London Days 1 and 2

Erik found that it would be cheaper to get home if we flew from Portugal to London, and then London back to NYC, so we got to have what amounted to a day and a half layover in London! We had just enough time to go to church, and then see some of the main sites. Here are the pictures!

(Keep in mind, we had to get up at 4 AM in Portugal to catch our flight, and it was very wet and a little rainy in London, so we all look very tired and rain-bedraggled!)

This was a cute little plaza with beautiful trees. We discovered it on our way to the church.

Here we are at the church. This is a church and a visitor's center, and we didn't arrive in time for the family ward, so we got to attend the YSA sacrament meeting. :)

This picture was taken at Kensington Gardens, in some kind of memorial for Princess Diana.

This was a pond in Kensington Gardens. Ezra really loved the swans. He kept trying to pet them. I'm pretty sure he succeeded once or twice, which I really did not approve of!!! I like kids to have a healthy fear of wild animals. :)

Iconic phone booth. Kids thought these were pretty cool.

This was a fountain honoring Shakespeare.

Trafalgar Square. And, thanks to all of my recent reading of novels by Sherwood Smith, I understood the history with Admiral Nelson and the battles this is memorializing. I was pretty impressed with myself. :) 

Joylyn at Trafalgar Square.

Big Ben! Once we told the kids that this is the clock in Peter Pan, they were more impressed!

Erik and Westminster Abbey.

St. James Park

Buckingham Palace!

Remember all those things I mentioned about being tired and bedraggled? (And frizzy-haired from humidity. . . ) Well, this picture is Exhibit A.

And, on the plane home. The kids love international flights because they get unlimited, free movies and TV!

Ginny is already zoned in, even before take-off. I have to say, now that we have kids old enough to be entertained for several hours by the screen, I really enjoy flying a lot more! I can even get in a movie or two, myself!

All in all, it was a really fun trip. Despite all of the tantrums, whining, and tired kids and adults alike, I am glad we went. Great experience, and great memories!

Portugal Day 4: One more day in Lisbon

We spent our last day in Portugal exploring parts of Lisbon we hadn't seen yet, and also getting gelato one last time. Then we had an early night, because we had to be up at 4 AM the next day to catch our flight to London. Here are the couple pictures I have of our last day in Lisbon.

Erik and the kids found the beach and had a lot of fun playing there. While they played on the beach, Joylyn and I enjoyed walking around the plaza (the picture below shows the plaza). They had a lot of arts and crafts vendors there, and I enjoyed looking at all of the different items for sale. It's probably a good thing we didn't bring much luggage and I couldn't fit anything to bring back!

We had a great time in Lisbon! There was so much to do and see, and a lot of activities for the kids to enjoy as well. We were tired by the end, but it was worth it!

Portugal Day 3: Sintra and Pena Palace

On our 3rd day in Portugal we took a day trip to a town called Sintra. It was a cute town with lots of shops and restaurants, and (of course) a playground. While we were there, we took a bus up to the beautiful Pena Palace. The pictures I took are pretty much all of the palace or the palace grounds. I don't think I got any of Sintra itself.

Isn't this gorgeous?! 

We found this tree and the flowers were stunning, so we had to take a picture. My picture doesn't do it justice, though. Pena Palace had some of the most beautiful flowering trees I have ever seen. It was so fun to see them all!

After we were done exploring the palace and the grounds (which were extensive and gorgeous--and very hilly!), we decided to hike back down to Sintra, rather than take the bus. (The bus was always so packed, it was hard to get on.) So we had a good hike back down, and some exhausted children on the train ride back to Lisbon!

Portugal Day 2: Lisbon and Jeronimos Monastery

This was our first full day in Lisbon. It was a lot of fun! We rode the famous tram, and walked up and down a lot of hills! There were some great views from the tops of some hills. Here are some pictures to give you an idea of what the city is like!

Ezra couldn't resist meeting this statue and shaking his hand. Actually, I think he is attempting to dance with the man in this picture. :)

View of Lisbon from the top of a hill. It's such a pretty city!

Erik was very excited to discover a Burger King with 50 cent ice cream cones. Since we like to get gelato every day when we travel to Europe, one day he decided to let the kids have the 50 cent version, and the adults got to enjoy the more expensive gelato. The kids didn't seem to mind at all! I don't think I have any pictures of our gelato in Lisbon besides one of Isaac, but we found one gelato place that was delicious and had so many fun flavors. My favorite was oreo (I'm very predictable), and Isaac liked the strawberry best. I can't remember everyone else's favorites, but I do remember Erik trying the basil flavored ice cream. It was better than I expected it to be!

In the afternoon, we took a train a little outside the city to the Jeronimos Monastery. It is huge! And has a nice playground nearby, so the kids were happy. Here are some pictures of the chapel and the cloisters. 

Our first full day in Lisbon was a lot of fun! (And a lot of good exercise. All those hills!)

Portugal Day 1: Faro

So, technically, Portugal Day 1 includes Lisbon, but I didn't take any pictures of Lisbon that day, since most of the day was spent on buses, trains, and in a little city called Faro where we switched from a bus to a train. Faro is a cute little city where we got to spend a few hours. There wasn't much to do, but we went and saw an old church and climbed up to the bell tower, and we found a little playground, and a splash pad, so the kids were happy enough to be there. Here are some pictures of Faro:

This picture is actually still in Seville. The morning we left, Ginny's loose tooth finally popped out. As you can see, she was pretty happy about it!

The little playground at Faro.

In the courtyard at the church in Faro. The toys they keep showing off are from McDonald's. We were all hungry when we arrived in Faro, and there was a McDonald's very handy. Erik likes to do "authentic" when we travel, but sometimes with kids, McDonald's is just a relief!

More of the churchyard.

The bell from the bell tower. :)

The view of Faro from the bell tower.

The splash pad. I didn't get a great picture