The Nutcracker

I took Maddie to see The Nutcracker tonight. Although it made it for a late evening, she really enjoyed it and danced/jumped in her seat through many parts of it. It was a great experience and I can't wait until next year, when Otis is old enough to go too!

Arboretum

Yesterday was a beautiful, sunny fall day. We usually don't get too many of those, so we took the opportunity to go for a walk in the arboretum. It was colorful and fun. We were happy to be able to get outside!

Bunk Beds!

Christina and Brian gave Maddie bunk beds (in long term loan) for her birthday and we finally got them put up today. Needless to say, two little some bodies are very, very excited!

Grandma and Grandpa visit

Grandma and grandpa visited during the past few weeks and it was really fun. We went to the Chihuly gardens, hiked Carkeek park, and went to the Japanese gardens (amongst other things). There was also lots of silliness stories and playing as well. Unfortunately, I took very few pictures-but that's because we were having too much fun!

Berlin

The final stop in our adventure was Berlin to visit Eric's brother. We were very glad to get the chance to see him and absolutely fell in love with Berlin along the way! It's a great city with an amazing mix of old and new. Although the weather was a bit rainy, we made the most of our time and spent as much time with Brendan as we could. We managed to go to a museum, take a boat ride, and visit a few different playgrounds. We can't wait for the chance to go back!

Finally, an update!

Sorry for the lapse in posting. Our computer ran out of memory and then we spent some time getting readjusted to life back in the States and blogging, well, got lost in the mix. Now that we're all home and settled (and not quite so busy!), I'm finally back to it! These are the last of our pictures from Portugal, with a bit of Spain thrown in. We went to a local fair, the Festival of St. John. It was, hands down, Maddie's favorite experience of our entire time in Evora. She loved all of the rides and was very upset when the fair was over. Otis also enjoyed the rides much more than I thought it would. It was really a treat to see the kids enjoy the fair. Our last adventure before leaving Portugal was to meet my mom in Madrid. It was a great experience and we also enjoyed it a ton. We managed to see two flamenco shows (one for my mom and I only and one with Maddie) and they were fantastic! We rode the double decker bus around town and found it a great way to see a lot of sites with the kids. All in all, we had a great time and the kids proved, once again, to be great travelers!

Lisbon Oceanarium

The Lisbon Oceanarium is the largest in Europe and was truly an amazing experience. They had a special exhibit featuring turtles that allowed us to both walk over the turtles swimming in water as well as sitting under them. We were all entranced. They also had a massive tank in the middle, which included some fish I'd never seen before. The Oceanarium was divided into temperate zone and had so many further subdivisions that we weren't able to see them all before we had to leave for lunch. Unfortunately, they do not have a cafeteria and have a no re-entry policy. After finding some food, we also found a huge lawn behind the Oceanarium perfect for running and a cable car that needed to be ridden. It was a great day and the kids are disappointed we won't be able to make it back.

Monsaraz

Monsaraz was an absolutely beautiful village. Set high on a hill above a river, it was originally built as a military defense post and the views are breathtaking. It's quite small and known for it's pottery shops, of which there are quite a few. The handmade wares are colorful and well made. We will definitely be buying some before we head home! They also have castle ruins with a bullfighting ring in the middle, which they apparently still use! It was great fun to climb around the ruins, though the steep stairs did make some the climbing a bit hairy! The only real down side of this trip was the Eric wasn't with us. We liked it so much, though I'm sure we'll take him back!

Vila Vicosa

For Father's Day, we went to a nearby marble town. It had an amazing archeological museum, a more than slightly creepy hunting museum, and an amazing panoramic view of the town, all housed in an old castle. We were also able to walk around the castle on top of the wall, which was a treat. We walked past a church covered in marble and a cemetery, which was also all marble. It was really a very fun day and we enjoyed all of it!

Luz

While Christina was here, we also went down to the beach and stayed in a town called Luz. It was warm and beautiful. We had an amazing time! Unfortunately, our camera battery died on the second day, so we don't have any photos from Sagres. It was, however, also very cool.

 Otis and Christina were so excited, they couldn't stay awake!

 Maddie running to the cliffs

 What an amazing view!

 Family photo!

 Otis strikes a pose.

 So does Maddie.

 The house we stayed in.

 Playground on the beach.

 Checking out the water. It was early, so the water was a bit cold still.

 Otis really wanted to rent this paddle boat car with a slide on top.

 Different cliffs right on the beach.

 The colors were amazing.

 Jumping waves!

 Not too sure about the water...

Maddie sure liked it!

Arraiolos

Christina's visit was a non-stop adventure and we took every opportunity to explore and see the sites. The first town we visited was Arraiolos, which is known for their hand made rugs. Arraiolos also marked our first castle visit in Portugal. Of course we also checked out the local playground.

National Kid's Day

Recently, Christina visited and we had many fun adventures while she was here. Her visit coincided with National Kid's Day. Oh my, they do it up in Evora! There were many fabulous events around the city, mostly in the children's park, including, tile painting, balloon animals, horse rides, and pinwheel making. It was a great event that we were sad we couldn't spend more time at, but we had more adventures to pursue!

More fun in the (small) city

We have been enjoying our time in Evora and getting to know the city quite well. It's actually a quite small city - Maddie can walk from one end to the other and back. I'm taking Portuguese lessons from two different college girls in town, which is doing quite a bit to help us get around and feel comfortable. In all, we're starting to feel more at home in the city and are loving the history, culture, and warm weather!

 Flowers in the public garden

 Cafe kids!

 Fountain in the public square

 Playing King and Queen in the public gardens

 The Temple Diana 

 Temple Diana Park

 The back side of the Temple Diana