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!