from the editors of YourLifeIsATrip.com

As professional travelers, we spend much of our time on the road. We go near. We go far. We go very very far. And sometimes we fall in love with a country and want to go back again and again. Our latest serious crush is on Portugal. We're recently back from our third trip.

Nowhere we visited was overrun with tourists.There wasn’t price gouging. For four or five Euros you can get a superlative bottle of wine.The landscape was serene, dramatic and colorful. People were extremely hospitable, open, savvy, modest and friendly.The food was fresh, varied and excellent.

There are mountains, rivers, lagoons, cities, villages, galleries, vineyards, museums, palaces, forests, ecoresorts, petroglyphs,  wine tastings, monasteries, Catholic pilgrimage sites, secret Jews who have been in hiding since the Inquisition. Authentic antiquity exists side-by-side with drop-dead-gorgeous design. History shimmers all around you, and you can still hear the whispers of explorers, navigators, scientists and artists who are long gone. There is a site where you can walk the path of an initiate in an ancient mystery school, medieval art where the subjects are so real you think they will pop off the canvas and speak to you, puppet shows, world-class theatre, narrow warrens of streets in old quarters, riverside and Oceanside walks, trendy bars and restaurants, star chefs, kids in costumes for parades and religious observances, students who wear black capes, high fashion, low hype, and the sense of discovery.

In the first of a new SPOTLIGHT ON series, we're turning the YourLifeIsATrip.com spotlight on this delightful country. For the next few days we will feature a series of articles about some very cool places to eat and drink, stay, visit and explore, focusing our lens on the “undiscovered” nature of the country.

It is our Portugal. You can make it your Portugal.

We like Portugal so much that we are even contemplating taking people on a historical, hysterical, experiential, soulful, mystical, soothing and very special trip to the little-known side of Portugal next year on an exclusive YOURLIFEISATRIP adventure. If you are interested, shoot us an email  or let us know by posting a comment below.  Life IS a trip, and maybe we’ll see you in Portugal. 

Stay tuned for more...

Judie and Ellen