Overbays All Over Europe

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Trip start
July 5, 2015
Overbays All Over Europe Chris and Tonya Overbay
Milan Italy - Day 1
July 5, 2015 in Germany ⋅ ☀️ 33 °C
Left Stuttgart and flew an hour to Milan, Italy.

Took an hour bus ride to the Milano Centrale: Italy’s second-largest station located in piazza Duca d'Aosta, in the centre of the city. It is used by over 320 thousand people per day, around 120 million per year.

Walked about 45 minutes to Hotel America (our hostel for 2 days). It was 99 degrees and no AC. Shew! Haha. We survived.

Dinner: Il Pomodorino: Pizza & Ravioli

Temp: High 99° | Low 78°
Pedometer: 6.13Read more
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Overbays All Over Europe Chris and Tonya Overbay
Day 2 | Milan, Italy
July 6, 2015 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 32 °C
Tour: Milan Cathedral (Italian: Duomo di Milano) is the cathedral church of Milan, Italy. This Gothic cathedral took nearly six centuries to complete. It is the 5th-largest church in the world and the largest in Italy, with 135 spires and nearly 3,000 statues.

Tour: The Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II is one of the world's oldest shopping malls. Housed within a four-story double arcade in central Milan, this 18th century Galleria is home to many beautiful shops, restaurants and cafes. Look up to see the magnificent central dome. Look down to see the emblems on the mosaic floor representing the cities of Milan, Rome, Florence and Turin. If you want to return to Milan you are supposed to place your heel on the emblem of Turin -the bull- and rotate clockwise! We both did it!

Tour: Sforza Castle is a castle in Milan, built in the 15th century by Francesco Sforza, Duke of Milan, on the remains of a 14th-century fortification. In front of the castle, the spectacular fountain is a reconstruction (1999) of a fountain built in 1930. The people of Milan call this fountain "tort de' spus", or wedding cake, from the shape created by the jets of water. Great place to stop, rest, and of course, stick your feet in the water. :-)

Chris napped in the park behind the castle.

Lunch: Spontini Pizzeria
Dinner: Majestic Cafe (Matre'D and waitress were great)

Temp: High 98 / Low 79
Pedometer: 8.42 milesRead more
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Overbays All Over Europe Chris and Tonya Overbay
Day 3 | Milan to Venice, Italy
July 7, 2015 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 32 °C
Bus to train station in Milan
12:25 PM Train to Venice, Italy (2 hours)
Arrived 3pm in Venice
Walked from train station to our hotel, Hotel Lisbona. We had an awesome view from our hotel balcony of the canal. Gondoliers were rowing and singing early in the morning until late in the evenings.

We took a nap then walked around the corridors of Venice for the evening.

Lunch: Burger King (Train Station)
Dinner: Trattoria Pizzeria Ai Fabbri, San Marco 4717 Venezia
Snack: Watermelon; Coconut Gelato

Temp: High 90 / Low 78
Pedometer: 6 milesRead more
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Overbays All Over Europe Chris and Tonya Overbay
Day 4 | Venice, Italy
July 8, 2015 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C
Visit: Museo Della Musica (Music Museum) - an exhibition dedicated to one of the artistic demonstrations that highlighted the Italian culture: the liuteria (the making of musical instruments). Venice, the city where the demonstrations take place, has been the “storage” of important instrument constructors, particularly for violins. The museum houses instruments as old as 435 years.

Visit: Ca’Macana - one of the oldest and finest mask making workshops in Venice. They craft authentic handmade masks in the same way Venetian artisans would do 800 years ago. Their masks were featured in important film productions like Eyes Wide Shut by Stanley Kubrick and theaters like the Vienna Opera Haus. <3 [www.camacana.com]

Visit: Scuola Grande di San Rocco - ("Confraternity of St. Roch", protector against plague, which had struck Venice in that century) was established in 1478 by a group of wealthy Venetian citizens, next to the church of San Rocco, from which it takes its name. In 1564, the painter Tintoretto was commissioned to provide paintings for the Scuola and they were executed between 1564 and 1587. His works are from the Old and New Testament; together, they show the biblical story from Fall to Redemption. The the Scuola Grande di San Rocco is often called the "Sistine Chapel" of Venice. We also got to visit the Tesoro of Scuola Grande di San Rocco (reopened after 100 years) where it houses the actual mummified finger of Saint Roch! Awesome and amazing art! www.scuolagrandesanrocco.it

After a long day of walking, we decided to head back to our favorite spot in Venice and have a pizza picnic (courtesy of Piazzaria Sansovino) in the Piazza San Marco.

