Our Summer Holiday - weeks 5 and 6

Wheelbirks for ice cream

A baby-free day in York 

Friday night pizza and film 

Dog walks with Big M

A family outing to Washington Wetlands centre

Mummy baby coffee date at M&S and his first ever taste of a proper gingerbread man 

Culture vultures at Toddler Time at the Baltic

Watching the Millennium Bridge 

Baking with mummy 

Cheeky face, juice and snack whilst out shopping

Running through the trees at Wheelbirks

An adventure through Muggleswick woods

Picking strawberries at Lanchester Garden Centre

Swimming with mummy 

Picking blackberries and a walk through Houghall Woods

Saturday dinner at Sorella Sorella

Afternoon tea with mummy friends 

Our Portuguese Adventure - Day 12

I can't believe it's our last day today, our holiday has gone by so quickly. We've had a really lovely day filled with lots of smiles and made more memories that we can keep forever, so it's not too bad I suppose!! 

We went for a long walk but there was no getting Henry to sleep today, he was having none of it!! We went for our usual coffee and natas but had to stuff the pastries in while he wasn't looking and ordered him melon instead because unfortunately natas are egg and dairy heaven! He was a good boy though, and after a long walk and another coffee stop, we came home for lunch. I made us all salad and then Henry and Daddy had a nap while I read my book.

Once Henry was awake, about 2:30, we went down to the pool for a few hours and played in the pool and on the grass. Although it had been a cloudy start this morning, the sun came out this afternoon and the skies were bright blue. Once Henry started to get a bit fidgety we headed down to the beach where he had a lovely hour building sandcastles and burying Daddy's feet in the sand. He wore his sunglasses all afternoon and everyone kept looking at him and smiling because he looked so cute. We had an ice lolly on the beach and then went to a bar on the front for a drink. Henry befriended a little fluffy white dog called Missy while we were there; to say he loved her would be an understatement. Tonight when we were out he kept looking round saying "Miss? Miss?" in the hope that he'd spot her again! So cute. He played with her for a while, we all had a drink and then came back to get ready for dinner.

We decided to go back to Boca do Mar again as it's been our favourite restaurant and definitely the poshest, so it seemed fitting for our last night. I had garlic pork fillet and Mr B had swordfish, both were amazing. Henry was an absolute star and we finished off by taking him to the park and having our last ever holiday ice cream, boo hoo.

We're now all packed and in the morning plan on getting up, getting showered and sorted and then head off to do our morning routine one more time (long walk, get Henry to sleep, coffees and natas and then come home) before leaving for the airport at 11am. We've loved every minute of our holiday, we are both leaving so relaxed and happy, Henry has been an absolute angel child (apart from the two mini-tantrums about not being allowed to take the fly swat out for dinner) and we will most definitely be back to Portugal, if not Sao Martinho in the near future. The Portuguese people honestly couldn't be nicer, it is the most child friendly and safest place I've ever been to and everyone we've met has been so so lovely. 

Normal blog service will resume tomorrow - What I Ate Wednesday (diet editions due to massive holiday weight gain!) moaning about lack of sleep, more school holiday photos and leading up to weaning from the boob  (totally dreading that one). But I'm not thinking about any of that for now, so here is our last set of holiday snaps from paradise...

Our Portuguese Adventure - Day 11

We did our usual long walk and coffee this morning and then once Henry was awake, we stopped at another cafe for another coffee and Henry had a fresh orange juice. We had a wander and then came home for a while before lunch.

Mr B picked up another BBQ chicken from the shop on our street and we all enjoyed that for lunch. It was a pretty overcast morning again, the weather has been the one downside to our holiday as it's been really unreliable. 

Luckily the sun came out for the afternoon and Henry and I went to the beach while Daddy watched Crystal Palace at a bar on the beach. We joined him at half time for a drink and an ice lolly and then we went to the park. We walked along the shore on our way back and Henry squealed with delight each time a wave came up and caught his little toes. The sea is absolutely freezing here but so gentle and calm because it's in such a sheltered bay. 

