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.