Having led three Global Builders teams to Romania, I decided to give their only other European outpost a try. I’d heard a lot about this particular project in Tadim, a six-unit apartment renovation, but also about many a volunteer’s love for the accommodations at Domus House. It’s a unique setup. Continue reading
Porto was the first stop on my first visit to Portugal in 2015. I’m happy to report that almost nothing has changed, it is as perfect and pretty as ever. This is how I spent three days with my friends. Continue reading
Less than an hour flight from Cluj, Romania and less than an hour drive from Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia, where I’d just been is the city once the capital of the Hapsburg Empire, the stately city in a ballgown, Vienna. Continue reading
Beware of Portugal. She will steal your breath with her beauty, captivate your mind with her melodic language, seduce your heart with sumptuous food and wine, while perched innocently on the sea ever scanning the westward horizon. Perhaps it was that very view into the vast unknown that first drew her master navigators into the … Continue reading
As usual, the week has flown by. Today we had to say goodbye to our village, Celeste and Diana, our amazing construction supervisors Rugerio and Francisco, and tomorrow we will have to say goodbye to our host coordinator Florbela. She has been with us every step of the way and has made our stay here … Continue reading
Having spent the day yesterday in Regua, our batteries were fully charged for a full work day working on Celeste’s house. We awoke to rain and heavy cloud cover; it was cool and perfect build weather since the precipitation quit as we were arriving on site. It’s been heartwarming to see Celeste and her daughters … Continue reading
Portugal’s Duoro Valley is the oldest regulated wine making region in Europe, preceding Bordeaux. Sorry France. Wine estates in Portugal are known as Quintas and as our cultural excursion we visited one of the oldest. The bus ride from Amarate to Regua took about an hour and the views of the hills, valleys and towns … Continue reading
By the end of day three we can usually see a lot of progress made on the house and this build is no different. There are two areas of the house out team is helping to construct so far; the septic system and insulating the walls. Thankfully the pit behind the house for the septic … Continue reading
Light fog and mist covering the surrounding hills disguised our town this morning in what would have been a mystery had we not seen it yesterday. The temperature was about 65 degrees F and none of us minded the cooler weather. We happily resumed our work and made significant progress on the house. I have … Continue reading
Wow. I have been charmed off of my feet. This country is THE most gorgeous have EVER seen. Around every corner beauty awaits. It is like being in a real life fairy tale. We find ourselves walking around with our jaws open, camera lenses shuttering. Our little corner of Portugal is the town of Amarante. … Continue reading
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