A Traveling Family

We heard about the Douro Valley from other wine lovers while traveling in Europe and doing research about Portugal. We made the decision to leave our careers and to raise our children on the road for one year. We were looking for new adventures and new friends we never thought about this area as a business opportunity. We had no expectations of the Douro Valley. 

Little did we know a year later we would be applying for a bank loan after doing considerable research about the Douro and it’s many possibilities. We fell in love with the valley and the locals while visiting in the middle of Winter. We joked the hand carved terraces looked like a mine field when the vines went dormant. With the downtime we were able to read about the history of the region and it’s vines and wines. We made a decision to be part of this community in the dead of winter without knowing the scenery of the other seasons. 

We were fortunate to make some good friends while we were traveling and were able to network quickly. We had a lot to learn about buying a property in a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Having two small children being raised in San Diego, California has been a blessing for our family but the thought of our children being exposed to a culture of history and agriculture was enticing. It is safe to say we didn’t know what we were getting into when Charlotte began doing her research for a family business in Portugal.

We hope you enjoy our stories and we will be writing about what we have learned about buying a property as foreigners and how we started a business in a foreign land. 

If you are interested in traveling with children and crafting new experiences. We have written a few articles about traveling and how to plan for a big adventure on our children’s site.