Tandem Boy and Girl: London, Amsterdam, Norway, Portugal, Spain August 2026

An incredible 28 day adventure this year. We decided to mix it up and visit a few big European cities, do a Norwegian cruise, and cycle the Portuguese Camino.

London (3 days)- We spent three days here with Curt and Cindy. Fantastic time. We stayed in a very posh hotel, the Beaumont, in the Mayfair area. Very, very nice place. They had a fantastic bar that was small and very cozy. The bartender, Alessandro, a lovely Italian gentleman, mid 50's and single, was one of the best bartenders we've ever had. He made us THE best martini ever. He was a master technician, measuring absolute everything from ice, to the gin, all with incredible precision. He even added 3 drops of vermouth which I would normally never add. He served it in these beautiful, chilled glasses.

The perfect martini: London No. 3 gin,
two drops of vermouth, stirred
and poured into a chilled glass

Our man, Alessandro

He looks stoic but a sweet man

Dinners were spectacular. You can only imagine the options in London. Night one was at Niju, sushi and kobe beef. Wine was amazing.

Curt and I got invited down to the
wine cellar just behind this hidden bar.

Night two was Indian, at Kricket. Super fun and delicious. But before dinner we did the Beatles Abbey Road Tour.

Maria and Cindy walking Abbey Road crossing

The last night was a Les 110 de Taillevent. They are known for 110 wines by the glass and a 2,000 bottle cellar. This is an downscaled outpost of the 2-star Michelin restaurant in Paris. We literally had the place to ourselves. One of the best dinners and wines in recent memory.

Amsterdam (2 days)- On to Amsterdam via train under the ocean. Non eventful trip and it took all day. In Amsterdam we met up with Curt and Cindy's friends, Mark and Mary, who we have traveled with before. They are lots of fun. They planned the meals here. Night one, a fun Greek small plates restaurant, and night two a disappointing Indonesian place. We did a fun tour of the Heineken brewery.

Surprsingly good Greek wines

Private bar was part of our VIP tour

Fun bar for a night cap

Viking cruise to Norway (8 days)- We boarded our ship around noon. This is only the second cruise Maria and I have ever done. We were a bit apprehensive to say the least, but in the end pleasantly surprised with the ship, food, spirits, and ports. The ship basically skirted the west coast of Denmark to Skagen, then up the western coast of Norway, to Oslo, then Kristiansand, Stavanger, Flam, then Bergen. Some nice port visits especially once we hit the fjords.

Setting sail from Amsterdam

Our Penthouse Jr. suite was fabulous

Our first martini aboard

Our first martini aboard in the main room

One of our fav gins that was
part of the "drinks" program

Incredible line up of aged armagnacs

The magnificent 6

"Birth year" armagnacs. Magnificent.

Skagen Denmark, shopping street

Chef's table dinner

Very nice bone marrow

Just another memorable sunset at sea

The "other" Mark and Mary

Famous ski jump in Oslo

Famous Vigeland Park in Oslo

My favorite human statue

The Royal Palace Oslo

Our favorite ship restaurant, World Cafe

RIB boat ready

Lysefjord

Whiskey Falls

Early morning on a fjord

Yours truly explaining
the wine to our server

Flam

On the train heading up the mountain

Kjosjoffen Falls

The amazing 1 mile zip line
from the top of the mountain. Once we arrived
we cycled 8 miles back to the ship.

Maria, ready to ZIP

Another lovely dinner

Mag 6

Curt, my man

The wines Curt purchased in Denmark.
No corkage on the boat to bring your own wines.

Portuguese Camino de Santiago and Spain (13 days)- We flew from Bergen, Norway via Latvia (a first) to Lisbon, Portugal. This would be our second visit to Lisbon. I had selected a nice hotel, on the Avenida da Liberdade, one of the main streets in Lisbon. We had two nights and since we arrived in the late afternoon day one, it was only time enough to do some adventurous eating and bar hopping.

Our hotel

Hotel restaurant specialized in sushi

Sharish, one of the most famous
Portuguese gins. Excellent.

Researched and found this Nepalese, Indian restaurant.
Unreal food and experience.

The naan and sauces were spectacular

They brought this special Nepalese rum
out for after the meal. Nice.

Comibra and the start of the Camino- We hired a car to take us 2 hours north of Lisbon to Coimbra. This is a famous university town where the top medical school in the country resides. This trip is broken up into two parts; 11 day version starting in Coimbra, and the 7 version, starting in Porto. We joined three others here in Coimbra, and would meet up wtih 13 more in Porto on the shorter version.

Cobbled streets were everywhere in this
country given the age of the towns.

It was an incredibly steep climb up to the college. I
think these stairs were on a 30% incline!

