Legacy

"No, you're never coming back, I'll visit you there"

My dad has traveled a lot, and so has my mom. He's been to more than 70 countries in the world, many of them with my mom. Sometimes he tells me stories of foreign places, people he met, and habits people have, but he says that everyone must take their own path and live those adventures by themselves.

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Much like we have been traveling within the United States now, when he was a kid he also saw most of the country where he was born - Portugal. It's a very beautiful place with a great history and unique traditions. He played music all over. Much like his dad, he also wanted to leave. While he was still in college, he traveled to Spain, Portugal, Luxembourg, France, Czech Republic, Poland, Brazil, and Ireland. At that time, he had gone further than his dad did at that age, and much of it was thanks to his parents!

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But, much like with his dad, my dad wanted to also thrive and succeed on his own. One day, he had a flat tire, and grandpa offered to pay for it (again). He's very thankful for everything they have done and for all the opportunities they made available to him. He says that was the day he decided to leave because that's what his dad did. Soon after, he moved to Ireland and started a new life. Before leaving, he told grandpa that he'd go out for a few years, and my grandpa told him with a smile:

-- "No, you're never coming back, I'll visit you there."

And he didn't. Since then, he also lived in New York, where he met my mom, and in California, where we live now.

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In between all these places he lived in, he traveled as much as he could. Sometimes alone, sometimes with friends, sometimes with family, and sometimes with my mom, with mom and me.

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Japan, China, Taiwan, Macau, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, United Arab Emirates, India, Ghana, Angola, Philippines, Tahiti, Costa Rica, Mexico, Canada, Brazil, Oman, all over Europe, all over the Caribbean islands. People often ask him which one is his favorite place, and they ask to see his pictures, but I never heard him answer... maybe he hasn't found it yet...