Lunch: Impronta Cafe
Dinner: Piazzaria Sansovino
Snacks: Fruit, Gelato, Cannoli

Temp: High 94 / Low 75
Pedometer: 8.67 milesRead more
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Overbays All Over Europe Chris and Tonya Overbay
Day 5 | Venice, Italy
July 9, 2015 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C
Visit: Leonardo da Vinci Exhibit - interactive machines reproduced from Leonardo's codices. It is amazing to see all the mechanics and engineering that we use today...most of which started from one genius.

Visit: Well, we did the number one must-do experience in Venice on our last evening....yes, we took a Gondola ride through the canals of this beautiful city. Our gondolier has been rowing for about 36 years and makes roughly $150,000 per year. Not too shabby, huh?! He was pretty darn good it his job, too, going around tight corners like nothing. Super impressive. :D

After our gondola ride, we grabbed some dinner, bought some cute hats for our European adventures, had some fresh fruit cocktails and headed back to our favorite spot in the Piazza one last time. Off to bed, up early and on to our next stop...

Lunch: Pizza Cafe (duh!)
Dinner: ZenaVia Cafe
Snacks: Pineapple Gelato, Magnum Ice Cream, Fruit Cocktails

Temp: High 88 / Low 70
Pedometer: 6 milesRead more
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Overbays All Over Europe Chris and Tonya Overbay
Day 6 | Venice to Florence, Italy
July 10, 2015 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C
Early morning train ride from Venice to Florence, Italy.
We sat with some Japanese people, who were traveling Europe, and they shared some champagne/wine and a toast with us.:)
We arrived at 11:15 AM and walked to our hotel, Hotel Lombardi.

Checked in the hotel early then Chris took a nap, cause Chris takes naps. ;)

Visit: Piazzale Michelangelo - a famous square with a magnificent panoramic view of Florence, Italy, and a popular tourist destination in the Oltrarno district of the city.

Visit: Ponte Vecchio - a Medieval stone closed-spandrel segmental arch bridge over the Arno River, noted for still having shops built along it, as was once common.

Just walked around town for the evening. Went to Trip Advisor's 'best cannoli in Florence' suggestion...it was delicious. Small, but neat city.

Lunch: McDonald's (:-P)
Dinner: I'Pizzacchiere
Snacks: Carebe' Gelotaria

Temp: High 90 / Low 63
Pedometer: 8 milesRead more
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Overbays All Over Europe Chris and Tonya Overbay
Day 7 | Florence, Italy
July 11, 2015 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C
Visit: Medici Chapel - two structures at the Basilica of San Lorenzo, Florence, dating from the 16th and 17th centuries, and built as extensions to Brunelleschi's 15th-century church, with the purpose of celebrating the Medici family, patrons of the church and Grand Dukes of Tuscany. The "New Sacristy" was designed by Michelangelo.

Visit: Uffizi Gallery - an art museum located in Florence, and is one of the oldest and most famous art museums in the world.

Visit: Florence's Cathedral, the Duomo - a vast Gothic structure built on the site of the 7th century church of Santa Reparata. Florence's cathedral is the 4th largest in the world, after St. Peter's in Rome, St. Paul's in London and the Duomo in Milan.

Visit: Baptistery of St. John - The exterior of the Baptistery is currently undergoing restoration which should be completed by early September 2015. We could pretty much only see The Gates of Paradise. These were the front door/entrance and they received their name by Michelangelo who is believed to have exclaimed: "they are so beautiful that they would be perfect for the gates of paradise". The doors consist of 10 rectangular panels, displayed in two lines. They depict scenes of the Old Testament from left to right and from top to bottom.

