To the beach!

Portugal has more than 1,114 miles of coastline. Needless to say, but I'll write it regardless - Portugal has a fair number of beaches. Luckily, some of those beaches are within a 20 minute drive of our apartment. We visited amazing beaches in Southeast Asia, but we have never lived in a city with a strong beach culture. When the weather is warm, Lisbon goes to the beach.

One of our most favorite beaches is not the most accessible. It's about 45 minutes from Lisbon near the westernmost point of continental Europe and down a steep trail that drops more than 500 feet from the "parking lot." But it's beautiful.

Hiking back up

Fortunately, there are beaches that are a lot easier to get to all around Lisbon. We often go to the beaches just up the coast from Lisbon, which are always crowded on the weekend and make for great people watching. We also like the beaches on the other side of the Tagus river, which seem to have never-ending stretches of sand.

The beaches that Portugal is most known for are in Portugal's southernmost region, the Algarve. We've made several trips there already and will be going back at least once more with Hillary's family in a couple weeks.

But one of the best things about the beach is having a cold beer in one of the many restaurants to take a break from the sun.

Beaches have become such a part of our life here that it's hard to imagine not having them nearby. We'll be looking for our next post in the coming months, and I certainly hope there are some options with good beaches.