky coastline. (Points from Nicole.) It produced some of the world's first wines -- take that, France! (Points from both Jeremy and Nicole.) It's economy hasn't been doing so great the past few years, which means it's less expensive than other EU countries. (Mostly points from Jeremy, let's be honest. Nicole is in business school and most business school students spend a fortune while traveling and partying all over the world in business school even thought they're also taking on massive debt. Nicole had a baby in business school, works, and has a lot of scholarship -- a trip to Europe is worth every penny!) Finally, Portugal is relatively small; we can easily see a few different cities without spending all of our time driving in the car. (Points from Jeremy, Nicole, and even Parker.)

As Chief Decision Officer, I made a snap decision for us. To Portugal we will go! We better get crackin, it's only a little more than a month away, and I can't wait! Get ready for a lot of the below pictured ingredients, laptop excluded.

Wine, Cheese, Bread, and Cured Meat: The Perfect Pairing to a MacBook Pro