Sintra

Another great breakfast to start the day. Every place we’ve been has a pot of hot milk and a pot of coffee and the preferred ratio seems to be 1 to 1. The coffee is great, but it is really more like a big pot of espresso. Considering we’re not much of breakfast eaters, we’ve been eating like pigs! The kids are now really spoiled (they better eat up now because they’re not getting any of it next week!) We went to the National Palace of Sintra today which happens to be steps away from our hotel. It doesn’t really look like a palace which made it all the more interesting. We then headed way up above the city to visit the Pena Palace which was last occupied as recently as 1910.

The most bizarre looking castle we’ve ever seen. It looks like the byproduct of some crazy childish dream. Pastel colors, gargoyles, seashells, turrets…nothing matches, really weird. We were able to walk around the parapets of the castle, really neat because we were actually in a low hanging cloud. CJ was amazed at being “in” a cloud. The inside was also fascinating. The last Portuguese queen fled in 1910 and she literally just up and left, so the interior is a very accurate look at what royal life was like at that time. All the furnishings, pictures, personal stuff, is still there. Really enjoyable to see and learn about. We gave the kids the choice of taking a tram back down or hiking back through the park and they chose the hike; until they realized how far it was. We decided to try a short-cut and it worked out great until we realized we were still inside the castle walls. Another “this would give my mom a heart attack” situation. We just found the “lowest” part of the wall and Chris jumped down and I passed him the kids. I can’t believe these walls repelled invaders for 500 years, they didn’t contain a single American family for an hour!

We then drove to Cascais on the coast and had a nice lunch before hitting Boca de Inferno. This translates to “Mouth of Hell” and it is a cauldron in the rocks where the surf crashes in at high tide. It is surrounded by freaky looking rockscape that has folds big enough to swallow the kids. Once we explained the tide to CJ he decided he wanted to wait until high tide came in…even if it was “hours away.” We settled for ice cream instead and decided to head to Cabo de Roca which is the most western point in Europe. Along the way (it was only 20km away) we stopped at a really cool deserted beach. We parked up on a little promontory and walked down to the beach. The kids collected MORE shells (to add to the bagful we already have!) and played on the dunes for awhile before they realized they were FREEZING. We hoped to watch the sunset at Cabo de Roca but there was no sunset; just clouds and lots of wind. We took some picture to prove we were actually there and then headed back to Sintra (about 20 min.)

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We are now enjoying a beer and watching the Benfica game while typing this. It’s about 9:00 and we’re debating if we really need dinner…or just another drink!

Alcobaca and Obidos

We left Peniche after breakfast (and a swim of course!) and headed for Alcobaca. There is an enormous church and monastery in Alcobaca and once again we had the place to ourselves. This is my favorite monument so far. The place is 700 years old, but in great shape. There is a kitchen where the monks diverted part of the river to run right through it. They would catch their dinner in the river, then wash their dishes in it later, very cool. You could spend hours wandering through, but because the kids are not quite as fascinated as the adults we kept it a little shorter. After lunch we headed to Obidos which is a medieval walled city. The castle walls encircle the entire town and you can actually walk around the city via the ramparts. Another endeavor not for the fainthearted. Annie had major anxiety being so high up, but the kids really wanted to do it so off we went. We walked about 2/3rds of the way around the city via the walls. One of those experiences we are really glad we got to do, but are in no hurry to do again! The whole town of Obidos is charming with little shops and restaurants and lots of local artisans. We headed out around nightfall and had a pretty precipitous drive down to Sintra. It is probably beautiful during the day, but at night in the rain, it was downright scary. High, winding roads with switchback curves…no thanks. We got safely checked into the Tivoli Sintra (we’re now spoiled) and carried our 2 sleeping kids up to bed. Only a few more days of vacation…we plan on making the most of them!

Nazare, Batalha and Peniche

The kids wanted to swim first thing this morning so once again we didn’t get on the road until at least 11:00. We really didn’t get to see much of Coimbra, despite being here 2 nights, but many things are closed. We believe the students are all away for the Easter holiday. Our guidebooks all indicated that Coimbra is a fun, vibrant college town with lots of people and great shops and restaurants; we found it to be somewhat deserted with the majority of shops and buildings closed. With a bit of reluctance we headed out of town towards our next destination. We went to Batalha to see the big church and monastery which were really neat. Some great pictures of Abby being put in the “corner” because she was not behaving. Despite the small disappointment in Coimbra, this definitely seems to be the time to travel. We had the monastery and practically the whole town, to ourselves. After Batalha we headed to Nazare which is a small fishing village on the coast. We stopped for lunch along the way and had a great meal. The kids were able to see the difference between squid and octopus because Annie’s meal came with both. The octopus was absolutely delicious and even CJ liked it, he just didn’t like the “crunchy legs that seem a little burnt.”

