It's finally getting warm here in California, and I'm itching to get the kayaks out and paddle down the placid waters of our creek. Perhaps this week...

Did you know you can paddle similarly placid waters of the Douro River, the famous wine route, drifting between from one wine estate to another?

This trip combines fun and good exercise between stays in one fabulous wine farm (Quinta) after another. There will be plenty of opportunities for long hikes in addition to fun paddling. The local port, wine, and great Portuguese meals are good complements to the physical activities. However, the heart of this adventure is the hospitality of the Portuguese families who warmly receive us in their Quintas and share stories of their craft and deep ancestral roots - steeped in the "Old World Tradition" that still lingers by the banks of the river.

Sounds like experiential travel to me. And this paddle is rated "novice" so that very few of us of any age should worry about white water rushing to swirl us into the drink.

Check out Kayaking Portugal. It's really nice to see the countryside from water level.

More: Spain and Portugal Wine Regions Map | Portugal Travel Map

If you've heard of the disastrous storm that hit Madeira a while back, don't worry about your spring or summer plans, everything's back in order in time for the Flower Festival in Funchal, set to take place between 15 and 18 April. The theme of the festival is "Earth", because this is the International Year of Biodiversity. The festival poster (PDF) is rather interesting

For more on Madeira, see our Madeira Map and Travel Essentials.

If you've been following along here, you know that Saturday was the day that volunteers set ablaze torchlights to illuminate the 70 mile long wall, once the Roman divide between the civilized and the barbarians. The Guardian has a video, and the News and Star a slideshow of the festivities that attracted around "12,000 residents and tourists" to the northern Roman boundary.

Don't know where Hadrian's wall is? Try our England Attractions Map.

A pleasant walk along the Tiber from Rome's tourist-packed center brings you to an interesting neighborhood called Testaccio. Once known for its stockyards, which paid butchers with the "fifth quarter" of the animal, Testaccio was the center of a Roman cuisine based on offal. Today the stockyard hosts a contemporary art museum and schools of the arts instead of cattle.

Meanwhile, years ago enterprising folks dug caves to use as car repair shops into the enormous hill in otherwise flat Testaccio made up of broken Roman amphorae used in shipping goods up the Tiber. Today those caves have become the nexus of the nightlife scene in Rome. Interesting, no?  Find out all about one of my favorite neighborhoods in Rome: Testaccio - What to See and Do