We all came home for our siesta after the game and Henry slept for hours, we eventually woke him at 6:30 when it was time to bath him to go out!!

Once we were all sorted we drove to Obidos again because when we were there last week there were loads of horses and carriages to ride on and we'd said we'd take Henry back later in our holiday. Unfortunately there were none there this evening so we just had a wander around and looked in the shops instead. It started to rain so we gave up and came back to Sao Martinho...not the most successful trip ever!!

We put Henry in his pushchair and headed straight out for dinner. We went back to the restaurant we go to for our coffee and nata every morning as it's really reasonable and so tasty. It was packed and we got the last table luckily. Afterwards we went for ice cream and then wandered home for snuggles on the sofa before bed. 

I can't believe it's our last day tomorrow. Fingers crossed it's sunny so we can enjoy the beach and pool before flying home on Tuesday.

Our Portuguese Adventure - Day 10

We went on a different walk this morning and instead walked for a couple of miles through the sand dunes on the little wooden path which cut through them alongside the beach. Henry had a nice long nap and we stopped for coffee and pastries too.

Afterwards we came back and went to the pool for an hour, came back in for lunch, and then headed back out to the pool for another hour afterwards. Henry walked around the pool holding a little Portuguese girl's hand for ages, unbelievably sweet. He kept chasing after her and they played together with his toys on the grass for a while too. He's such a funny little thing, really loving with some people and ridiculously shy and nervous around others. 

Mr B went out to watch the football while Henry and I napped this afternoon and then we all had a lazy hour watching some TV and playing before getting ready to go out.

We went to the park on the beach first and then we went to a lovely little restaurant and all ate loads of dinner. Henry was particularly fond of the fish pate which he was scraping out of the tub and licking off his fingers as we were leaving. How can he be my child?! Mr B had a huge sirloin steak which was cooking on a hot stone when they brought it to him and I had lasagne which was so good.

Afterwards we went for ice cream and sorbet so Henry was happy and then we wandered home for an early night. I had to do some ironing so Mr B and Henry watched some Peppa while I did that before I put Henry to bed. Another lush day in the sunshine, can't believe we only have two more left.

Our Portuguese Adventure - Day 9

We went for our morning walk bright and early and had the usual coffee and pastry once Henry was asleep (we're so predictable, I know). He slept for about an hour and when he woke up we had a wander around the town. We found the tourist information office which has a new glass lift which takes you right up to the top of the town, a place not really accessible with a pushchair, so we hadn't been up that high before. There was a few little cafes there and a lovely pretty little church which was beautifully tiled and had a huge tiled picture of a horse with a Saint Martin (who the town is named after) on it and Henry was particularly pleased with that!! 

After we had a wander round we got the lift back down and we were heading home when we saw the little tourist train in the street filling with people. We'd seen it around a few times but there was never anyone around for us to ask about it so we jumped at the chance to go on it today; we knew Henry would love it! He really did and loved waving to everyone we passed and shouted 'choo choo' in his cute high pitched voice. It was only €4 for all three of us, so we expected that it would drive down the promenade and then turn around but we were out for almost an hour. It took us right through town and up to the highest parts on the hills surrounding the town. It stopped twice to let us off to admire the views and it was really (and totally unexpectedly) great. We took some photos of the beautiful Atlantic Ocean and our little bay and had a really fun time together. 

After we'd finished it was lunchtime so we came back home and I made us a tuna pasta salad before we went out to the pool for a couple of hours. Henry played, I read some of my book and Mr B swam in the pool (it's WAY too cold for me to enjoy a swim, I go in for Henry and that's all!!).

After that was nap time but I skipped my nap today and read instead. I was desperate to finish my book and it was amazing. My Nan (who is almost 80!) has been nagging me to read a book called 'Me before you' for over two years now, and I've finally got round to reading it. I fully expected an old nanna novel but it's the most perfect book, one of the best I've ever read. I sobbed through the last chapter and it was well worth missing my nap for!!