Visit: Accademia Gallery - or "Gallery of the Academy of Florence", is the second most popular art museum in Florence and is home of Michelangelo's sculpture 'David'. What a magnificent piece of work.

Lunch: Bondi (There Is A Difference)
Dinner: Subway
Snacks: Marco Ottaviani Gourmet Gelato; Cannoli

Temp: High 92 / Low 77
Pedometer: 5.3 milesRead more
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Overbays All Over Europe Chris and Tonya Overbay
Day 8 | Florence to Pisa, Italy
July 12, 2015 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C
On the train again....Haha.
11:00 a.m. train to Pisa, Italy. Only a 50 minute ride.

Walked from train station to our hotel, Relais Centro Storico. After Chris took a nap (hahaha), we decided to head toward the main attraction, which lead us to our first and only visit:

Visit: Piazza dei Miracoli or Square of Miracles - this is where the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the cathedral, baptistery and graveyard (Camposanto) form the city's main attraction. Fun times watching people pose in front of the tower. And of course we had our fair share of photo taking too. :D We also climbed the helicoidal marble stairway composed of 293 steps all the way to the top of the tower. Beautiful views.

Fun day! :D

Lunch: Trattoria da Cucciolo
Dinner: Pisa Pizza Picnic :)
Snacks: Gelato

Temp: High 88 / Low 68
Pedometer: 7.02Read more
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Overbays All Over Europe Chris and Tonya Overbay
Day 9 | Cinque Terre, Italy
July 13, 2015 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C
11:42 a.m. train ride for an hour and twenty minutes to Cinque Terre.

The Cinque Terre is a string of centuries-old seaside villages on the rugged Italian Riviera coastline. There are five villages here that date from the early medieval period. Monterosso, the oldest, was founded in 643 AD, when beleaguered hill dwellers moved down to the coast to escape from invading barbarians. Riomaggiore came next, purportedly established in the 8th century by Greek settlers fleeing persecution in Byzantium. The others are Vernazza, Corniglia and Manarola. Much of what remains in the villages today dates from the late High Middle Ages, including several castles and a quintet of illustrious parish churches.

In each of the 5 towns, colorful houses and ancient vineyards cling to steep terraces, fishing boats bob in harbors and trattorias turn out seafood specialties along with the Liguria region’s most famous dish, pesto.

There’s not a museum in sight, just sun, sea, sand (well, pebbles), wine, swimming, hiking, and pure, unadulterated Italy. It was magnifico!

Lunch: Bogni Eden
Dinner: Il Porticciolo
Snacks: Nectarines, Gelato

Temp: High 84 / Low 73
Pedometer: 7 milesRead more
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Overbays All Over Europe Chris and Tonya Overbay
Day 10 | Pisa to Barcelona, Spain
July 14, 2015 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C
On to another country. We spent lots of time in Italy and absolutely loved it. We are boarding the plane from Pisa (12:30 pm) and heading out to Barcelona, Spain. New country, new adventure.

Settled into the hotel (Confortel) and went out for a stroll to the beach and around the town. Super crowded! Fun to people watch.

Came back and washed clothes in the bathtub and went to bed.

Late Lunch/Dinner: Bar Centro
Snacks: None

Temp: High 90 / Low 75
Pedometer: 7.72 milesRead more
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Overbays All Over Europe Chris and Tonya Overbay
Day 11 | Barcelona, Spain
July 15, 2015 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C
Well, we slept in late. Haha. Got a late start to the day...we decided to take two bus tours around the city of Barcelona (approx. 4.5 hours). We got to get an idea of what we really want to see for the next day.

After riding around, we just walked around town for a bit...walked down La Rambla and then stopped in for some Tapas at El Viejo Pop. Then we went back to the hotel to catch more zzzzzz's.

Lunch: McDonald's (booooo)
Dinner: El Viejo Pop
Snacks: Gelato

Temp: High 90 / Low 77
Pedometer: 5.5 milesRead more
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Overbays All Over Europe Chris and Tonya Overbay
Day 12 | Barcelona, Spain
July 16, 2015 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C
Good morning, Barcelona!

