We spent our first day in Lisbon exploring the city center of Bairro Alto and Baixa (see http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Portugal/Lisboa/blog-845101.html for our blog on Day 1). For Day 2, we decided to travel to the outskirts of town to historic Belem, the scenic beachtown of Cascais, and the tranquil hillside city of Sintra. In Lisbon, you can catch a train from Cais do Sodre station by buying a Viva Viagem card for unlimited daily usage. Take the "Todas" train west to the town of Belem, which leaves every 20 minutes and takes about 10 minutes to reach the destination. Be sure to sit on the left side, which offers coastal views of the Tagus River for the entire ride. In Belem, visit a pastry shop on Rua de Belem called Pasteis de Belem, where you have to try ... read more

The thought of a New Year's Eve celebration conjures images of ball drops, ridiculous glasses, confetti, Dick Clark, and a song that everyone is familiar with but no one knows the artist; over the years, New Year's and New York City have become synonymous and that's why for our first trip together, I decided to take Kristina to Times Square, the epicenter of the world for ringing in a new year. Due to the last minute nature of our trip, flights from Washington D.C. to NYC were scarce, but we luckily had a friend in Long Island who was willing to pick us up from the local airport (Long Island MacArthur, ISP), which helped us save some mula by not needing a hotel in Manhattan--a money abyss for booking rooms--and more flights were available for ISP ... read more