Day 8 & 9: Coimbra & Goodbye!

A day trip to Coimbra, the town with the oldest University (dating back to 1288) and quite a politically motivated student body (see pics of campus grafitti), proved to be nice way for the family to spend their last day together. While thoughts of packing and yummy airplane food danced in their heads; the sunny day in Portugal pierced their heart and minds one last time. A day trip made for kings with cobblestone streets, cathedrals, statues, and stunning views of Coimbra followed by Portuguese rush hour made for an eventful day.

The last supper was at dad's favorite place; a European hypermarket (similar to a Super Target). Yep, his favorite place! No joke. There is a food court with many typical Portuguese offerings, in addition to McDonalds and the Portuguese equivalent to Subway. But, the reason dad LOVES this place...the wine! You can buy a half bottle of wine for 1-2 euro and drink it in the food court. Now, I must agree, this is cool! After a big dinner, a wine toast, and a big shopping spree in the hypermarket, alarms were set for 3:30 a.m. and we all laid our heads down.

Dad drove the gang to the airport at 4:00 a.m., and the tired family said goodbye to Leasa. Tear.

Day 7: We like AVEIRO!

In the morning, Leasa took the parents on the, "Leasa Portuguese Tile Walking Tour," and the rest of the day was quite relaxed with shopping, Bobby eating every 3 hours, and the kids admiring the colorful Portuguese graffiti and the canal. All was chill until Bobby brought out the cards and the brother/sister rivalry moved into full effect.

Day 6: Merry Christmas!

Last year after a hectic Christmas in Colorado, the Weimer family agreed to spend a non-traditional 2007 Christmas in Portugal. And, it actually came to fruition...here we are in Portugal! There was no chimney for Santa Clause to squeeze into at the Pensão Residencial Sintra, a beautiful 150 year old house converted into a Pensão, therefore when we woke up there were no gifts of unneeded materialistic items. Actually, we had all agreed to a Christmas with NO gifts, which was a nice change, as we are a typical American family that normally spends a ridiculous amount of time and money preparing for Christmas, and the stress that accompanies Christmas did not exist this year. However, after a theatrical Christmas Eve, some did wake up with the GIFT of a hangover (JULIE!) It was a lazy morning with a typical Euro breakfast (breads, jams, butter, ham, and cheese) and the kids enjoyed a morning walk, complete with time at a playground...

In the afternoon, we loaded the car and headed back to Aveiro. We made a stop in Óbidos, the fairytale fortress and medieval town where we walked along the walls surrounding the town and tasted the Ginjinha, a famous cherry liquor, in a chocolate shot glass. Then, the rain came. The weather has been better than expected with lots of sun, so we really can't complain about one rainy day in the car. As we drove into Aveiro we realized that once again we might be faced with supermercados closed for the holiday. The kids took to the cobblestone streets of Aveiro and found a Chinese restaurant open for business. It was a cultural and non-traditional Christmas FOR SURE!!

Day 5: Sintra, a Magical Mountain Town for Christmas Eve!

Christmas Eve day started with a beautiful and sunny walk (and work-out) on the boardwalk from Estoril to CasCais. Then, we jumped in the car for a drive into the romantic and picturesque mountain village of Sintra.

In the afternoon, Bobby & Leasa journeyed to the Palácio Nacional de Pena (Pena National Palace), perched high a top the mountains, overlooking Sintra and the countryside that meets the Atlantic ocean. This castle is the epitome of a castle you dream about in fairytales, with the distinct colors contrasting against the blue sky.

The evening was filled with a walk through the lit-up and shut-down Sintra, take-out food (as everything shut down early on Christmas Eve), lots of wine (4 bottles to be exact), and the theatrical reading of 3 typical Christmas stories; The Grinch Stole Christmas, The Polar Express, and The Night Before Christmas.

Day 4: Roadtrip to Lisbon!

The kids woke up with massive hangovers after a night out in a local wine bar in Aveiro. This made for a slow start...but finally everyone packed up the superfly Peugot car rental and headed to Lisboa. Belem was the first stop, where the family paid homage to the Portuguese explorers of the 14 & 15th centuries.

The kids stopped in a pastry shop for some lap-time with Santa and begged and pleaded with Santa for gifts. It turns out little Bobby was so excited he wet not only himself but Santa's lap. Hmmmm, not quite sure the Weimer kids will get a visit from Santa this year...

(To be continued...)

Day 3: More Aveiro & Vinho!

Another sunny day in Aveiro; started with a walking Portuguese tile tour, a few hours of booking hotels and consulting the Portugal map, and another beautiful sunset. The photo of the day was captured as the kids returned from a sunset walk and dad was chillin' on the couch with the Portugal map and 4 bottles of vinho tinto (red wine). He thinks that he has died and gone to heaven because the wine is so cheap here.

Day 2 in Aveiro: Beaches & Sushi!

After a lazy morning in Aveiro, we headed to the beach (without our speedos!)

Rumor had it that the Weimer kids are "hams" when you pull out the camera. As you can see by these wacky photos, this theory was proven true on the beach of Costa Nova.

The sunset was spectacular!

Wasssssabi! The day ended with some home-made sushi and many laughs (while mom & Bobby ate Chinese fried rice and turned up their nose to the beautifully hand-crafted rolls.)

I think dad got a little too much wasabi on this roll!