When we were all up we had to get a few things in the supermarket and then we got ready for dinner. We went back to Boca do Mar, which has been my favourite restaurant so far and it was so so good again. We got a jug of the summer berry champagne sangria and I had chateaubriand whilst Mr B had sole. Henry had some really tasty and tender steak with chips and ate the lot, he was obviously hungry. 

After we'd eaten we walked along to the park because he's been such an angel that we thought he deserved to run off some energy and I'm so glad we did. I don't think the three of us have ever laughed so much in our lives, my tummy hurt when we left. Henry was just howling with laughter at his Daddy chasing him and running towards him while we were on the swing and he couldn't breathe because he was laughing so much. It was so lovely and a perfect end to our day.

We had a quick drink on the way back and Henry had an ice lolly and now we are all ready for bed back in the apartment. I can't believe we only have three days left, but at the same time I am starting to feel ready to come home. We are all so relaxed now, I think 12 days is about a perfect amount of time to be away.

Our Portuguese Adventure - Day 8

We went to the local supermarket first thing this morning to stock up on a few bits and once we were home and had unpacked, we headed off for a long walk. It's been a gorgeous day here today, bright blue skies and no wind until this evening so it was a particularly hot walk!! We stopped for our usual coffee and pastry and the waitress even remembered our order today, we're that predictable!! Henry woke up just as we got home so we went straight down to the pool for a few hours. Henry loved being in the water and playing with the other children on the slides. There are two little English boys in particular that he keeps going up to and cuddling, he's so funny. There was a Portuguese girl there today and he was desperate for her to chase him, so kept running up to her, tickling her and running away! When she was at the top of the climbing frame with her friends he kept shouting "Down!" at her so she'd play with him.

We went in for lunch about 1:30 and made a lovely tuna salad before going back out to enjoy the sun for a bit longer before nap time. We all had a really long, late sleep today which was lovely. Afterwards, we woke up slowly and were really lazy for an hour so just watched Toy Story with Henry and snuggled (wine, beer and juice were opened and a few Oreos helped us to wake up too!!)

After getting ready we went to a little bar for dinner. We went there on our first night and Mr B had some amazing sea bream so he wanted to go back. Tonight he had sea bass and apparently it was even better. I had tomatoey spaghetti so Henry could have some of that as well as the fish. Although I'm now having dairy, most of my meals seem to be 'Henry friendly' anyway, so no nice cheese or creamy sauces for me!! 

It has been pretty chilly tonight in the wind so we went to warm up inside the cafe where we go for Henry's sorbet. He had his usual raspberry sorbet, I had the most divine waffle with vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce and Mr B had a Nutella crepe with nut ice cream. Serious calories but so so good. Henry charmed the waitresses and one of them gave him a toy car which he was so pleased with!! It made us laugh because when she brought over his sorbet we told him to say thank you but he responded with "Down there!" and pointed in front of him where he wanted his sorbet putting. We obviously need to work on manners!!

We had a final drink in a bar near home and Henry had a little dance in the middle of the restaurant because he realised it got him plenty of attention!! Little hoot patoot. We then came home and got Henry to bed before having a few games of cards before bed. Another beautiful and relaxing day with my two boys.

Our Portuguese Adventure - Day 7

We woke up to another cloudy day but headed off for our morning walk regardless and Henry soon fell asleep for his morning nap whilst we tucked into our pastries and coffees. Once he was awake we decided to go to the play park on the beach for a while, but having only been there for about 5 minutes, the heavens opened and we had to put Henry's rain cover over his pushchair and run back to the apartment!! Great. 

We made the most of it though and snuggled up together, watched the Gruffalo and read our books. It was actually really lovely not to be rushing anywhere or doing anything. The sun came out so we headed outside to the pool and Henry had a swim which he really loved today. We'd only been out there about 15 minutes when the rain started again so we packed up all our stuff and came in again!! Mr B went to pick some lunch up (another whole barbecued chicken) and afterwards we played inside before all going down for an early nap.

Luckily once we woke up it had stopped raining so we went out to the pool and had a lovely hour of blue skies and sunshine and Henry played in the pool and with some little friends in the park by the pool. Hopefully the weather will stay nice for tomorrow, not sure I fancy another cloudy day!!

