We just got back from a week in Portugal. Portugal wasn't really on my radar. We were looking for a place that had a non-stop flight from Boston and London so we could meet Sarah, Dave, Charlotte and Benjamin easily. We also wanted warmer than freezing and a bit of sun. Options were limited. Portugal it was!
Leading up to the trip was not smooth. Right after we booked tickets, Dave's mom had a fall, and they were super super busy with that on top of life, so we never quite got to planning. Then, as the trip got closer, Benjamin tested positive for Covid. He would be traveling on day 10, so that worked, so as long as no one tested positive after Tuesday the week before we left, we were good to go! Then Dave (dad) tested positive on Wednesday. I would have bailed. No way I would travel over night across the ocean to travel on a trip with three kids. But Sarah is WAAAY tougher than me, so Sarah, Charlotte (12) and Benjamin (10) met us in Portugal last Sunday.
We had planned almost nothing. In November I did a bunch of research and learned that we wanted about three days in Lisbon and then a few in the south (on this trip - there is much more to see!). A month or so before the trip we finally booked a few air bnbs. So at least we knew we would start in Lisbon for a full day, then we would drive to the south for three days, then back to Lisbon before we left.
I had rented a car for the whole time, and we figured we could just park it at our air bnb in Lisbon and drive it to the south. Sarah and Dave did the same (under Dave's name, so it was obviously cancelled before they came). When we arrived at the Lisbon airport and Avis car rental, they couldn't find my reservation. I was so annoyed. But then they showed me that I had made it for March, not Feb (as Sarah put it, it's a risk of a feb/march rental in a non-leap year). Oops. Uber it was.
It was so fun to see Sarah, Charlotte and Benjamin and hang as normal - as if we all still live in Newton. They were champs that first night. On zero sleep.
We spent our first full day in Lisbon exploring. We took an uber to tram 28 and rode that (crowded tram - wouldn't do that again) all through the streets of Alfama - the oldest area - and all over. We went to the castle and walked all over the walls with amazing views of the city. We ate. We walked. We ate more. The kids liked the souvenir stores. We were a group of eight, and we didn't move too quickly. And that was totally fine, because we had nowhere to be but where we were.
We thought about a train to Belem, but we figured that would be too annoying to figure out, so we ubered there. (Nearly every uber in Lisbon was about 5 euros. Done). We tried the custard tarts from the famous bakery there that invented them. HOLY YUM. We explored some more as the sun started to set.
We had reserved two new rental cars at a Sixt a block away from our air bnb. Tuesday morning we woke and went to get the cars. We aimed to get there at 9, and we were out of there about 11 - we were a few minutes late and it took FOREVER. The car they gave me was super banged up. Not my fav. Scratched sides and lots of messy looking things I can handle, but I was not excited when I saw that it had a leaky tire. They promised me it was fixed. Hm...Matt got a nice shiny one. At least I got Sarah. Kids split up.
We got on the road, and for the life of me, I could not find the gas meter. We pushed every button, and all we could find was a small bar that had a small red area (about 15% was red) and said 820km when we got the car. As we drove, that number changed with no reason. Up a hundred or so. Back down. So while I had thought it meant 820 km to empty, when it went up to 1000 I was totally confused. Highway driving? But then with more highway driving it was 930. Sarah googled and saw that in the VW Golf diesel the "red" area is how much gas you have. Well if that's true, then shit, we might have no gas. We pulled off at a gas station and tried to fill up. Of course a drop of fuel fit. The ENTIRE time we had the car this gas gauge and the number did not change in a meaningful way. The red stayed the same. The number went between about 830 and 1000. Even after hundreds of miles. WTF. We did fill it up before we returned the car and gas fit in the tank.
We hadn't planned anything, but luckily I had friends who had just been in Portugal a couple of weeks before us, and they had planned everything and had almost the same itinerary (that helped convince me that my instincts for this itinerary were right with minimal research - phew). They are so organized, they sent me their itinerary, including where they ate etc. Amazing - I have nothing like that for any trip. What a resource! So I plugged in a restaurant they recommended in Lagos into Googlemaps and that was our destination. Didn't even look it up. We got there, and it was in a marina, on the ocean. Totally beautiful. SOOOO delicious. All the kids found something but Sam. I ate everything.
We then walked all around these amazing trails in Lagos. I told Sarah and her family it was so so so beautiful - one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. ALMOST AS BEAUTIFUL AS MICHIGAN!! It looked so much like Pictured Rocks. Wow. We walked a lot and loved it. Then we drove to our (gross) VRBO in Albufueira, about 45 minutes away.
Luckily the gas station we stopped at had air to fill up my tire that was indeed not fixed. It was at 2.1 and had to be at 2.5. (That was confusing, as I was ready to put it to 31 or 33...new country. New tire pressure system I guess). The VRBO had a pool. It was not heated. Days were in the 50s and 60s, maybe up to low 70s. The kids all (other than Sam) jumped into the pool for a mini polar plunge. Nuts.
That night we went to an Italian restaurant, and though we didn't get our food until after NINE, the food was great. The night was a mess as the kids fell apart, but we made it.
