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You know I'm a huge proponent of traveling with Kids so, when the Healthcare Marketer's Exchange asked me to write an article about our recent family trip to Portugal, I was ecstatic! 
Not only did it allow me to relive our trip all over again but...oh just read it and let me know what you think! 
Portugal Paradise with Jacob the Explorer

As Someone Who Is Obsessed with

Travel and Food, I was really interested in last night's Piers Morgan interview with Anthony Bourdain about Bourdain's new CNN show "Parts Unknown".
What I was shocked to hear is the amount of Americans who are without a Passport; according to Bourdain, only 30% of Americans own Passports as compared to 60% of the rest of the developed world.

Shame on us America and no wonder we are regraded as ignorant and narrow-minded in other parts of the world!
Get a Passport, chart a path to discovery and go see and taste the world! and...take your kids with you!  
Jacob has had his passport since he was 6 months old and I will guess that at 8, has been to more countries than the average American adult.

Not to mention, can probably give Bourdain a run for his money when it comes to eating crazy unusual food...can you say Barnacles!?

As for Bourdain, it has been nearly one full year since chef/author/badass Anthony Bourdain announced he'd be leaving his successful Travel Channel show "No Reservations" for a totally new series on CNN.  Well that series is Parts Unknown and it premiers on CNN this upcoming Sunday night, April 14, at 9pm EST/8pm CST.

Unlike "No Reservations." the new show will branch out from eating 24/7 to include sampling the destination and culture of countries previously out of reach or out of budget for Boudain. 

The concept is simple, "Anthony Bourdain Parts Unknown takes you across the globe to discover exotic destinations while sharing Anthony's unique perspective and insights."

It may call to mind what The Travel Channel attempted with the No Reservations Bourdain spin-off,"The Layover," except thanks to Anthony's love of Twitter, @PartsUnknownCNN, his fans already known that he's gone further afield than ever before, tweeting from places like Libya, Morocco, Granada (Spain), Peru, the Congo and Rwanda while shooting for "Parts Unknown". 

Can you say this guy has the best job in the world?

I can and already psyched for the Congo episodes that Bourdain described as "Most difficult, grinding, frustrating rewarding shoot ever. A Dream fulfilled."

Now how to turn my love of travel and all of our Adventures into a show?  Hmmm...

The Portugal spreadsheet is

growing and unfortunately, so is my suitcase!!!
This time next week we will be arriving into Lisbon or, as the Portuguese call it, Lisboa and I can't wait to take in this magical city...

A bit about our first stop as we embark on a 2 week odyssey of Portugal...
Lisbon is the capital and largest city of Portugal with the urban area extending beyond the city limits and a a population of over 3 million making it the 11th most populous urban area in the European Union. 

Not only is Lisbon the westernmost largest city in Europe, it is also its westernmost capital and the only one along the Atlantic coast...it lies in the western Iberian Peninsula on the Atlantic Ocean and the River Tagus (Tejo).

Recognized as a global city because of its importance in finance, commerce, media, entertainment, arts, international trade, education, and tourism, Lisbon is one of the major economic centers on the continent, with a growing financial sector and the second largest container port on Europe's Atlantic coast.

The city is the 7th most-visited in Southern Europe, after Istanbul, Rome, Barcelona, Madrid, Athens and Milan and I'm happy to say that I've been to 4 and, after this trip, 5 of them!
Lisbon is one of the oldest cities in the world, and the oldest city in Western Europe, predating other modern European capitals such as London, Paris and Rome by hundreds of years.  Julius Caesar made it a municipium called Felicitas Julia, adding to the name Olissipo.  Ruled by a series of Germanic tribes from the fifth century, it was captured by the Moors in the eighth century.  In 1147, the Crusaders under Afonso Henriques reconquered the city and since then it has been a major political, economic, and cultural center of Portugal. Once the center of the richest empire in Europe, Lisbon now faces one of the worst financial crises in the EU. But even as it struggles with rising debt and unemployment, it is the home to two sites listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site: Belém Tower...
and Jerónimos Monastery...
that I'm hoping we get to visit on this trip.  Furthermore, in 1994, Lisbon was the European Capital of Culture and in 1998 organised an Expo '98 (1998 Lisbon World Exposition).

Aside from it's beauty, Lisbon enjoys a Mediterranean climate with warm winters and hot summers and although it won't be beach weather while we're there, temps will be in the 70's making it ideal for sightseeing...

shopping...

Eating...
more eating...

and of course drinking...

Ahhh, I feel faint just thinking about all the fun times we're going to have...must rest!

Adeus para agora

Portugal

Have you been?
What should we see...

What should we do...

and most importantly...
What should we eat?

Obridaga!