The main medical school campus on top

The view back towards our hotel on
the other side of the river

Beautiful tree lined banks of the river

Our cycling route north to Santiago de Compostela

Coimbra to Averio- The weather was hot when we arrived in Coimbra, 104F. Fortunately it cooled off to the high 80's for our first and one of the longest days of riding, 40 miles and over 2,000 feet of climbing.

Typical terrain but not incredibly photogenic

The famous salt flats of Aveiro

Beautiful Michelin restaurant, but food was disappointing.
I had to call out a bad bottle of wine which management agreed.
Our main guide had little to no wine knowledge.

Beautiful plate, but underwhelming

Averio to Furadouro- A short ride today, 24 miles and 518 feet of climbinng. We visited the salt works, and wow, what an interesting visit. They make the salt different here by using different pools at different levels versus just relying on evaporation. Their technique actually filters the salt making it one of the purest available. Furadouro is a beach town and our hotel was right across the street from the ocean. Super windy but we had an incredible experience meeting a famous fisherman and hearing his story. His daughter ran the small food shack across the street from the hotel and they grilled us amazing fresh sardines paired with a hearty corn bread in the shape of a standard loaf of bread, and local white wine One of the most memorable times we've had on any trip.

Our trusty steed

Salt pools

Our salt guide and one of the few young
people devoted to this craft

Gotta love a gin menu

Armando, the town hero and fisherman

Cool old photos of Armando's father

The incredible fresh grilled sardines and
corn bread. The 8 of us ate 36 of them!

Furodouro to Porto- Another short riding day, 27 miles and 833 feet of climbing. A beautiful ride up the coast to Porto and a fantastic ride along the Douro river into the actual town of Porto. Fun day.

Another one of Portugal's beautiful beaches

Riding along the Douro river into Porto

The famous port houses on the
south side of the river

Stunning hotel entrance, Boeira Garden Hotel

The glass walkway to our room

Porto, no riding- Today our guides had scheduled a city walking tour and a visit to the Ferreira port house. Interesting day.

One of the oldest streets in Porto

Camino arrows were everywhere in town

Interesting cross that signified a Christian
neighborhood even though it was Jewish

Very old wood barrels here

Cool historical posters for the brand

Cable car ride over Porto, Overrated.

Porto to Barcelos- We had 39 miles and 1850 feet of climbing to do today and the skies were threatening rain. We got hammered and holed up in a coffee shop for a half hour before hedading out again to meet the elements. Not many memories of this day.

We would see these signs on occasion
marking the Camino route

Our favorite road surface. We have never
sworn so much when we see it approaching.

The tasty meal was welcome in Barcelos

Barcelos to Ponte de Lima- A short ride today, 23 miles but a hilly 1548 feet of climbing. The weather was beginning to work against us. On and off rain with a massive thunderstorm during the night. But we did enjoy a nice group dinner.

Ponte Lima, Portugal to Baiona, Spain- Our longest ride of the trip, 51miles and 3100 feet of climbing. Today we made a secret transport via a small boat from the Portuguese border to Spain. Tonight we stayed in a magnificent Parador, an old castle. Incredible views.

The infamous "secret" crossing

There's always time for an ice cream

Our boat that housed about 5 bikes

Delicious fresh fish lunch

Our lunch stop perched atop the cliff

Our "castle" at night

Daytime panorama

Beef storage!

Nice charcoal grill

Seafood specialties

Baiona to Pontevedra- We were now in Galicia and it's hilly and weather can be challenging. It was raining hard and we forgot our rain booties at home. So, we decided not to ride. We stayed in another Parador but not nearly as nice as the "castle". But the town was cute and food was great. Unfortunately the weather got ugly and poured.

We found this place in the Michelin Guide

Nice white wine

Croquets are very popular

These tacos were the best dish

This kitchen had only 5 guys stuffed in it,
they really busted out great food.

It was raining so hard that the outdoor cover
didn't help so they let us inside.

Fantastic gin

Pontevedra to Padrón- Big cycling day, 41 miles and 3524 feet of climbing. A very wet day with lots of climbing. Not many photos. Padrón is famous for their peppers which we enjoyed on several occasions.

Picture says it all. The things we sign up to do!

Padrón to Santiago de Compostela- The last day on the bike. Fortunately is was short, only 17 miles, but with 1788 feet of climbing. The weather was on and off rain. It reminded us like the last time we were here after completing the Spanish Camino...RAIN. We were glad to be done.

The cathedral

The ultimate stoker

All of the routes of the Camino

The famous Camino shell signifying all
of many routes that can be
taken on this adventure.

The final shell on the cathedral grounds

Final group shot, all 18 of us, and in the SUN

Final day in Santiago de Compostela- Riding was done so we ventured out to do some eating! The Michelin Guide led us to Asador Gonzaba. Definitely a local place and heaven for meat lovers. We have never seen people eat so much meat as we did in the upscale establishment.