We are up and at 'em, heading up the mountain to Tibidabo: a mountain overlooking Barcelona. At 1679 feet, it is the tallest mountain in the Serra de Collserola with spectacular views over the city and the surrounding coastline. On top, you will find the Sagrat Cor church and adjacent Tibidabo Amusement Park (opened in 1899). The park is one of the oldest in the world that is still functioning. Most of the original rides, some of which date to the turn of the 20th century, are still in use. Prominent among these is the 1928 Red Aeroplane ride, a single car carousel giving the impression of flight above the city, a novelty at the time. Riders board a replica of the aircraft that first flew from Barcelona to Madrid.

We had our own little hot dog & Coke picnic at Tibidabo...courtesy of Oscar Meyer! So American. Haha. It felt right to eat that at an amusement park. ;) Plus, I had to have a Magnum Ice Cream out of the vending machine.

After walking around a while, we decided to head back down the mountain to visit a few more places:

#1) Park Güell: a public park system composed of gardens and architectonic elements located on Carmel Hill, in Barcelona, and is one of the major works of architect Antoni Gaudí in Barcelona. It's like Wizard of Oz meets Dr. Suess. Learn more: www.parkguell.cat/en/

#2) Sagrada Família: a large Roman Catholic church in Barcelona designed by Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí. Gaudi started in 1883 and worked 43 years on the temple until 1926 (until his unexpected death). Work continues and won't be completed until 2026! Shew! This place definitely left me breathless AND speechless. Learn more: www.sagradafamilia.org/en/

After viewing these magnificent places, we decided to pick an alleyway and try and find a place to eat. We did! Cantina La Mexicana: Excellent mexican food. :D

Temp: Hi 86 / Lo 73
Pedometer: 8.5 milesRead more
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Overbays All Over Europe Chris and Tonya Overbay
Day 13 | Barcelona to Madrid, Spain
July 17, 2015 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C
Time to hope on the train to another city...here we come Madrid, Spain's central capital.

We had a little grab-n-go breakfast at McDonald's (booooo) in the train station and some coffee for me! :)

Arrived safely, checked in our hostel and went to find dinner. We did...at Asador Real. Learn more: www.asadorreal.com/

Not only did we eat suckling pig and fries, we also met two of the most wonderful people in this restaurant: Christopher and Javier. They were celebrating Christopher's birthday. After dinner, we decided to hang out with them for more chat time. We headed on over to La Botilleria for some coffee and drinks.

After a few hours of good conversation, we headed back to the hostel but stopped by Chocolateria San Gines, one of the most popular places in Madrid for churros with chococlate since 1894. Learn more: chocolateriasangines.com

Goodnight.

Temp: Hi 86 / Lo 75
Pedometer: 2 milesRead more
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Overbays All Over Europe Chris and Tonya Overbay
Day 14 | Madrid, Spain
July 18, 2015 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C
Slept late. :Just the Tip" traveling wears you out. Haha.

Since it is pretty much lunch time when we got up, we decided to attempt to get in at the Guinness Book of World Records oldest restaurant in the world, Botin! We did. Botin was in 1725 and is a benchmark in traditional cuisine in Madrid. Its specialties are suckling pig and lamb roasted in the old Castilian way, in the original wood-fired oven dating back to 1725. The filet mignon was delicious and so was the Sangria.

After lunch we walked around town seeing all the landmarks and then ended up at the Royal Palace of Madrid - the official residence of the Spanish Royal Family, but is only used for state ceremonies. Beautiful palace. The coolest part may have been the Royal Armoury. Before he died, King Phillip II ordered that the collection not be sold, which is now one of the jewels of Spanish Historical Heritage. I snuck a few pics of it...absolutely chilling.

We headed back into to the main part of town to have dinner with Christopher and Javi again. They took us to El Tinterillo De Malaga. This is a neat little seafood place where you get an auction, too. The shyster: auction and proclamation of fried fish and grilled meats. Fun! Fun!

