For the August blog, Naomi 'allowed' me to make a guest appearance which was truly generous of her, considering that my job was one of the main reasons we moved to Portugal in the first place. And my parents made the trek to Lisbon in August and so who better to reflect on this visit!

Every since we landed in Portugal, we had heard about the month of August, the holiday month. Apparently, everyone takes at least 2 weeks of holiday during August. Word has it that our local HR team even has a rule that everyone must take off 2 weeks. We weren’t sure if we wanted to take time off during August it seemed as though things would be pretty crowded, and Naomi was pretty slammed with her work schedule.

Well, sure enough, August played out like we had guessed. Traffic slowed down in the mornings and the office was quiet because the entire country was taking time off. Almost as soon as it started, my Mom and Dad landed and we became tourists ourselves. They landed on a Friday evening and walked down to the nearest beach café for some food and sangria. Naomi met a new partner in crime who appreciated the sangria as much as she did. My Dad felt like he should try out a local specialty and so he ordered sardines as an appetizer. They weren’t bad but very plain and dry – he didn’t order them again for the rest of his trip.

The next day we headed into Lisbon to show my Mom and Dad the old town. We took a walking tour in the morning which I believe was the first walking tour they have ever taken. Naomi loves them, for me, it depends on the tour guide. In this case, we had a guide that mumbled and so we all had a hard time understanding what was being said. Naomi will very soon be giving the tours herself to our guests.

My Dad was able to understand what the lady was saying when she talked about some a very historical and traditional liquor drink (Ginjinha) that is made from sweet cherries and he of course felt obligated to test it out. The taste was enough and there were no further purchases (that's two strikes with the sardines and the ginjinha). 

Dad also paid attention to the comments about the average height of the Portuguese, especially 100 years ago.

After the tour we walked up to the castle for a bit more history and a view of the city. As it was a hot day, we of course had to retreat to shade for more sangria for the girls and beers for the boys.

The next day we drove up to Sintra for a day. We toured a castle and its grounds and wandered the town of Sintra. I gave them the preview and then my parents took the bus back up during one of the days while Naomi and I were at work. The bus schedule was a bit tight and the overall experience was chaotic - they ended up having 45 minutes to race through one of the castles. In the end, I think they preferred the pace of having a local chauffeur.

My Mom and Dad enjoyed the town of Cascais and the beaches close by.  This is our local "Starbucks" which we now have a tradition of taking a picture with each guest.

And this is the best beach bar to grab a drink.

On Wednesday, Naomi and I had a government holiday which meant no work and back on the tourist track. It was rainy in the morning and as we were starting to read through the museum schedules to plan a day indoors, the clouds broke. We decided to drive south and see Sesimbra and Praia de Meco. Sesimbra is a very small village on the water, probably an old fishing village. Not much to do other than walk around and find a café on the water to have lunch – perfect.

Praia de Meco is a beach just up the road. Again, not much to do other than to see the beach and visit the café. More sangria for the girls – I introduced my Dad to a local drink, the Caipirinha. It’s a Brazilian drink similar to a mojito but much more sugary.

The following weekend, we went wine tasting south of Lisbon. The wine tour Naomi and I put together is a close duplication of the wine tour we did one of the very first weekends in town when Kirsten was here. Each time we explore a little bit, but we usually end up going back to our favorite Adegas. This trip, we tried to find a new winery that was on the map. Instead we drove 25 minutes on a dirt road only to come out on a highway that we had been at hours before – no sighting whatsoever of a winery. Oh well. My parents were able to get into some good wines and make a few purchases for the flight home. I also got a personalized tour of the machine that picks the grapes.

This is one of the wineries we visited. 

After a week and two weekends, My parents took off to Madrid for a few days before heading back home. It was a quick trip and very great to see them. It certainly makes the world feel small to have guests come and go so quickly.

As Jeff mentioned, all of Europe is on holiday during the month of August and so we decided to treat ourselves to a weekend in Provence, or should I say a 'little slice of heaven' in southern France. It was like being in a William's Sonoma catalog all weekend long and I'm convinced that if we moved to France I would be fat AND broke as the food and shopping are incredible.  We knew we were headed in the right direction when we were served a meal on the plane that was better than any of the food we've had in Portugal! 

We flew into Marseille and made a short drive to base camp, St Remy.  Saint Remy was the inspiration for several of Van Gogh's paintings and I can see why.  Beautiful tree lined roads, quaint little towns, markets, grapes, fountains, etc.  Life is truly beautiful in Provence! 

Our lovely hotel, Vallon de Valrugues.  It was pure indulgence! 

And of course our trip involved pool time.  The Portuguese are nuts over their beaches, but haven't yet managed to convert these pool people!

When in Provence, you must have a market basket!  I was a bit of a fraud though as I never made any purchases that actually went into the basket.  It was a windy day and my skirt had a tendency to have a life of its own. 

One of St. Remy's many shady retreats

Main Street, SR (St. Remy)

We stayed in St Remy, but we soon discovered that there are a ton of beautiful Provencal towns all within 20-30 km of eachother.  Arles was our first stop and is known for its many Roman ruins.

At this time, I would like to introduce you to Jeff's new Euro look.  He invested in a pair of Euro shades.  It's just  a matter of time before he'll be sporting tight pants and a Euro Hawk.  Please note the lovely ruins of the Roman Amphitheatre in the window reflection. 

Instead of going to the local Tourist office for advice on what to see, Jeff just refers to the postcard rack.  This actually kind of works!

Our first sighting of the great River Rhone

Les Baux is a midieval type town, perched on a hill with incredible views and ruins.

We went to market in L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue.  It was time to put my market basket to use!  The market was packed - crazier than Whole Foods on a Saturday!

I love the writing on these buildings. 

Jeff's favorite lunch is the European Picnic - bread, wine, sausage and cheese.  Here he is setting up camp just outside of the market with our freshly bought market lunch. 

Gordes is another lovely hill town, although it seemed a bit more expensive than the others...

Views from Gordes

The main square

No French town is complete without a fountain

We managed to squeeze in a visit to a local vineyard.  It was our first taste of organically produced wine.  It was very good!  

Our last stop in Provence, Aix-en-Provence.  We were pretty warn out from our marathon weekend as tourists and taking pics, so we didn't take many.  Aix's is the city of fountains and is a University town with an energetic vibe, great shopping and people watching.  Every French student was wearing Birkenstocks with a single strap.  They're back!

August marks the end of summer holidays in Europe.  But there is more fun to come for the York's in September with visits from the Hamilton's and Jeff's brother Ryan!