August 30 – 31, 2021 We flew from Malta to Rome to visit several cities in Italy. We drove our little piece of junk rental car from our Airbnb to the Malta airport without too much hassle. We did not add any new dents or scratches to the existing ones, which was a very good …
Author Archives: rsgoodell
Europe 2021 – Malta, St. Paul’s catacombs and Gozo Island.
August 24 – 28, 2021 As mentioned before, Malta has been occupied for over 10,000 years by various groups of settlers and invaders. The result is some very fantastic archeological sites. One of more interesting sites is the catacombs of St. Paul. These catacombs were in use from 300 to 800 BC and then used …
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Europe 2021 – Malta, scuba diving and the City of Mdina
August 24 -29, 2021 One of the great things to do in Malta is scuba dive. The island is surrounded by reefs, ship wrecks, beautiful fish, and many natural wonders. Malta is kind of unusual in that you can do a lot of these dives directly from the shore. Most dive sites require a boat …
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Europe 2021 – Malta
August 24 – 29, 2021 After we left Salamaca, Spain we drove to Madrid and flew to Malta the next day. Neither Andrea nor I have ever been to this little island country. Yipee, another country for our countries visited lists! Malta is located about 50 miles south of Sicily in the Mediterranean Ocean. It …
Europe 2021 – Salamanca, Spain
August 21 – 22, 2021 After Cabenelas, Portugal we headed east to the University Town of Salamanca, Spain. Andrea and I have been here before, about 6 years ago, as part of a Viking River Tour of the River Douro out of Porto, Portugal. It is a fascinating town full of history and incredible old …
Europe 2021 – Cabenelas, Portugal
August 18 – 20, 2021 After our time in Tomar we headed North East to the town of Cabenelas. This is a very small town in the mountains near Arouca, Portugal. Cabenelas has about 2,000 people, all stuck on the side of the mountains along some very narrow and twisty roads. We stayed in a …
Europe 2021 – Tomar, Portugal. The Convent of Christ Aquaduct and the Gothic Church.
August 15 – 18, 2021 The next day after visiting the Knights Templar Castle, we set off to explore the area around Tomar. Of particular interest to us was the Convent of Christ Aquaduct. King Phillip I of Portugal, who was also King Phillip II of Spain, ordered the construction of an aquaduct from the …
Europe 2021 – Tomar, Portugal. The Knights Templar Castle
August 15 – 18, 2021 We decided to visit Tomar primarily because of the history of the Knights Templar. Who is not fascinated by the history of this soldier/religious order? The fact that they amassed a gigantic fortune through their conquests just adds fuel to the fire. However, Tomar has some other unique and interesting …
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Europe 2021 – Tomar, Portugal
August 15 – 18, 2021 After the Algarve region, we went to the City of Tomar, Portugal. Tomar is close the the Silver Coast of Portugal, but about 50 kilometers inland. For you history buffs, know that Tomar is the city where the Knights Templar were headquartered in 1160 by Gualdim Pais. In 1160 he …
Europe 2021 – Algarve, Portugal
August 12 – 14, 2021 After our time in Sintra and the Silver Coast of Portugal, it was time to head south. The primary resort/expat area of the country is the Algarve region. This region consists of many towns along the 96 mile coast line on the Atlantic Ocean. The western side of Algarve with …
Andrea and Randy Goodell explore Europe, Asia, United States, the Caribbean, and then move to Portugal! 