Spring in Portugal - travelling with a child

It is the end of March, SPRING!!! Here in Finland it is still over minus 10 degrees  below zero (celsius!!) every night and only a bit warmer during the day - no wonder I start looking for flights to Portugal. The weather forecast promised +20 degrees for Lisbon yesterday.... that does sound tempting!!!

A few years ago I spent a week in Sintra with my daughter and granddaughter in February. It was a great time to be travelling with a child - there were so many things to do and see yet it was not too hot. We didn't have to worry about getting too much sun but it was warm enough to enjoy being outside in the sun.

The granddaughter is very interested in the nature, birds, beach, sea, well, everything, actually - she even fell in love with the beautiful Portuguese flag! With a spirit like that, travelling is a real pleasure! She loved the food, the people, the  forests, the  castles, the  playgrounds and the swimming pool at Casa do Valle.

Although the sea water is not really warm enough for swimming and the waves can be too big in the spring, the beach itself proved to be amazing for the kids - the sand is humid enough for building castles yet hard enough for running. We spent hours there, first just admiring then playing!

There were no lines in front of the ticket offices for the sights - I've seen them in the summer and it seems like you could end up spending  hours just getting in..... But in the spring we just walked right in - travelling with a child, that is wonderful!

This picture is from the garden of Pena palace - so green and alive and full of wonder and things to see for a child (as well as for the grownups!!). Naturally the flowers are different from those of the summertime, but nevertheless, as enchanting and beautiful in the early spring. We literally spend hours walking in the garden, looking for the fairies, imagining what the lives of the little princesses must have been like when the garden was built.
I've seen this garden many times before, but walking trough it with a child - well, you just see it differently!!
This must have been one of my best trips to Portugal -  ever!!

Warm, warmer, the warmest

There is something magical about the winter, too!

The temperature in Finland this week is around minus 10 degrees celcius during daytime and -15 at nights. So it is no wonder I check the flights and weather forecasts  almost daily. It promised +16 degrees in Lisbon this morning!!!  If I wasn't actually madly in love with cold winters nothing could keep me from travelling to Portugal this week!
Not everyone likes this weather and I do know I belong to a small minority of winter lovers! 

I am keeping myself warm by looking at photos and cooking Portuguese soups! My absolute favourite is tomato soup with eggs - the first soup Amelia ever taught me to make. And like all the Portuguese recepies, it starts with taking two onions and garlic sauteed in olive oil.... These cold days are just perfect for soups!! After an hour of crosscountry skiing warm, tasty soup is heaven!  I have been so lucky that Amelia has been giving cooking lessons a few times here, at my B&B so I'm well prepered  for the winter!

I bring great olive oil, ABC- macaronies and chocolate powder (not to mention my favorite  wines)  every time I visit Portugal so I'm all set.  Well, almost, at least. 

Naturally I miss the sites, the climate, the friends, the early blooming flowers, the scents - who doesn't! That is why I have all these photos - to remind me what is waiting for me when I go back again!!! And believe me, it will not be long before I go:)

Saudade.... até logo Portugal

There is a Portuguese word SAUDADE which means longing, missing or yearning to or after something. In Finnish, which is my mother tongue, the word KAIHO means almost the same. These two are perfect words for the feeling I have today. On my last day here. Knowing that I'm leaving, not knowing when I'll return.  But at the same token having an underlying tone of hope, a solid knowledge that someday we will meet again. For without hope there is no 'saudade', without hope, there is only sadness of loosing something and never reaching it again. But trust me - I am coming back!!!

I have a friend who visited his ideal holiday location for the 30th time this year -the same island, the same hotel, the same floor.... I almost started to laugh and question his lack of adventure and was about to comment on how boring that sounded....  I didn't.
I realized that I have been going back to Portugal (read= Sintra) since 1988.....

I will always remember the first time I visited Sintra area. It was magic - just like going into a fairy tale!! I came from white, cold wintery Finland and arrived in green world  full of flowers, trees, friendly people (and  cold houses)! 30-years ago there were a lot less tourists, a lot more run down old houses, fewer hotels, fewer everything.... the houses were cold, even back then but the Sintra mountain, Pena  Palace,  the Moorish castle, they were there...
And they  have  held my heart ever since.

What to do in Portugal? Number 1

I have to write about one of my favorite things to do in Portugal: walking! Portugal is just made for this - there are small streets, forests and well marked paths to walk (or hike, or run or cycle...)  everywhere!! If you love hiking along the paths, wandering in the forest, cycling up and down the roads -well,  you can easily find the perfect spot for doing it.

My favorite place to walk is the Sintra mountain. Luckily my sister (and her dogs) live close to it, so they have taken me there time and time again and showed me the beauty of it! Mind you - these walks are not your Sunday afternoon strolls before the dinner - with the uphills and downhills this is serious work-out!!! I mean really serious!! I live on the plains in Finland and I have to walk hours to get the same work-out I get here in just half an hour!

 But the early morning mist is sooo breathtakingly beautiful you don't even realize you are about to die from the clime ... no, it's really not that bad if you are in any condition at all.... and if you remember to take breaks (I stop to take pictures every so often - great excuse to stay still until you  catch your breath!).

