• Portugal
  • Algarve Beach Hike

    Portugal2019-5180CopyrightPaulaVermeulen

    Portugal has long been on my bucket list. The cliffs of the Algarve in particular. This area is extremely beautiful, even in winter! For my birthday in February, we spontaneously booked a trip to Faro in the south east corner of Portugal, especially to do an Algarve beach hike.   How to travel There are quite […]

  • Crete
  • Lake Kournas

    Lake Kournas Waterfowl

    After exploring the west of Crete, it was time to move to the quieter east of this Greek island. We set our sights on Preveli Beach in the south. Preveli is well-known for its unique palm forest growing next to a river that runs into the sea. The drive from Chania in the north to Preveli in the […]

  • Crete
  • Little Loutro

    Loutro Crete Greece

    Loutro is one of the smallest seaside towns I’ve ever seen. Shut off from the rest of the island’s road network, this town can only be reached by boat or foot. When you first see Loutro from the ferry, the white buildings beam out like a little oasis against the rugged mountains. Lit by the evening sun, the late-summer […]

  • France
  • The Pearl of France

    CopyrightPaulaVermeulen_Menton_DSC_3865

    Nicknamed the Pearl of France, Menton is well-situated between mountains and the Med. The city was ruled by the Princes of Monaco until the French Revolution. It rejoined Monaco in 1814 and then separated from Monaco again about 40 years later. Apparently this was partly due to the tax that was being imposed on lemon […]

  • France
  • On the Verdon River

    VerdonFrance_CopyrightPaulaVermeulen_DSC_0089

    Once I’d discovered that this place existed, I knew that it was one for the bucket list. I’d done Google image searches, hungry for more pictures. This landscape just has that sort of postcard-picture attraction. I think it was definitely the colour of the water that drew me in. We don’t really get that sort […]