We found a prime parking spot right on the beach in Nazare and let the kids run around in the surf and sand for a bit. We found a couple of local kids and played soccer with them on the beach for a few minutes. We then took the funicular up to the upper town of Sitio and found a little pub with a very engaging proprietor. We stayed for about an hour while he and his sole other customer proceeded to let us know that women’s liberation is one of the worst “exports” of America, along with our greedy capitalism. Offensive possibly, entertaining…absolutely. He wanted to know why we Americans expect Europeans to speak English. He seemed mildly offended when I suggested it was because “we Americans” arranged about 60 years ago to intercede and make sure all of Europe wouldn’t be forced to speak German for the rest of their lives! Oh yeah, did I mention the part about him being Deutsch?! After that engaging bit of entertainment we headed out but ran into a thunderstorm. The kids were barefoot anyway so we let them traipse around in the rain for a bit. We finally headed for the car and headed to Peniche. Peniche is another little town further down the coast. We drove out to the very edge of the cape and watched the sun set. It was really cool, Abby now thinks that the sun “melts” into the ocean each night. The cliffs are really gorgeous, but treacherous also, we made sure to watch the sunset from the safety of our car. Another great time was had by all.

Coimbra

Had another great leisurely breakfast and headed out around noon. We took the kids to “Portugal for the Little Ones.” It is a park where they have recreated many of the famous monuments and towns from throughout Portugal, all scaled down to kid size. The kids really enjoyed it, especially the playground. There is an inside area that had a bouncy house and slide that emptied into a ball pit; huge hit with both kids. We then strolled around Coimbra and had a late lunch before heading back to the hotel to let the kids swim. By the time everyone was showered and ready to out again it was pretty late. Both kids fell asleep on the way to dinner so we just decided to make an early night of it and hit the hay early. (For once)

Santiago de Compostela

The day started off promising…(the Easter bunny somehow found us!) The front desk folks let us know that mass at the cathedral was at noon, so we had a leisurely breakfast and headed for the cathedral around 11:00. We figured we would take a quick stroll and be at the cathedral in plenty of time for a seat for mass. When we got there it was obvious some kind of service was going on. I went outside and in fumbling Spanish asked someone what was up. They indicated it was mass. In my best Spanish I said no, no, no, la misa empieza a las doce, si? The woman said si, doce. We were both agreeing that the mass started at noon, however only one of us had the right current time…it wasn’t me! Evidently when we hit Spain there was an hour time difference that we somehow missed. By this time it was really 12:15, not 11:15! 15 minutes late may seem “doable” unless you’re trying to follow mass in a foreign language…impossible!

We stayed through mass and then to really torture the kids, we attended the entire next mass

so we could take communion and actually have a sense of “being” at mass. The cathedral is fascinating, the supposed remains of St. James are in the crypt and it is a huge pilgrimage sight. I can’t imagine this being my “home” parish. I know it was Easter, and probably busier than usual, but I just can’t imagine Father Aiken delivering his sermon with hundreds of cameras and flashes going off. Crazy. We found a great little restaurant for a late lunch and Abby literally fell asleep at the table. Too bad, she missed a great meal. They bring a little charcoal grill to each table and just a ton of meat. It was fantastic. Once again we were served wine with little bowls instead of glasses. Maybe we could start this trend at home? It lets you drink greater quantities more quickly…what a great idea! Just in case you don’t get enough wine, they then plunk a bottle of really delicious liquor on the table. No idea what it was, tasted similar to Baileys but better (Carol, you would have loved it!) We hit the road by late afternoon (of course it was LATE, we have to give all the alcohol time to really get in our system!) and headed back to Portugal. Our destination for tonight is Coimbra. This is one of our longest drives, 3 hours or so. We broke up the drive by stopping in Ponte de Lima. This is a really cute town with an ancient Roman bridge running through the middle of it. We stopped and had some espresso and ice cream (espresso for adults, ice cream for kids!) before getting back on the road. We rolled into Coimbra shortly after dinner time and are now checked in for the night. It’s Easter Sunday so there are not a ton of dining choices open tonight so we just had dinner in the hotel restaurant. Good food, but a little to artsy for our tastes. The kids are psyched because this hotel (Tivoli Coimbra) also has an indoor pool which they plan on using first thing tomorrow. Hope everyone had a great Easter, God bless you all.

