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| "Manos para sempre" - siblings forever! |
Aside from being masked at all indoor venues, COVID didn't stop us. In fact, with so few tourists in Portugal this summer, there was no traffic, no line-ups, no problems with finding a place to park or sleep. Silver lining my friends.
Jonty's take on our month-long trek:
"Um...we ate in restaurants which always took too long, looked at giant piles of old rocks, heard you say "Oh look! Isn't it beautiful?!" about 30 times a day, walked a million miles, and ate ice cream."
Mom and dad's take on the holiday:
"We experienced delicious, unique gastronomy from each region; saw castles, buildings, and cities oozing in history and culture; were constantly inspired with different scenery, architecture, landscaping and art; and slept well every night after an active day."
LOL! The kids were smiling and happy most of the time, and we saw and did lots of memorable things. Sure, there were moments when Mark and I thought: "This would be different without kids." (would have been nice to take more than 5 minutes to sample Port wine).
But, with help from my mom, cousin and aunt (obrigada!), we planned and executed a great adventure, fun for all: boat, gondola and train rides, kid-friendly venues, ice cream & swimming coupled with evening strolls through majestic cities, many restaurant sittings, and lots of historic places. We'd do it all again. If I could plan it on a week that wasn't the hottest of the year, I would do that.
We will be back--so much still to see!
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| At 42C, a hot day for a boat ride to the only Portuguese castle on an island. |
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| Portugal for Kids: elements of the country's main monuments and 35 typical houses from across the land built in miniature for the kids to explore. The kids LOVED it. |
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| Conimbriga: the best preserved Roman ruins in Portugal. Those Romans knew how to live! |
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| Lello Bookshop in Porto - some say it inspired Hogwart's library in Harry Potter. It was crazy cool. |
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| At the train station in Porto. It's hard not to be amazed at how much effort went into making cities and public spaces beautiful. Will we ever get back to that? It fills the soul. |
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| We climbed the 200 steps of the Clerigos Tower. What a fabulous 360 view! |
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| A definite highlight: visiting a Magalhaes family seigneurial home built in 1580. My great grandfather was the Count of Alpendurada, close by. The kids explored the mansion, chapel and gardens all afternoon! |
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| In Guimaraes, the birthplace of Portugal, where the first king was born. Jonty took Portuguese history this year, so all these stops were familiar to both of us. I loved it. He rolled his eyes at me a lot... |
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| In the midst of a forest with over 700 species of trees, shrubs and flowers, on the top of a mountain, ta-dah! The Bussaco Palace and a random train that made the kids happy. |
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| Gabi taking the place of mule while we made an old well come to life. In the Algarve. |
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| Watching the sunset over Coimbra, sitting at one of Europe's oldest university, built in 1290. My dad did one year of schooling here. So much tradition. |
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| "Let them swim", while we drink Port Tonics and wine in the famous Douro Region. |
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| Port wine tasting--a very quick, but tasty experience. |
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| Relaxing at a vila in Luso. This is the life! |
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| Soaking up family time at a quaint sea-side village I went to as a child. Sao Pedro de Moel |
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| Holidays are always better with friends! Hanging out in Nazare, home to the biggest wave ever surfed. |
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| Climbing an olive tree at our resort near Tavira, Algarve. |
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| This ceremonial well in Sintra, features a spiral staircase into a tunnel system. The huge garden and estate is full of secret passages, towers, paths, statues, fountains... Mark and I kept asking each other which incredible features we can add to our yard! |
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Riding a typical Merchant boat through the canals of Aveiro
(also known as the Venice of Portugal).
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