We got showered and ready for dinner and walked right round to the other side of the bay where the fishermen were all just returning from a day at sea. Henry enjoyed watching the tractor unloading the nets and cages and especially loved the stray cats hoping for a scrap of fish!!

We went to a little pizzeria which was lovely and they even made Henry his own pizza without cheese which he was pleased about. He ate his weight in garlicky olives and bread too so he was full up when we left. We went straight to the park for him to have a little play and then to a bar near our flat which had a live singer tonight. Henry enjoyed playing peekaboo with a random lady on another table and I enjoyed a couple of glasses of sangria while Mr B had a few beers. Henry had an ice lolly (his first of the day, at 9pm!) and then we came home for Henry to get to bed. We are going to have a few games of cards then we'll be off to bed too. A really lovely day despite the clouds and grey skies!! 

 

Our Portuguese Adventure - Day 6

We had a super lazy morning today, it was really cloudy when we woke up, so after breakfast and some Toy Story for Henry, we all went back to bed for Henry's morning nap time and slept until 12. Such a treat. We then got up and wandered down to the beach for a coffee and juice before coming home to make lunch. We then went down to the pool for a couple of hours but didn't get much sun unfortunately. Inland looked really sunny but the whole coast has been overcast today.

After coming up from the pool we got showered and ready to drive into Lisbon to meet our friends from home. Henry had a little nap in the car so he was on top form for dinner.

We met our friends and headed straight to the most amazing Moroccan restaurant for dinner. It was basically an old Moroccan lady's front room which was so beautifully laid out and she did everything herself - welcomed us in (there was a plant in the doorway so no one could enter without her moving the plant herself!), took our order, poured our drinks, made our food, cleared the table, washed up etc etc. She was absolutely amazing. One of the first things she said to me was not to worry about the baby and his mess, babies will be babies and to relax. She gave me his orange juice in a little jug so I could give him a little at a time and told us what was in every dish so we knew if it was suitable for him. The food was amazing, we ate so many little mezze type treats and all chose a tagine each. Henry loved the spiced houmous with pitta bread and my chicken tagine with couscous and he played with all his plastic Peppa Pig tat while we chatted with our friends and drank plenty of wine (apart from poor Daddy who was driving).

After we'd finished we went for an ice cream to the most beautiful place in the centre of Lisbon. Henry had a banana sorbet and I had a mixture of passion fruit and raspberry. Mr B had a waffle with ice cream and dark chocolate and it was all divine. Henry finished his cone and then immediately grabbed mine out of my hand to finish!! Definitely a hit with him. 

We are now on our way home, it's past 11pm so poor Henry is crashed out in his car seat and we are all ready for our beds. A really lovely evening in a very beautiful city that we'd love to explore some more one day. 

Our Portuguese Adventure - Day 5

We had another lazy morning which involved breakfast, a long walk, sleeping baby and coffee with custard tarts. It turns out we're big fans of routine....and custard tarts!

Once Henry was awake we drove half an hour up the road to a town called Obidos which was so beautiful. It was packed full of tourists and boiling hot but we enjoyed a couple of hours wandering around the narrow cobbled streets lined with whitewashed houses decorated with beautiful tiles. 

We found a lovely ancient little restaurant for lunch and had a break from the midday sun with a huge tuna salad, pizza and drinks. There were loads of horses and carts around which pleased the little horse lover and we set off for home in time for Henry's nap.

We actually had half an hour by the pool before nap time but it was so cloudy all along the coast today so it's probably just as well we went inland to Obidos. 

After our nap we walked across to the beach for an hour and made sandcastles, dug holes and paddled in the sea. Because we'd been out for lunch we decided to have a quiet dinner at home which gave us an extra hour down at the beach which was lovely. 

We came home and had showers and prepared dinner - leftover pasta for Henry and a baked Camembert with salad for us. So tasty! Afterwards we walked into town for a few sangrias and an ice cream as well as a little play in the park for Henry.  He's loving our holiday so far, he's so adaptable, bless him, and he's happy to do anything. He's particularly loving his daily ice cream and afternoon siesta cuddling his mummy.