Guimares

We sadly checked out of our hotel this morning. We could easily have stayed here a few more nights, it was so beautiful. We took the kids for a hike up the hillside before leaving and found a beautiful park with a small lake. We rented a rowboat and got to see Chris’ rowing prowess. The kids really enjoyed the boat ride although they seemed most intrigued by the mating frogs we found! After a little more hiking we headed out of town to Guimares. This is a really neat little medieval town. After wandering around the old quarter we checked out the palace and the castle. The castle is not for the faint of heart. It’s ramparts and stairs are wide open, no rails or side walls and a mere 50 foot death plunge if you stumble. Again, another site we visited with my mom in mind. Mom, you would have gone beserk. You will be pleased to know that after the first set of stairs, I just couldn’t do it and I quickly returned to safety with Abby in tow. Chris and CJ did the whole castle with me watching anxiously from below. In between lunch and midafternoon ice cream and wine (a new daily routine!) we found a little barbershop in the old quarter. A newly shorn CJ is quite pleased with his Portuguese barber experience. We then took the Teleferico up the mountainside to Penha which was fantastic. There is an enormous park with all kinds of hiking trails and freaky rocks that look like they are from another planet. We stumbled into a little cave (literally) where a bunch of locals were listening to a soccer game on an old radio and drinking wine and eating sardines. We quickly ordered some wine and were puzzled when he handed us a small jug and 2 BOWLS. Evidently around here they drink from bowls. Bizarre, but entertaining. The wine looked like grape juice, deep deep purple. Annie enjoyed it but Chris did not…just means more for one of us! We spent several hours up in the park area before riding the gondola back down and heading for Santiago de Compostela. We made great time to Santiago, less than 2 hours. We then spent another 2 hours searching for our elusive hotel. We asked 1 cab driver, 2 bartenders, 1 waiter, 1 restaurant manager and a gas station attendant…and we still couldn’t find it. Finally caved in and used my favorite mapping resource…RJ! I usually just call him for Maryland directions, but he came through as usual. No sooner had we hung up with him, then we finally found the place. Too late for a “normal” meal so we “treated” CJ to…McDonalds! Hit the hay just before midnight, hoping the Easter Bunny can find us. We explained to CJ that we are up in the very farthest corner of Spain and the bunny might have a hard time finding us, but we’ll see. We plan on catching Easter Mass at the cathedral in the morning…stay tuned.

Bom Jesus

Our hotel in Braga is actually in a hilltop area called Bom Jesus. The hotel and the church/sanctuary sit at the very top of the hill and the location was fantastic. We hiked down the hill which is beautiful and has Stations of the Cross at each landing. When we got to the bottom we took a water-powered funicular back to the top. The kids (and Chris!) thought it was pretty cool. We then headed to Viana do Castelo for the afternoon. They have a big market on Fridays and we spent some time wandering through and buying picnic ingredients. We got some prosciutto, some cheese, bread, olives and some sausage we can’t pronounce and had a picnic before heading up to Santa Luiza Church. This church sits on top of the town and is reached via another funicular. Once at the top the views were great. We actually climbed up inside the tower which was not so great. The tower is very high and very narrow and is reached by a series of circular stairs that are only wide enough for one person. You are supposed to wait until the silly little light turns green before you start your ascent/descent. Great system assuming everyone understands the directions AND noone is colorblind…clearly NOT the case the day we were there. I had a mild panic/claustrophobia attack and the kids had some trepidation on the way up. They were thrilled once they got there…and more thrilled when we were back on solid (low!) ground. We got back to the hotel in time for a quick swim before dinner. The indoor pool was on the second floor and had an entire wall made of glass and overlooked the city below; very cool. We went into Braga for dinner and to hopefully catch the last night of Semana Santa celebrations. Purely by chance we found a fantastic restaurant just 3 blocks from the cathedral. We had a great dinner (2 bottles of wine!) and when we were done we were just steps away from the parade route. It was fascinating to watch the hooded penitents, cross bearers, bands, etc… Abby watched the solemn procession very intently before asking, “Are they all sad because their robes are dragging on the ground? Is that why they are crying?” We explained they were sad because Jesus died and for the rest of the evening she announced to anyone and everyone, “Jesus died, Jesus died, Jesus died…” in a lovely sing-song cadence that didn’t quite match the solemnity of the occasion! We finished the evening with cotton candy (to soak up the wine!) and were home around midnight.

Fish Market and Fatima

We had our earliest start yet…10:00am! We went to the fish market in Quartiera this morning. 3 of us thought it was cool, 1 was completely disgusted…CJ. Abby was fascinated with all the different fish, CJ just seemed overwhelmed by the smell. After the fun in the fish market we headed north to Fatima. We walked around the Chapel of Apparitions and lit several candles for our family and friends. We were too late for mass and were hanging out in front of the basilica when CJ suggested we do the Stations of the Cross. Yes, CJ suggested it. (Glad to see those Catholic education $$ are not going to waste!) So we did the Stations in Fatima before heading north to Braga.

Seville, Spain

We headed to the beach at Monte Gordo this morning and then decided we were so close to Spain we should just keep going. Of course we had no map and no real idea where we were headed, but we had the next best thing…DAD! Knowing it was only 6:30am at home we figured we had a limited choice of who we could bother and dad was sure to be up and on-line. Sure enough he was able to check the mapping website and give us the info we needed. The kids really wanted to go to Gibralter and see the Barbary Apes but we decided it was a bit too far. So after a little time at the beach, we headed into Seville. It is Semana Santa and the Holy week celebrations are really cool. A little disturbing at first, but quite moving. Despite 6 years since our last visit to Seville, we were able to find our way around pretty well. We went right back to a restaurant we had previously eaten in and found the same little internet café and were able to get on-line…finally. We had a great time just wandering around and checking out the different parades of hooded penitents and religious floats. We finally headed back to Portugal in time for another midnight arrival “home.”