The Stevenson Ohana

Tuesday, February 21, 2023

Nazaré

Feb 21, 2023: Nazare! This was probably the favorite stop on our Portugal trip, voted on by the kids. It is such a fun beach town known for it's big waves and surf competitions. Visiting here to me, felt a lot like 'coming home' to Hawaii. There was a big festival going on when we arrived so was fun to see the locals in action and the big homemade parade floats and blasting Portuguese music for their carnival. The energy was really fun, a very neat culture experience. Lots of kids dressed up in costumes and celebration. We had the best meal of the trip too, voted on by Dad. Fresh fish caught from the shore. I really enjoyed an Acai bowl here too. One of the highlights was the Forte de Sao Miguel, just really incredible and inspiring to see the surfing wall with famous boards along the wall. . . many which have rode some of the biggest waves in the world with the athlete's words. It was really well done and made you wanna connect more with nature and adventure.

Our little villa we stayed at.

Monday, February 20, 2023

Sintra, Portugal

February 20, 2023: The next stop on our Portugal trip was Sintra! This was one of the most unique places we've been, really tucked away in the mountains. The Pena Palace was really cool with the bright color terraces and just felt very different than other palaces and castles we have traveled too prior. It was high on the mountain in Sintra. We took a taxi up and was dying when we saw the crowds and people, but thanks to the kids we could cut the line and had priority but even without kids this place would be worth it, just really neat inside and out. Our airbnb was one of the best too-- lots of rooms and had a great view from every window of the beautiful Sintra and red tile rooftops. We decided to walk back to our airbnb rather than taxi since it was a nice evening and loved the walk back. The crisp mountain air, the light of the evening, the views, and non-puking car-sick kids in a taxi :)