Tomorrow we are meeting friends in Lisbon for dinner which is exciting but before that we'll probably be having a lazy day, fingers crossed for sunshine.

 

Our Portuguese Adventure - Day 4

We had another lazy morning in the flat before going for a lovely long walk along the beach. Henry had a play in the park which is right on the sand and then fell asleep in his pushchair while we walked along the promenade. We walked through the tunnel through the rocks which led to rock pools and a very choppy Atlantic Ocean, it's amazing how different it was to our lovely calm bay. While Henry slept we had our usual coffee, juice and pastry, and then walked home where he woke up just as we arrived back. We went straight down to the pool because it has been seriously hot today and we were all boiling. Henry had a swim in the pool and we played on the grass for a couple of hours with lots of watermelon and 'guhguh' of course.

We came up for lunch and I made some tuna and onion pasta which Henry loved and then we went to the beach for an hour.

We had an ice lolly in a cafe right on the beach and it was absolutely packed full of people. We then built sandcastles, Henry threw sand at us, because of course that is absolutely hilarious when you're one, and paddled in the sea before coming home for nap number two. We slept for an hour or so before getting ready for dinner.

We went out for a drink in town first and the went to Boca do Mar, a gorgeous steak and seafood restaurant on the beach. It was really posh inside and we had such a lovely dinner together. Afterwards we headed back to the park on the sand and then to our usual ice cream place for sorbets and ice creams before coming home for Henry's bedtime. Mr B and I then played Battle Ships before bed, because that's how wild we are these days!! Another lovely day for all of us.

Special kisses for Henry's Marmar xxx He's talked about you lots today, mainly about when the bird landed on your hand!!

Our Portuguese Adventure - Day 3

We've found a lovely little routine that suits us and are all so relaxed here in sunny Portugal. Henry has been beyond amazing today, so good and well behaved, full of beans and lots of cuddles. 

Daddy and Henry were up early again and once I was up, we all had breakfast before going out for a nice long walk along the seafront. We walked along the cobbled path and watched the fishermen and it turns out that cobbles are great for getting little ones to sleep in pushchairs because Henry was soon fast asleep for his morning nap. We made the most of it and stopped for a lazy cup of coffee and the most divine custard tart I've ever eaten. We will definitely be back for more tomorrow. We used the free wifi in the cafe to catch up with things at home and for me to upload my blog. 

Once Henry was up he had an ice lolly and we wandered home and went straight down to the pool. We played, ate watermelon and had a swim before coming back up to the flat for lunch. Mr B went to a local cafe to pick up an amazing spatchcock barbecued chicken and we had that with salad. Henry is loving all the food here, he and his daddy were tucking into sardine pate on their bread tonight at dinner....grim!! 

After lunch Henry and I went for a nap (it sounds like all we do it sleep) and Mr B went into town to watch some football with it being the first day of the Premier League season. Once he was back we went swimming and played by the pool for an hour before coming back and getting showered and dressed for dinner.

We went to a lovely seafood restaurant but unfortunately it was fully booked, so we've booked to go back for dinner tomorrow. Instead we went over the road to a restaurant right on the beach and had a really lovely dinner. Afterwards we had a walk along the beach and went for a drink in our favourite little bar. Henry had a sorbet, chased some doggies and acted like a total lunatic - we can only assume it was the dodgy sweetener and E numbers in the orange drink he was given at dinner!! 

He is now fast asleep again and we won't be long either. We're looking forward to another quiet and relaxing day tomorrow...and maybe a custard tart or two. 

Our Portuguese Adventure - Day 1

We had an early start this morning waking up to our alarm at 3:45am! We got a taxi to the airport and things were surprisingly smooth. We were first to check in because we had Henry, had a dedicated family queue at security and the same at passport control in Lisbon. Henry was a total star on the flight, slept for an hour and then sat and played, watched the iPad and ate breakfast too.

