The Road Not Taken

So we started today by trying our legs in a 5K run.  The section of the Oak Leaf Trail that meanders through Wauwatosa beside the Menomonee River is a smooth paved path.  It was the first time that we got out and ran together (my first 5K was "Storming the Bastille" with the guys last summer) and it was the first sunny, warm day that we've had in Milwaukee in a long time.  There were plenty of people taking advantage of the warm weather, and we were soon mixed together with bikers, joggers, walkers, and dog-walkers.  The loop around and back took us through the heart of Tosa, along the parking lot for the Farmers' Market, over the railroad tracks and wooden bridge, and past the tables of unsympathetic beer connoisseurs at Cafe Hollander.

 But let's stay on topic.  I'm sitting here now, resting my sore thighs and researching all of the possible ways to travel from Salamanca, Spain to Porto, Portugal.  (Why is it called "Oporto" in Portuguese and merely "Porto" in English?  Who are we to shorten the name of their city?  Hmmm...)  I'm using my favorite travel guide series, Lonely Planet.  It was an incomparable resource for my three years in Turkey and my side vacation to Egypt.  Susan and I have utilized the knowledge of Lonely Planet on our trips to the Czech Republic, Morocco, Ireland, Greece, and states in the Pacific Northwest and the Atlantic Northeast.  These guides are chock full of useful information for people who want to know the real, non-touristic areas of a country as well as the well-traveled pathways.  There is so much potential in the road less-traveled!  I just read that we can take a series of buses from Salamanca to Oporto through beautiful historic cities of Ciudad Rodrigo, Guarda, and Viseu, each of which is worth exploration and attention.  Another alternative would be to catch one 4-hour bus over the border to Oporto so we could spend more time in fewer cities.  Decisions, decisions...  Which road will Susan and I choose for our travels?  Keep reading and you'll!