Portugal 2024

10/17/24 Update:

Portugal 2024

We landed in Lisbon on the morning of September 10th. I was able to secure an airbnb and a rental car for that day after we landed. The girls did great on the airplane! No one cared for the food. We were able to sleep a little bit but we were all still tired since we lose 5 hrs on the way over (it kind of feels like you fast forward through the night of sleeping).

Porto/Gaia: We go into our Airbnb. The girls thought it was so fun to stay in an apartment building and immediately played hide and seek in the apartment. We quickly settled in and went to check out the surrounding area. Across the street was a delicious bakery and 2 blocks away was a beautiful beach with a church at the water front. Around the corner was a little park with gelato and bars along the side (IMO genius idea! Kids can play, parents can grab a drink and get kids gelato!). We had 2 scheduled adventures. The first was a tuk tuk ride through downtown Porto. A tuk tuk is in between a golf card and a convertible, I suppose. We drove passed the famous library where Harry Potter was inspired after (the line was way too long and we didn't want to wait). We went to a monestary to overlook the city. The views were beautiful. Next, we walked to a garden where peacocks and roosters ran around. We saw baby peacocks and the girls threw coins in a fountain. And then we found an American Burger joint for lunch. Portuguese cuisine is lots of fish and was not feeling adventurous that particular day. The girls thought it was cool to drink soda out of glass jars. The rest of the time, we got school work done and spent ALOT of time on the beach.

Nazare: We left Porto and headed south to Nazare. This is when I realized the girls did NOT like road trips (even though it was less than 2 hrs). We stopped at a rest stop to get hot chocolate and coffees and break up the drive. We ended up staying there for over an hour bc an obstacle course was created and tree salads were made. It was so fun to watch their imaginations go. There was no stopping them. Continuing on.... We got to our apartment in Nazare and immediately, a game of hide and seek ensued. They found some great hiding spots. We went exploring to find some lunch and came across a pizza place. It was delicious. After lunch, we made our way to the beach. OMG, this one was just as (or more) beautiful than the last! It was a Sunday and EVERYONE was out with their families. Rows and rows of cabanas were set up for friends and families to gather. There were 3 playgrounds on the beach (Lucy's favorite spot). The landscape looked fake it was so beautiful. We were on the Nazare beach next to a huge cliff. We were looking at where the largest surfing waves in the world are. The week we were there, it was flat calm, but Ryan and I added going back to watch a surfing competition to our bucket list! We went on a field trip to Fatima. This has been a place I have always wanted the girls to experience. If you don’t know the story of Fatima, look it up. Simply put, it is where many miracles have happened. Nazare is a beautiful little city. The streets are very narrow and dogs and cats run free. Most had owners, but if they wanted to go for a walk, they just went. Very few dogs were on leashes and lots of cats laying in the streets hanging out. We made friends with many of them!

Algarves/ Tavira/ Benagil Caves: On to the South of Portugal! We drove back to Lisbon, dropped the rental car and jumped on the train south. We learned quickly the train is cramped and the best place to be is the bar car  We met a guy named Luis who gave us some good ideas on navigating the Algarves. We stayed in a great place called Tavira. Again, LOTS of friendly dogs and cats running around. The girls named about 12 of them and asked 100 times to bring one home. It was a nice walk through the town to the boats that took us over to the beach. The beach was beautiful and right across the straight was Africa (we half thought about going just to check off another continent but decided against it. We will take a real trip there when the girls are a little older). We surprised Stella with horse back riding for her birthday. She absolutely loved it. We all did! The Benagil Caves was our last big adventure in the Algarves. We went through the caves on Kayaks and it was the best way to see them. OMG, so beautiful! This was a bucket list item that I didn’t know would be a bucket list item. The water and the caves were so beautiful. On kayaks, we were able to get into the caves and hang out on shore for a bit. Many people took boats, but could only see from the outside, or some would get close to shore. We saw some amazing beaches that are only accessible by hiking in about a mile and scaling down a cliff. The guide said those beaches are not for lazy people 

We loved out time in Portugal and would love to go back someday and explore more and check out places we missed on this trip.

Things we learned:

1. Streets are cleaner in Portugal (less trashcans, less trash)

2. Stores are closed during the day. Usually between 1:30-4:30, most stores are closed.

3. EAT THE PASTRIES! SOOOO GOOD

4. The metric system makes more sense (also- watch Nate Bargatze’s SNL skit- Washington’s Dream)

5. They call Soccer Football, which also makes more sense.

6. Milk is on a shelf in grocery stores, not in the refrigerator.

7. Whipped cream = Chantilly

8. Gelato is soooooo good!

9. We love all the animals and that the dogs were not on leashes.

10. Doors have weird keys

11. We had to hang dry clothes... so prepare for that!

12. bullfights 101 on Portuguese tv. Lucy loved them and wants to watch the Bull win