When we arrived we picked up our car and drove the hour or so up the road to Sao Martinho do Porto, a small town north of Lisbon. We had a minor incident at the tolls when we had to pay a €23 fine for using the wrong lane (?!?!) but it's not worth worrying about.

We arrived and had lunch at a lovely tapas restaurant and then headed to our lovely little apartment which is home for the next two weeks. We were all absolutely shattered so didn't even unpack before having an amazing couple of hours in bed.

When we woke up we drove up the road to the supermarket and stocked up - naturally we had to buy carrots for Henry to carry, we may be in Portugal but some things never change! 

After showers and getting dressed we headed out to dinner and for a little explore. The town was buzzing, totally full of people, mainly Portugese too which is always a good sign! We chose a jam packed restaurant and it didn't disappoint. Henry filled himself up on bread and olives (as he did at lunch) but still left some room for tomatoey spaghetti and a huge raspberry sorbet on the way home. I've never been as proud of him as I have been today. It's been a long day and he's been an absolute angel throughout. Let's hope he sleeps well to top it off, we are in a one bed apartment so it could be an interesting night!!

Our Portuguese Adventure - Day 2

Henry was up early so he and Mr B watched some Peppa Pig in the lounge whilst I had another hour in bed. I'm so glad we went for an apartment rather than a hotel in the end, I think Henry would have really struggled to have been confined to one room and at least it meant I didn't have to hear Peppa at 7am!

Once we'd had breakfast we headed off to the beach and Henry enjoyed splashing on the shore and building sandcastles. He then seemed really tired so I got him down for a nap and he slept under a little tent on the sand. The whole beach is full of these lovely fabric tents, but we still haven't worked out who they belong to or if they're just a free for all! We had 40 minutes of peaceful sunbathing outside of the tent and then we headed for an ice lolly to cheer up a sleepy miserable toddler! It did the trick, as it always does, and we enjoyed our ice lollies and drinks in a little cafe on the beach before heading home.

We went straight to the pool and Henry enjoyed the little toddler pool and also playing on the grass and on the little slide. It is so stressful watching a toddler by a swimming pool, you really can't take your eyes off them for a split second!! I think I was a bit optimistic bringing 4 whole magazines with me; I think I only read half of an article today! After an hour we headed in for lunch and had a tasty salad before going back out to the pool for a few hours. There has been a really strong wind today which has actually been quite cold at times, despite the sunshine and the heat and I think Henry felt too cold in the pool so enjoyed loads of cuddles and played instead.

We went back in to the flat for a sleep at 3:30 and we all ended up having a lovely long siesta. It's been great for Henry having a late nap because it means we're in no rush on an evening and we can stay out a bit later.

After nap time we all had a shower and got dressed and walked into town. Over the last two days we've noticed a lovely old fashioned carriage being pulled by two black horses making its way around town, and tonight we found where it was based. Of course we had to go for a ride with our crazy horse obsessed child and he absolutely loved it. We were out for about 20 minutes and went right along the coastline through town. Henry was just fascinated and anything that can make a toddler sit still for so long must be a winner!! We went for a drink afterwards and then found a lovely little seafood restaurant on the beach where we had dinner. All of the waiters have been excellent with Henry so far and I love how child friendly Portugal is, he was treated like a king tonight and was such a good boy.

We all had an ice cream (or sorbet) on the way back home and now we are off to bed after a long, but lovely day.

 

Our Summer Holiday - Week 3

Week Three - Saturday 1st - Wednesday 6th August 2015

We are off on holiday tomorrow so thought I'd publish Week 3 of our summer holidays and then do specific holiday posts for our time in Portugal. Whoop whoop, can't wait.

Henry loves a buffet! Catching up with my brother at Marmar's after coffee and cake with friends

Some 'me' time - getting my hair done all ready for holiday.

Searching for squirrels at Chester le St park

Fun at the new splash pad

Artist at work - Seven Stories

Dressed as Paddington 

The quote says it all

A view I've seen many times this week, our evening visit to see the horsies down the road 

Our first ever Five Guys. Easily the best burger I've ever had.

A hotel swim with Mummy and Daddy

Pre-holiday drinks in the hotel bar.