After dinner, Christopher and Javi took us for the "best Mojitos" they've had at a cute little cafe called En Busca del Tiempo (In Search of Time) and apparently we found it there because we chatted until around 3am. Lol. Guess we'll be sleeping in again....

...Goodnight

Temp: Hi 93 / Lo 69
Pedometer: 5 milesRead more
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Overbays All Over Europe Chris and Tonya Overbay
Day 15 | Madrid, Spain
July 19, 2015 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C
Yes, we slept in......HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CHRIS!!!!

Once again, it was lunch time when we got started. Haha. We had a fun day already planned for his birthday.

First of all, we found a Taco Bell here in Madrid and decided to order some "to go" for a picnic at the Plaza de España. This park-like square dates back to the 18th century and is surrounded by two of the city's largest buildings, a large fountain, and a stone & bronze statue of Cervantes on horseback, the great figure of Spanish literature known for writing "Don Quixote".

After our picnic/birthday party...we took a long walk, taking in the sights: Puerta de Alcala (Neo-classical monument near the city center); Parque del Buen Retiro (one of the largest parks of the city); Punto de Información Turística de la Plaza de Cibeles (Offices of Tourism)....until we reached our final destination...

PLAZA DE TOROS!!! Time for a bullfight or six! Lol. The "Las Ventas" Bullfighting (Plaza de Toros de Las Ventas) is the most famous bullring of Spain and has the best matadors! It was so neat being part of such a legendary tradition. I won't go in to great detail about this event, but I will say we were shocked with the first bull and then we got used to what was happening. To sum it up, it was the most intense, bloody, gory, thrilling, courageous, passionate spectacle we have ever seen. Well, time for dinner...

...all that bull made us crave some meat! Haha. We took a train back to our square and walked around until we found a burger place called "The Good Burger" or "TGB"...guess what? IT WAS GOOD!! Best burger we've had in a long time.

Goodnight Madrid.

Temp: Hi 93 / Lo 70
Pedometer: 8.75 milesRead more
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Overbays All Over Europe Chris and Tonya Overbay
Day 16 | A Stop in Toledo, Spain
July 20, 2015 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 32 °C
Well, it's travel day once again. However, this time we are making a little pit stop in one of Chris' classmates, Jesus, hometown of Toledo, Spain. So, we hopped on the train and headed from Madrid over to Toledo where we had about 4 hours to spend so Jesus, and his girlfriend Tanja, took us on a very quick tour.

Toledo is a city 44 miles south of Madrid set on a hill above the plains of Castilla-La Mancha in central Spain. The city was built in Roman times (192 BC) and is extremely well fortified, with walls and the Tagus River nearly surrounding the city. The city has a 150° panoramic view of the surrounding areas. It was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1986 for its extensive cultural and monumental heritage and historical co-existence of Christian, Muslim and Jewish cultures. Toledo also has a history in the production of bladed weapons. Moviemakers in Hollywood often get the swords used in movies from the artesans in Toledo. For centuries, the metal-smiths of Toledo have made swords and knives, and numerous shops in town attest to the craftsmanship. I just had to buy a sword from Toledo; however, mine is only about an 4 inches long. Haha. It is good for a souvenir though. What a very interesting and neat little town covered in so much history. 4 hours is just not enough, but might be for now considering we walked a lot of hills in almost 100 degree weather! Shew! I'm sure we'll visit again. :)

We hopped back on our train and headed on to our next destination/country: Lisbon, Portugal. We arrived late in the evening and had enough time to check into the hotel, walk around a little and find some dinner. We decided on a little restaurant outside of the Museum De Cerveja (Beer Museum) that had some nice ambiance and music compliments of the guitarists on the street. After dinner...we headed on back for some decent shut-eye.

Goodnight Lisbon. See you tomorrow.

Temp: Hi 98 / Lo 75
Pedometer: 9 milesRead more
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Overbays All Over Europe Chris and Tonya Overbay
Day 17 | Lisbon, Portugal
July 21, 2015 in Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C
Surprise, surprise...we actually got up this morning and had the "free" breakfast at the hotel. That is definitely a major accomplishment for Team Overbay. Haha.

