After 5 nights at the lovely Martinhal resort in Sagres, we flew out to Lisbon and then drove 30 minutes to a town called Sintra. It was only a 45 minute flight but we got delayed and were stuck on the plane for an extra 45 minutes which would have been a nightmare but my kids were behaving perfectly fine:) Riya was plowing through her gallon sized snack bag and contentedly staying seated while playing with her sticker books and stamps. I'm so happy we bought her this harness that attached to her seat belt, I think its the reason she stayed in her seat for all 3 flights. Obrigado Laine for the recommendation!!!
Another side note, we survived the long car rides and all 3 flights with zero screen time for Riya. As a parent, this made me really happy, but it also meant we had to do the bulk of entertaining, which was tiring.
Okay, back to the trip.
We arrived at the beautiful Penha Longa Resort around 2pm. Unfortunately our room wasn't ready yet and though both kids desperately needed a nap, it wasn't happening. We fed them both and enjoyed a drink while we waited for our room. Riya was happily running around the property proving that she was "not tired." Sintra wasn't as windy as Sagres was, so we felt the heat more. Thoughtfully, our hotel had an indoor play area that had everything a 2.5 year old could want- a home corner outfitted with a kitchen and plastic foods, drawing station, dolls, several different types of slides, a ball pit, and more.
The next morning, we had plans to drive to the zoo in Lisbon, which is reputed to have one of the best zoological collections in the world. Unfortunately, Riya woke up with tummy trouble and we decided it wasn't a good idea to do the 30 minute drive and be out in the sun all morning. Once again the play areas at the hotel came in hand and despite feeling crummy at times, Riya was entertained. She even jumped on a trampoline for the first time!
The next day we set out to the Aquarium, another must see in Lisbon. Riya was not interested in seeing fish of any kind. Sigh. So we zipped through that place in record time. We did get to see Penguins (my fav!), Dragon Sea Horses, Frogs and other colorful reptiles.
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| Puffins! |
Sintra is a beautiful town that hosts several castles. For all my Bachelorette fans, you may recall the castle in Portugal in Season 6 with Ali. One of the episodes aired at Pena Palace, which is in Sintra! Pena Palace rests on a hilltop. I'm sure the pictures don't do it justice, but it looked so beautiful. I really wanted to check it out but it was a hike to get up there and it was impossible with kids in tow:/ Ah well, next time.
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| Pena Palace |
Because of Riya's tummy trouble, we also had to steer clear of the pool on this part of the trip. What a shame though because the pool was gorgeous with the mountains and golf course as a back drop. Ram and I did manage to take turns checking out the restaurants at the hotel at night. The food was excellent as were the mojitos:) I wish we had one more day in Sintra. These two places are definitely at the top of our list for future family vacations!
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