Greetings all and welcome to our 2018 summer world tour blog! As you may have heard we are moving from Pittsburgh (ðŸ˜) to Tacoma WA (😀) and decided to make a trip of it. We will be spending the better part of the next two months making our way over the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific oceans with children in tow. Brilliance? Madness? Brilliant maddness? Join us as we find out together through all the tantrums, vomiting, diaper accidents, and jet lag.
Let’s take a look at the game plan for the summer:
A. Pittsburgh
B. Copenhagen (June 22-28)
C. Lisbon (June 28 – July 5)
D. Guimaṛes & Porto (July 5 РJuly 11)
E. Barcelona (July 11-July 24)
F. Hyderabad (July 24 – August 24)
G. Hong Kong (August 24 – August 29)
H. Seattle & Tacoma (Arrive August 29)
A. Pittsburgh
We begin our journey by departing our beloved Pittsburgh and will be moving out of our apartment the day before our flight.
Highlights:
– Final dinner at our (Soren’s) favorite Ethiopian restaurant
– Final breakfast at our (Swathi’s) favorite breakfast spot
B. Copenhagen (June 22-28)
Our dear friends Pedja, Ditte, Oskar (5) and lil’ Inge (2) will be graciously hosting us in Copenhagen for our first three days of our journey. From there we will make our way through the Danish heartland of Odense to Vejle and ultimately to the original Legoland in Billund. A quick trip back to Copenhagen and we fly out for Portugal.
Highlights:
– Apparently there is an semi-autonomous state within Copenhagen. Who knew?
– Carousels, music and playgrounds at  Tivoli Gardens
– Hanging out with The Little Mermaid at the Hans Christian Anderson house
C. Lisbon (June 28 – July 5)
Once we get to Portugal, we will meet up with our friends Rheka, Adi and Arya (3) as well as Roby, Ashley and Tony (2). After a few days beachside in Cascais (pronounced Kush-kaish or Cashcaish) outside Lisbon, we will move into the city and do proper tourist things: tram rides, porcelain tiles, pasteis and, of course, watching a bunch of fish swimming around in the giant aquarium.
Highlights:
– Wandering around the narrow medina-esque alleys of the Alfama
– Sintra for fairy tale castles
– Time Out Market to feed
D. Guimaṛes & Porto (July 5 РJuly 11)
Hopping in a rental car (yikes!) and heading north to explore some more off the beaten path locations. Not super un-beaten mind you. Just more like moderately beaten. Guimarães is a medieval city where we will stay in a monastery for a few days. The city will also be our launchpad to explore the terraced vineyards and bucolic landscape of Duoro valley. Finally, we will head to Porto and attempt to live out the NYT’s “36 Hours in…” feature on the city.
Highlights:
– Staying in a Pousada (converted monastery)
– Quintas (vineyards) in the Douro
– Petiscos in Porto (Portugese tapas)
E. Barcelona (July 11-July 24)
Our temporary home in Barcelona
After out trekking about in Portugal, we’ll settle down and pretend to live Barcelona for a couple weeks. There will be a guest appearance by our friend Isha, who now lives in Switzerland. We do not really have much planned specifically, but this should be more about connecting with the city than seeing the major sights. By the way, Barcelona was where I started my very first solo traveling abroad almost exactly 12 years ago! On that trip, I slept on park benches, got locked into Park Güell, and hopped on a bus to run with the bulls. I expect fewer adventures this time.
Highlights:
– We got reservations at Tickets!!!!
– The fantastic Gaudi buildings and parks of course
– Jamon iberico DROOL🤤
Bonus content: me in a bull ring from my first Spain visit
F. Hyderabad (July 24 – August 24)
From Europe, we will continue east and make our way to Hyderabad to spend time with family. Many idlis will be eaten. Primarily by Soren. The adults have big ambitions for self-improvement projects like exercising, getting Tacoma business in order, and studying. More likely, there will be lots of biryani eating and subsequent napping (this is generally what Swathi and Soren like to do). Depending on our energy we may venture out to Goa or Kerala, TBD.
Highlights:
– Celebrating our 5 year anniversary back where it all started
– Going to the mall. No seriously, we will be going a LOT
– Biriyani the right way at Paradise Biryani
G. Hong Kong (August 24 – August 29)
I’ll be honest. We haven’t really planned much of anything in Hong Kong. Our AirBnB host just cancelled on us, so technically we don’t even have a place to stay yet. We are counting on our friend and HK resident Adam to point us in the right direction. Adam, we are counting on you!
Highlights:
– Guess we can discover as we go, but at baseline I expect good dimsum and maybe some boat rides around the bay
H. Seattle & Tacoma (Arrive August 29)
Highlights:
– Coffee…glorious coffee ☕
– Proximity to Canada if things get (more) out of hand over here
– Embracing my inner mountain man with beards and flannel