We went back to the room to get some sort of [Overbay] plan for the day, which usually never gets finalized. Haha. Anyway, we started our walk and ended up on Rua Nova do Carvalho (the Pink Street), a pedestrian street located in the neighbourhood of Cais do Sodré. For decades, it has been considered Lisbon’s Red Light District: sailors, thieves, drifters, guys looking for problems, and of course… prostitutes. Now with the efforts of the urban rehabilitation “Pink Street” project in 2011, everything has changed for good. The edginess and decadence on which Lisbon thrives still remains and is highlighted by dominant pink pavement, used on the entire street. Live music venues, burlesque clubs and tapas bars began to pop up with astonishing frequency, and soon thereafter, Cais do Sodré had upstaged Bairro Alto as Lisbon's most happening nightlife district.

We finally arrived at our place for lunch: Macado De Ribeira. The now indoor food market's roots can be traced back to the 13th century, and it was once one of the most famous fish markets in Europe. Many of its traders have been selling fruit, vegetables, meat, fish and flowers there for decades and now brings together some of the city’s most loved names in food and drink. I picked Café de São Bento: generally acknowledged to have the city’s best sirloin steak. It was delicious!

After lunch, we hopped on a train and headed down to the Belem area of Lisbon. Here we walked along the avenue and go to see the Padrão dos Descobrimentos (Statue built in 1940 to mark 500 years since Henry the Navigator's death); the Belem Tower (Landmark medieval fortified tower on tiny river island with rooftop terrace offering estuary views); and Jerónimos Monastery (Late Gothic Manueline-style monastery housing an archaeology & maritime museums in its wings).

Finally...arriving at our dessert destination: Pastéis de Belém: the only true 'Pasteis de Belém' contrive, by means of a scrupulous selection of ingredients, to offer even today the flavour of the time-honored "secret recipe" Portuguese sweetmaking. The natas (Portuguese custard tart) were lip-smacking good!! Learn more: www.pasteisdebelem.pt/history_EN.pdf

PS: We're gonna weight 300 pounds when we return from this trip!!!!

Afterwards, being too full of food and dessert to walk, we took a cab up to Rossio Square: created in the Middle Ages, it is the most lively and beautiul square in Lisbon. It is adorned by the Statue of Dom Pedro IV, two monumental Baroque fountains ( In 1889) , National Theater, and Rossio Station (Lisbon's central railway built in 1887).

And did I mention the Portuguese Pavement in Lisbon!?!?! It's incredible! I can't describe the whole thing, but you should definitely read about it here:
http://www.thebarefootnomad.com/europe/portugue…
You can see it in alot of my pictures. Just amazing...and it's EVERYWHERE!

It's been a long day...Goodnight Lisbon.

Temp: Hi 82 / Lo 68
Pedometer: 6.5 milesRead more
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Overbays All Over Europe Chris and Tonya Overbay
Day 18 | Lisbon, Portugal
July 22, 2015 in Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C
Breakfast: Hotel
Lunch: Pastelaria Pomona
Snacks: Fruit Cup, Cotton Candy
Dinner: Navegadoors
Snacks: Sao Nicolau (natas)

Temp: Hi 82 / Lo 66
Pedometer: 5 miles
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Overbays All Over Europe Chris and Tonya Overbay
Day 19 | Lisbon to Porto, Portugal
July 23, 2015 in Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C
Breakfast: Hotel
Dinner: Churrascaria Icarai
Snacks: Café Luso (chocolate cake and banana crepe and pineapple juice)

Temp: Hi 82 / Lo 64
Pedometer: 5.8 miles
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Overbays All Over Europe Chris and Tonya Overbay
Day 20 | Porto, Portugal
July 24, 2015 in Portugal ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C
Lunch: Presto Pizza
Dinner: Subway

Temp: Hi 71 / Lo 60
Pedometer: 5.2 miles
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Overbays All Over Europe Chris and Tonya Overbay
Day 21 | Porto to Paris, France
July 25, 2015 in France ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C
Lunch:

Temp: Hi 69 / Lo 57
Pedometer: 4 miles
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Trip end
July 25, 2015