Ok, bear with me here lol I'm just stoked about my upcoming trip to Portugal in June. I'm actually leaving the US on June 9, but it's an overnight trip so I'll touch down in Lisbon June 10th (which will be a national holiday there) and will be there for 3 weeks. My parents have been living there with my grandmother the past 4 years, so I've only seen my dad once since then and haven't seen my mom in that long, so it'll be a much needed reunion. I was 14 the last time I was there (literally half a lifetime ago), so it'll be cool to go back as an adult. More importantly, it'll be a much needed break from my job, which is really grinding me down.
I'll be trying to develop a couple of photo projects while I'm there, mainly a sort of documentary look at life in my parents' region in the northern part of the country. With only three weeks, I'm not sure how much I can get done, but it'll mostly be for personal usage anyway. The most important thing is to get some R&R in and show my wife a bit of my cultural heritage.
Anyway,for anyone looking to vacation, I'd recommend checking out Portugal, it may not be as glamorous as France, Italy, or Spain, but it has plenty of history and culture. Check out their tourism site www.visitportugal.com