The next morning we took it easy as I tried to change my rental car (no automatic transmissions within an hour and though I did learn how to drive manual, it has been about 20+ years, and it didn't feel like this would be the time to brush up on my skills). Matt got some groceries, and Sarah talked to the manager of the VRBO (who knew that cutlery would be so elusive!!). We went to this amazing area to a boat ride (thanks again to Alyson and Matt who recommended the place they used for their cave tour, and it was fantastic - we booked it on Monday night for Wednesday afternoon). We must have gone in about ten caves. The driver was amazing with his 5 point turns getting in and out of the caves, some in the dark. And the guide was totally entertaining. Highlight of the trip for most of the kids.
After our snack bar lunch of hot dogs, chicken nuggets and similar items followed by ice cream (I was not excited and had a smoothie for lunch), we were off to look for a few items and head back to the (gross) house. That night Sarah, Benjamin, Charlotte and I went for a real dinner while the others who don't enjoy food as much went back to the Italian place. We were all happy. Our food was super delicious (so was their's - I'm sure).
Thursday morning we got up and out of the (gross) house and tried to find a hike that would be a bit different. We found a marsh, but it seemed that all of the birds were in North Africa (or more south!) for the winter. There was not a lot to see, and the beach was super windy and cold. We were grateful we brought our jackets and used them for the first time. Adults were eh. Kids had a great time. We found lunch nearby and then drove back to Lisbon.
We found a random area to be dropped at by an uber. The area looked like it could be a good place not to miss. It was a big arc d'triumph type thing, and the square it was near looked just like Venice. Super pretty. We walked all around there (Koby convinced us to get him sketchers with the lights that go off when you walk - he has always wanted them and the Sketchers store was having a wicked sale...) and shopped and looked at stuff and finally found a dinner that pleased everyone. Koby got some pokemon cards, and they were in Portuguese and also apparently very good, so he was SO excited. We got gelato on a stick and walked home about 35 minutes from there. We saw a lot of Lisbon. We really liked the city. It's so chill. SOOOOOO beautiful. So many colors. Hills. People are so super nice - it doesn't feel like anyone is trying to take advantage of you. It's just super nice and enjoyable.
Friday was our last day all together. Unfortunately Sarah had an upset tummy. so she stayed home and got better, and Matt and I took the five kids to Sintra. Again - no research, so we didn't really know what to expect, other than the fact that EVERY uber driver told us we couldn't miss it.
I had a friend from high school, but we haven't been in real touch in about 25 years, and I have followed her family's journey on facebook and their blog as they left their life in Maine and sailed for about 4 years (including the covid years) with their two kids (now in and about-to-be-in high school). They happen to live in Sintra right now, so Jayme and her husband Bjorn met us and walked with us up to the palace. Koby dove right in with Bjorn and talked some mean Greek mythology and had him playing geography within the first ten minutes. It was lovely to see them and hear a bit more of their life. And the walk was indeed magical. We reached a pink and yellow palace. Gorgeous.
We got to the top and it was drizzling a little. Then it was POURING. Then it was HAILING. Did I mention we were with five kids? They were actually somehow amazing. We all got SOAKED while we were waiting to buy tickets. Some had coats. Some did not. We had no idea what the palace was thus had no expectations, but we saw we had a timed entry, so we wandered a bit and then waited in a line to enter the palace. It was actually super cool. Seemed some royalty lived there in the 1500s or so maybe until the 1800s. What a view. We all enjoyed touring it, and the sun came out and dried up all the rain (and us). We got out of there around 1:30 and had about a half hour walk to lunch allllll the way down the mountain in the little village. The walk down was super beautiful - colorful houses/buildings, cobblestones, amazing views - just really really pretty. With splitting a few chocolate muffins, the kids had energy to make it to lunch. We ate, walked a bit, ice creamed and headed back to reconnect with Sarah and allow the kids a bit of chill time.
On this trip, Charlotte helped us with the distinction between traveling and vacationing. We travel a lot. We do not vacation a lot. The kids want to vacation. So we gave them a few hours of vacation. A little ipad here. A bit of Splendor there. Some chatting. Sarah and kids packed, and we went to a breakfast dinner.
Sarah and kids left in the am to head back to Boston. We were sad to say goodbye but had such a nice week together - though we missed Dave.
Saturday, we actually asked the kids what they wanted to do (gasp) for our last day in Lisbon. We had wanted to go on a day trip to hike somewhere, but the weather was iffy, and we didn't have rain gear. Kids voted for the aquarium and back to the place to buy the pokemon cards and ice cream. Check. Check and Check. The aquarium was actually really great. Very similar to the New England one. Then we had lunch near there - a newer area of Lisbon that was built for some world expo in the 90s. We ubered back to the old area and walked all around a bit west of where we had been the other times. Again - just beautiful streets. Kids got their cards, their gelato and we walked back. I even went shopping - stuff is cheap in Portugal! We had a weird last dinner (poke bowl with fish, cucumbers, GUACAMOLE??, STRAWBERRIES? Mango, edamame (so they said, but it was PEAS!!) and other weird shit for me. Koby accidentally spilled the salt shaker on his fries, and Sam (god forbid) had pieces of garlic in their pasta, so most of us were not super pleased with our meal) and then flew out today (Sunday). An hour delay because of fog, but otherwise smooth sailing.
For a trip that we didn't plan. That had hiccup after hiccup. We really had a lovely week.
