Travel Comfortably, Spend Less.

TransAtlantic airfare may be less expensive than it has been in the past, but it is certainly not cheap.

If I you are going to spend the big bucks to travel overseas, you probably want to have an authentic experience, and stay awhile.

Here are 3 Great Azure Idea's you might want to take into consideration when planning your next trip...

1. I have been on several trips planned by tour companies, in my experience these are incredibly rushed. It seems like you are packing and unpacking all the time...because you are. Normal you will only be staying a maximum of only 3 nights in any one city... not to mention that this type of traveling can cost three times as much as planning a trip on your own.

Solution:

Do your own research! Unless you are traveling to a location in which you really do not feel comfortable, it might really be best to just go that extra mile and make your own arrangements. It does take a little bit of time, however what you will end up with is a trip that is designed JUST for you. You will not waste precious time at a destination in which you have no interest in seeing, and you will be able to spend as much time as you would like at that location that you have been dreaming of visiting over the past 20 years.

Meanwhile, you will be saving approximately 10,000 dollars (depending upon how many travelers are in your party). What can you do with that extra 10,000 dollars? Why not visit that other destination you have been eyeing for 15 years, next year!

2. Because you have the complete freedom to plan your trip... it is not necessary to confine yourself to the unoriginal, choosing to stay in an apartment in a place like Europe not only gives you much more space for your money, but it also makes for a GREAT authentic experience. Many apartment companies have a minimum 3 night stay, but they also tend to give you a break for stays of 7 days or longer. I really suggest picking a city with a good location, and staying there for atleast a week. Use the location as a homebase that you can take daytrips from, but don't run yourself around. Stay, soak up the culture, visit some coffee shops, flea markets, take an early morning walk and people watch. Why not visit the local market and cook yourself dinner in your kitchen one night? (YES! these apartments will have kitchens!)

 The above photo is from travelingtolisbon.com

Not only is it important to pick a good homebase city. I would also highly suggest to choose an apartment that is close located downtown in a city, or atleast close to lots of action, not necessarily nightlife, but markets, shopping, and most importantly, a metro or bus station. You will absolutely LOVE how much you will see on foot rather than in a tourbus.

 It is nice to be able to walk the street like the locals and see how the locals live.

3. Simple, cliche, but important still.

Don't weigh yourself down, pack the essentials, research what the weather will be like and bring the bare minimum. You are there so that you can see the location, not so that the location can see you. Be comfortable, don't bring too many things that you will constantly be worrying about the safety of, and definitely do not bring so much with you during the day that you will not enjoy walking around and exploring.

What People AREN'T Talking About. (Portugal: Part I)

Ever been to Europe?
Probably.

Ever considered?
Most definitely.

Thought about Portugal?

The least touristed Western European country, is also the most inexpensive. No really, people AREN'T talking about it, although I had not actually tested this prior to titling my post... just search Twitter for "Portugal" 95% of the posts are in Portuguese. Search Twitter for France or Spain... and everything you see is written in English.

So other than the fact that Portugal is a fairly undiscovered destination (ironic, seeing as how the Portuguese were the first great pioneers of navigation) , why go?

In winter, the weather in Lisbon (the Portuguese capital) is more than pleasant. Which in all honesty, is the main reason my family thought about visiting in the first place. What a lucky mishap that turned out to be...

Walking around Lisbon has a special charm. The lack of tourists allows one to truly feel like they are experiencing something completely new and different. No matter how far away a place is, or how exotic the fauna may be, load an area up with 3000 kiosks selling touristy chatzky's and it suddenly becomes just like... well... any other foreign exotic place with 3000 kiosks selling tourists chatzky's. Lisbon has a very authentic feel, staying in an apartment rather than a hotel can help with this too, that I must save for another post however.

Sounds, Tastes and Miradouros!

So what exactly does Portugal have to offer. Skinny, winding medieval streets can be found in the Alfama district. My favorite part of traveling is walking around in new places and the Alfama is perfect for taking some great Flickr shots! Pastelerias serve "bicas" which is a very strong Portuguese espresso shot, available in decaf usually. "Pasteis" are custard like pastries, I'm not the biggest fan of these types of pastries but the rest of the fam LOVED them. The pasteis are actually really good with cinnamon and sugar sprinkled on top!

Stop to look over the Meditterranean -esque buildings at one of the Miradouro's or lookouts.

 If you don't like to eat fish, you should probably stop reading this article now... or atleast read it knowing that you should never actually go to Portugal. The good news: most restaurants have many options... The bad news: all of these options involve a big filet of fish as the main course, with an accompaniement of potatos and maybe a salad. I personally find it delicious! Specialties like octopus and barnacles are available too. The most popular of the fish specialities is the bacalhau, dried salt cod. It is said that this can be prepared some 300 ways.

In various dinner restaurants, you can sit in on a Fado performance, fado is a very melancholy almost opera like genre, very specific to Portuguese culture.

Alright, this was enough Portugal for one evening... but I will be bringing you further detail in later articles :)

<3 AzureChina

my Portugal pictures are all taken by me! Some can be viewed at http://www.flickr.com/photos/11693731@N07/