We plan to go to Porto, Marrakech, and Barcelona and will have many flights to book!

The 5-star Pestana Vintage Porto Hotel & World Heritage Site is romantically situated along the Douro River, right on the historic Ribeira Square. From the Pestana Porto, cruises on the River Douro depart right in front of the hotel. The Torre dos Clérigos Bell Tower and the Porto Cathedral are less than a 10-minute stroll away. União de Freguesias do Centro is a great choice for travellers interested in architecture, city walks and wine.

Spend a full day in the Douro region, UNESCO world heritage site, and experience its picturesque scenery. You will be guided to the award-winning Quinta do Tedo wine estate, surrounded by terraced vineyards that climb high above the Douro river, to enjoy premium wine tastings. Quinta do Bomfim is another unmissable winery with its own gorgeous surroundings and wines of excellent quality. The tours include a delicious lunch at Pinhão in a traditional restaurant where you can enjoy delicacies of the Portuguese cuisine and a cruise through the heart of Douro River.

Petiscos are small plates, originally served between meals, often to accompany a drink. They can be cold, such as mixed olives and cheese, or hot like calamares (fried squid). Porto’s version often includes dishes like octopus salad, chickpeas and codfish, fried garlic shrimp or typical Portuguese sausages like alheira, morcela or chouriço.

Medina is an ancient Aramaic word meaning city, and in Marrakech it simply denotes the oldest part of town. It's a warren of small winding alleys, souks (marketplaces) and squares, with shops, houses, mosques and hammams crowded cheek-by-jowl in a space little larger than Soho in Central London. So if you want to have an authentic experience when holidaying in Marrakech, in the most atmospheric part of the city, a hotel or guesthouse in the Marrakech Medina is the best place to stay.

Windswept Essaouira is a refreshing change from Marrakech’s warm desert hues and dust. This ancient fortress city of whitewashed walls and blue-painted shutters is only two and a half hours from Marrakech. Essaouira’s history as a vital Moroccan trading port is best captured while walking along the Medina—an UNESCO World Heritage site of Atlantic seawalls and imposing ramparts.

The UNESCO-listed Kasbah Ait Benhaddou is one of Morocco’s most impressive historic landmarks and a popular film location for Hollywood movies. Sculpted from traditional mud bricks and fortified by walls of dark red pisé, this kasbah lies on the old trans-Saharan trade route, at the border of the High Atlas Mountains and Sahara Desert.

A world of Modernista architecture surrounds Hotel Indigo® Barcelona - Plaza Catalunya, including Antoni Gaudí’s iconic Casa Batlló and La Pedrera. Stroll around our neighbourhood and at every turn you’ll see exteriors of townhouses, bakeries, markets and pharmacies flaunting the intricate floral decoration and curving lines characteristic of the style. The movement reached its peak at the turn of the 20th century, when Barcelona had grown beyond of its medieval walls. Its wealthiest inhabitants commissioned new mansion homes in the elegant, grid-like streets of the burgeoning Eixample district. Today, Gaudí’s creative spirit is reflected in the vivid colours and close attention to detail of our boutique hotel, while our neighbourhood is home to the city’s chicest shops and restaurants.

The meaning of the Sagrada Familia is communicated through the form and expressivity of its architecture and the iconography of its sculpture.The various architectural elements are imbued with hierarchically organised Christian symbolism. Thus, each of its 18 towers has a special significance. In the middle is the tower dedicated to Jesus Christ and around it are four towers representing the Gospels; the books containing the life and teachings of Jesus. The tower above the apse, crowned by a star, represents his mother the Virgin Mary, while the remaining 12 towers represent the 12 Apostles, witnesses to his words and deeds.

The details highlighted in Casa Batlló show famous Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí at his best. Of all the Gaudí apartments in Barcelona, this is probably the most recognized (it's also a UNESCO World Heritage site). Sitting down the street from Casa Milà, Casa Batlló is known for its vibrant colors, intricate tile work and skeletal terraces. The unconventional façade is inspired by the legend of St. George, whose story is famous for slaying a dragon to save the princess. The roof in particular depicts the dragon's scaly back while the skeletal balconies and boney windows are said to represent the dragon's previous victims (the legend goes that someone would be sacrificed every day so the dragon wouldn't take the whole town). After you've taken the time to absorb the monstrous amount of detail used on the outside of the building, stop inside to tour the equally eye-catching interiors, including the Noble Floor, which was once home to the Batlló family. With your ticket, you're also able to access the roof to check out Gaudí's admirable mosaic work up close, including those on the dragon's back and the roof's many colorful chimneys.

Restaurant chefs, office workers, and tourists all stroll amid the seemingly endless bounty of this hallowed market. Discover glistening fruits and vegetables, gleaming fish counters, dangling smoked meats, pyramids of pungent cheeses, barrels full of olives and marinated peppers, and chocolate truffles and other sweets. Scattered about, a handful of popular tapas bars serve up delectable morsels.

New Jersey ain't cheap...

Food, litter, toys, vet visits, and catsitting for our wonderful cats Umami and Yuzu

Discover Porto’s traditional food and drink on a guided culinary tour of vibrant cafés and markets. You’ll explore this coastal city with a foodie guide, learning about Portuguese culture as you taste a wide range of treats. Try regional specialties such as tapas made with local pork or seafood, freshly baked tarts, coffee, beer, and, of course, port wine—all while getting a unique tour of the historic city.

Ask tripeiros where the party after midnight is at and they’ll point you towards Galerias, where Porto’s hottest nightlife happens on three pumping streets: Rua Galeria de Paris, Rua Cândido dos Reis and Rua Conde de Vizela. Swinging from Parisian boho to urban-cool cocktail bars and alternative haunts to born-again bookshops, Galerias is as busy as a beehive at weekends, with fun spilling out onto the streets. A bar crawl is the way to go, with Galeria de Paris making a fun starting point.

Discover Marrakech’s verdant oasis from the top of a camel on this sunset camel ride through the Palmeraie, a huge palm grove a short drive from the city. After being picked up at your Marrakech hotel, you will head to the Palmeraie for your scenic camel ride experience, then you’ll visit a Berber house and have snack and mint tea.

Experience a Moroccan spice market and the height of the hubbub at Marrakech’s central square, Djemaa El Fna, on a 3.5-hour food tour. With a food-loving guide, learn about Morocco’s exotic spices and flavors; watch buyers and sellers haggle at a meat market; and sample culinary specialities such as fluffy Berber pancakes and ghoulal, a soup made with snails. Finish with an authentic Moroccan dinner surrounded by the dizzying colors, sounds and sights of Djemaa El Fna.

The world-renowned cooking workshops at La Maison Arabe are open to hotel guests and those staying elsewhere in Marrakech. At the half-day classes, one learns the secrets of Moroccan cuisine, considered the most refined on the African continent. The workshops are run by a dada (traditional Moroccan chef), a translator (French/English), and include a visit to a nearby spice market and communal bread oven. After the workshop, during which every participant has worked alongside the dada at his or her own workstation, one dines on the delicious meal that's been prepared. The cooking workshops at La Maison Arabe have been praised by the leading international travel and food press, including The New York Times Sunday Travel Section, Travel + Leisure, Condé Nast Traveler, Saveurs, and Virtuoso Life.