News Alert: Vampire Sighting in Portugal

Our primary pastime this spring seems to be travel.  Between traveling with visitors and making our last ditch efforts to see Europe before moving back to the US we must appear a bit crazy. Don't worry, we won't keep up this pace once we leave.  We decided our last official family trip would be to Portugal.  Our goal was to combine exploring a new area with more relaxation than usual.  Our goal was perfectly met.

There was only one downside to the trip - Nell's footwear.  I had bought a pair of sandals for her that I knew would be perfect.  They could go in water and sand but also be cute with dresses and could be worn later.  Between getting Nell in the car and all the bags packed, nobody noticed until we were at the airport that Nell had no shoes on!  I hadn't packed any since we were trying to travel light and I figured she would just wear her sandals.  I know to most people this is not a big deal, but I was very sad.  I searched for a replacement pair when we were first there and could only find very expensive cute sandals…or these:

It was the best I could find.  At least Clara appreciated them.

Anyway, back to the important parts.  We chose a small coastal town to stay for a week which 'Pilot Jeff' took us to.  With the exception of one long day trip to Lisbon, we stayed in Lagos the entire time.  

I'm positive we scared everyone on the beach with how white we were.  I think the only possible assumption could have been that vampires who had never seen the sun were invading Portugal.

Here's how it went…

1. Wake up (late, late and later…thank you children for sleeping in)
2. Eat breakfast.
3. Walk to nearby grocery store and buy picnic items.
4. Go to beach.  Our favorite was Don Anna.
5. Enjoy a sandy picnic.
6. Try to keep Nell from consuming too much sand.  Failed.



It doesn't help that she insists on taking one bite out of each peach.

7. Try to keep Nell from eating all the meat in one try.  Failed. 
8. Play in the water.  It was slightly colder than expected but still fun!
9. Lay in the sun - or shade for some particular vampire children.
10. Play in the sand.
11. Take the rare nap.
12. Leave the beach, promising to return.
13. Shower and get ready for dinner.
14. Walk into town. 
15. Occasionally let the kids ride on the carousel.


16. Take pictures of the pretty town, especially the tile work...including the sidewalks.


17. Eat dinner (always late as the earliest restaurants are open is 7pm).
18. Get kids in bed hopefully by 10pm.
19. Relax with Devin and watch some show on the laptop - often with the accompaniment of a sugary something.

Honestly, this is my idea of a perfect day and we got to repeat these 19 simple steps multiple times!  I'm a lucky girl!

Anyone that knows me knows that travel always includes searching for good food.  Portugal did not disappoint.  It gave me the best fish of my life.  We wandered to a restaurant that seemed promising.  We looked over the menu and made our decision.  There were two people running the place, a waitress and chef.  The chef came to take the order and informed us that we could not get what we wanted.  Devin and I had chosen a local specialty you apparently have to prebook and we were going to have Clara and Jonas share a meat dish.  This was not going to fly!  We were told to wait while he brought out a huge tray of fish and asked us to pick what we would like.  He kept repeating that fish was far healthier for our children and that is what he wanted them to eat.  Just fine by us!  So Devin and I shared a sea bass that was PERFECTLY yet simply cooked with garlic and salt and it was absolutely delicious.  Nell agreed.  Clara and Jonas shared a salmon that they also devoured.  We left full and happy - I love that feeling after eating an amazing meal.

The other stand out meal of the trip was at a local peri peri chicken restaurant.  I think we were the only tourists (we even saw our boat driver there the two times we ate there) and the food was yummy.  Devin has liked peri peri chicken ever since his mission to South Africa and while this was slightly different, we both enjoyed it immensely.

Okay, I'll stop dwelling on food - for now.

Like I said, the trip to Lisbon and nearby Sintra was our one big outing.  It was well worth the 3 hour drive each way.  Sintra is a town full of castles.  It is apparently where the royalty went to build their homes.  There are ancient castles from the Moors and more current ones too.  We first drove around admiring this hilly village.

We chose Pena Palace to tour. It was so enjoyable until Nell got out of the stroller…then it was a bit hurried as I tried to keep her within the red rope boundaries.  

 

We finished the day wandering around Lisbon which I decided is San Francisco's sister city.  Trolleys, a Bridge looking just like Golden Gate and hills.

We had a fun time visiting a local park where Devin and I made complete fools of ourselves.  We put our kids on a little turny thing that Jonas and Nell each needed help with to hold on properly.  We then ran in circles to spin them around.  We were dizzy and the ground was gravel so my sandals were constantly filled with little rocks causing me to step funnily.  I felt lots of eyes on us as I'm sure people wondered why we were holding on to our children running like crazy in circles.  At least we won't see any of them again.

Here's Nell at the park after sharing a popsicle with Clara - and then when that was gone - with Jonas.

Before driving back to Lagos we had some seafood at a recommended restaurant.  Not the best.  Devin ordered the local favorite - sardines.  It had more bones than any fish I've ever seen and the bones were tiny.  It understandably took him ages to eat.

Finally he finished (his time did improve with each fish thankfully) and we grabbed some egg tarts for the drive home.

These are all over Portugal and I'm a fan!  They are egg custard filled tarts that are in every shop and grocery store.  I sampled quite a few and this was my favorite.

More beach time was what we needed after our exhausting day in Lisbon. :)  Aside from relaxing and playing in the turquoise water we did take a death defying boat ride.

Honestly I feared for our lives.  Our family was in this little boat and the driver would take us in the tiniest caves!  I held my breath and tried hard not to close my eyes.  I would always be looking at the nearest rock or sandy spot so I would know where to swim with Nell if we did run into a rock or something.  The scariest cave was so small and unfortunately had no safe place so I just held my breath and prayed. :)  Devin, Clara and Jonas didn't seem as phased although Devin did admit to being nervous in the smallest cave.  There wasn't enough room to turn the boat around so the driver backed it out and was within a couple of inches from hitting the rock walls.  Clearly he has some experience!

The funniest part of the ride came when the boat driver was pointing to different landmarks and giving me the names of them.  Devin was sitting in the front and couldn't hear him so I would tell him what the driver was telling me.  We got to one particular beach and I realized the driver was telling me it was a nudist beach.  I told this to Devin three times yet he was still taking pictures.  He had Jonas on his lap and was trying to focus the camera with one hand so apparently he wasn't really listening to me until I yelled it to him and told him to stop photographing.  We both had a good laugh and I promise not to post those pictures!

The boat ride was probably the highlight of the trip.  The grottos, as they are called, are beautiful and the water is the prettiest color.

Just before the end of our trip the driver went over to a snorkeler and I realized they must work together as he handed the driver a bag full of mussels and then showed him a bag he was working on full of fish. What a unique job.

Every single one of us enjoyed the trip and were sad to leave.  It was such a good blend of culture and relaxation.

And at the end of one week we managed to look normal - maybe not tan - but at least not like a family of vamps.