But seriously, you can just see all the magic in the forest and feel good to be alive! I'm sure the Sintra mountain with the forest is God's gift to the Portuguese!

But this week I have been walking around Azeitão and the national park of Arrábida. This is very different from Sintra but quite  charming! I love the verdancy of the place and I do enjoy the little bit easier climbs  they have here.
And one morning we ran into these handsome horses and my sister's dog, Pandora, was happy to make acquaintances.
We also saw sheep, goats, dogs, cats.. but Pandora was not all that excited about them....

On one of the morning walks we ran into a lady selling wild asparagus and what I think were tangerines (the lady in this picture is my sister, not the lady doing the selling). What ever you call them they were juicy and sweet and really tasty. One other morning we collected lemons and oranges that were hanging from the trees right in front of our faces... I believe that if the fruits are soooo outside of any fences and actually almost hit me on the face - you can, and almost must, collect them, right?

But for the asparagus we paid real cash for!
That is one of the best things about these walks - you see and experience so many things you would never see if you just drove around - all the flowers, the stones, cats, the fruit.....

For serious hikers there are lots and lots of kilometers on the well marked  paths all along Portugal, specially around Sintra... I will write about them some other time:)

When travelling in Portugal - Azeitão is a good place to start

No - this picture is not about me - I have rested and slept so well I feel nothing like a zombie - but it tells alot about us as humans. We have the need to leave out mark everywhere! Where ever I go I find graphities - some are good - some not, some have nice colors - some don't... but we just have to make them!!!!

Azeitão has proven to be a beautiful, friendly place! All the people we've met have been super helpful and nice. Starting conversations has been super easy! Well, super easy for my sister who speaks Portuguese - my language skills  are soooo limited still that the conversations would end before they got started!

Today we visited a beautiful beach called Coelhos - I filled my camera's memorycard with pictures and videos (had to post one on facebook as soon as we got 'home'. Amazing stones and clean sand! No, it was not warm enough to  swim -not even for me as a Finn - but the walk on the beach was really pleasant!!

This is wine country and therefore here are grapevines everywhere.  And great wines in the shops for very limited amount of money! We haven't made it  to a tour of any of the vineyards yet, but most likely that will happen. One day I'll write a whole post on Portuguese wines - a great  and tasty topic!

I'm here!

The trip begins at Helsinki-Vantaa airport with the obligatory GOOD book to read, a cup of latte and a few minutes to relax before the boarding. The bags are checked in ( with no extra kilos, the huge amount of coffee explained by a sister living in Portugal), the right gate found... This is the time when a good trip begins with a short time to relax in anticipation of the coming trip!

After the boarding there is a Finnish winter specialty: de-icing the plane! What fun!

After a four-and a half an hour flight we are ready lo land. From the plane Lisbon looks BIG and green (well, a bit reddish, too, with all the tileroofs!!!)






And here I am: in Azeitão, in Alentejo. This is really green - like I said Portugal would be!  This is the land of good wine, great cheese and tranquality. A great place for a quiet get-away! And only

The oranges are ripe  and they are everywhere! And they taste delicious! The grapevines are bare this time of the year - but I can imagine how lovely they'll be in just a short time from today.
A little rain does not bother us, for it is quite warm and not constant. The weather is perfect for walking and enjoying the scenery.

We are only about an hour away from the busy and exciting Lisbon but it feels like we've come to a different world - Azeitão is full of small streets, old buildings, wineries, small cafés and friendly people.


For the next two weeks (around there) this will be homestreet in Azeitão, small and lovely . I 'm certain this is going to be a good trip!!!! (I'll tell you all about it later)

Back again

In three days I'm off to Portugal again! This time I'm lucky and get to spend 2 weeks there. I have direct flights from Helsinki to Lisbon and the flight will take five hours.

I'm flying TAP again - ever since my children were small this has been one of my favorite airlines - TAP used to have the best food and the friendliest flight attendants. My kids did not speak any Portuguese and very little English but the flight attendants still used to spent a lot of time making sure the kids had a nice flight. Travelling alone with three kids taught me to appreciate all the help I could get. Even today, travelling with my granddaughter or alone, I love TAP! (and it's so much more affordable than Finnair..:) sorry!!)

 So - January and Portugal - maybe not your most typical combination but believe me - it works! At least for me since I do not want to spend my holiday on the beech.  The average daytime temperature in Lisbon in January is +15 degrees celsius and yes, it can rain, most likely will, but compared to the darkness in Finland - it's ok.

Sintra is green - always. The amazing park of Pena palace in Sintra is always green. There is always something to see and in the winter time walking and hiking are comfortable in Sintra. You should remember, however, that Portugal is a long country and Sintra is in the middle - the south is a bit warmer and the north - naturally - cooler. The winter in Sintra can be really cold - cold and wet. BUT it can be warm and  nice as well. So the most important thing you have to pack with you, with warm clothes and a raincoat, is a good sense of adventure and humor!

Tulhas has been one of my favorite restaurants in Sintra

But what ever the weather is going to be this January, I know that the food will be tasty, the wines will be great and the company of my sister will be comforting! I will tell you all (almost) about!