It’s often around this time of year that most of us think about giving to others. The city of Carcassonne organizes a “Gift for All” program that encourages residents to fill a shoebox with presents that shut-ins, homeless people, and even their dogs might appreciate. For the people who help us during the year, Bill likes to take the time to design gift cards, craft the appropriate message, and then print them so that we can include a cash token of appreciation inside. Refreshingly, the recipients, who might include our postal carrier, the recycle and trash collectors, and our favorite vendors at the Saturday fruit and vegetable marché, are always taken by surprise by this small gesture of thanks. I compared our experience with what others do around Christmas and even with tipping in general the rest of the year.

Last week we talked about our most recent visit to Lisbon and today it’s about an inevitable side trip. When we’re researching a possible destination, I always start my Internet search with something like, “Top 10 (insert name of city to visit)” that typically gives us a great list of must-see monuments, museums, and sites to explore in that city. Very often, however, the recommendations will extend beyond the city limits to include tourist spots you can see on a day trip. For the Portuguese capital, everyone included the monastery and tower in Belém, yellow Tram 28, districts like Alfama and Barrio Alto, Ribeira market, and tiled walls. But where is this hilltop fairy tale castle with bright yellow and red towers and crenellations that also appears on so many of the Top 10s and can we walk there? Yes, in about 6 hours, but we thought that taking a tour to Sintra would be a better idea.

I saw an estimate online that there are approximately 45,000 châteaux (castles) in France and right after that was an article perfect for Halloween: Haunted Castles of France. The website Discover France had listed 4 spooky sites around the country with a description of who…or what…you might see if you visited there. I checked several other sources on the same subject and there were a few that appeared on everyone’s list so I will put those details and a couple more in today’s blog post. Above, on the tab marked “Topics & Tags” you’ll find how to use the train to get to other castles and ghostly spots around the country.