Blog – Erika & Mark

Real Talk

Welcome to our blog, where we share travel guides, insider tips on moving abroad, and real stories to help you navigate life beyond borders.

The Perfect 4-Day Silver Coast Road Trip (From Porto to Lisbon)

March 1, 2026

Portugal’s Silver Coast feels wilder than the Algarve. The beaches are wider, the Atlantic louder, and the towns still revolve around fishing boats and surf culture instead of resort life. You’ll find windblown dunes, dramatic cliffs, colorful wooden houses, and long stretches of coastline that feel refreshingly untouched. Stretching between Porto and Lisbon, it’s one…
7 Best Day Trips from Porto (from someone who’s actually done them)

February 14, 2026

Looking to tack on a day trip from Porto? After making this city our home, we’ve spent countless weekends exploring what lies beyond it — and here are the seven day trips we’d recommend. Within just one or two hours, you can trade city streets for vineyard-covered hills in the Douro Valley, medieval squares in…
🐾 Moving Our Dog from U.S. to Portugal: What It Really Took to Bring Our Pitbull Mix Abroad

December 29, 2025

When we decided to move to Portugal, one of the first, and most emotional, questions was: “Can we bring Matcha?” She’s our 7-year-old pit bull mix, 56 pounds of love and wiggles, and there was no way we were leaving her behind. But moving a “potentially dangerous breed” to Europe is a whole extra process…