Summer Sand, Sea, Sun in Albufeira Portugal

Portugal is a beautiful country. Coming as it did at the very end of our trip we opted for serious downtime. So we didn't really "see" Portugal as this meant alternating beach days with pool days. Not hard to do in Albufeira in the south of Portugal , where you will find dozens of similar seaside towns with perfect summer weather: warm and dry. Getting around was quite easy. Everyone we met spoke some level of English and we found many things catered to the UK tourism industry, including the escalators down to the beach (enter on the left, exit on the right). Fish 'n chip shops abound, and books, even kids books, are readily available in certain bookstores. A mini train is a fun, but more expensive way to get to and from the beach, and buses run very regularly. Bull fighting is one entertainment option and local shopping is another. There are beautiful handmade linens and expensive (10 euro per) but well made beach towels for sale near the beach. Local events, summer concerts or sporting events are frequently there as well. We basically lived in our swimsuits for a week before starting the long journey home. The entire southern county of Portugal, the Algarve, is a well known "family friendly" destination. The weather is warm and dry and the sand is soft with generally gentle waters. The sun is very hot and strong but the water is very cold. The downside to this lovely place is that some parents brought their kids here to get a vacation FROM rather than WITH their kids and inconsiderate and childish, obnoxious behavior often went unchecked by tuned out adults. As an added FYI, you can't go to a pool or beach here without seeing topless women. All throughout Europe, men, boys and kids wear the speedo bottoms and babies go naked. Directly opposite the American cultural norm, we saw girls up to the age of twelve wearing only bottoms. And when they do graduate to wearing tops, it's bikini style. I just convinced all the men where to go! We didn't find this offensive as it's really normal here, but it required a little explanation to our girls. This coincides with the European mentality generally. In Croatia we learned that any beautiful beach can easily become a nudist beach, but here in Albufeira the usual thing is to lay down to take off your top, but this not a hard and fast rule by any means.

Overall, we found southern Portugal to be the perfect temperature with plenty to do and see and we'll probably be back for more.

Traveling with Kids

I don't consider myself a blogger. It feels a bit like leaving a voicemail on a wrong number, but here I go. Out of my comfort zone . . . again.

I've been out of my comfort zone a lot in the past year. When my husband first suggested moving to Europe for six months, I thought it was a crazy and funny idea, but especially crazy. In usual life we live in Southern California. My oldest goes to school, we attend church and playgroups and sports events. We go to the fair and the beach in the summer, see family at holidays and visit the local attractions during the school year. But what if we did leave it all behind to try something extraordinary? The thought took hold. We'd traveled extensively in North America and Australia B.K. (before kids), and I love travel. But to travel Europe with three kids, ages five (almost six) and under? Could I keep it together? Would I lose my temper and my mind? I've never been one to allow fear to make my decisions, so setting all self-doubts aside, I set to researching.

I already knew that a vacation with kids is not a vacation in the adult sense of the word. Someone says 'vacation' and I conjure up the vision of lying in the shade on the beach, reading the latest Sophie Kinsella or Shannon Hale from start to finish, and only moving to take a cooling dip and grab some melon. To date this has only happened once since I entered the foray of motherhood six years ago. This would not be a 'vacation'. It would be better described as an adventure.

As long as I remembered to look at it like that, I was never disapointed.

So, in the end, although I didn't find nearly enough information to adequately plan our trip, I did find enough to know it could be done. So we did it.

To give a sense of the breadth and scope of the thing we did, below is a list of the cities where we stayed or did noteworthy things:

Dublin Ireland
London England
Dover England
Calais France
Paris France (and Versailles )
Brussels Belgium
Amsterdam The Netherlands
Hamburg Germany
Copenhagen Denmark
Stockholm Sweden
Tallinn Estonia
Tartu Estonia
Parnu Estonia
Helsinki Finland
Rostock Germany
Berlin Germany
Prague Czech Republic
Munich Germany (and Bavaria Neuschwanstein )
Bled Slovenia
Ljubljana Slovenia
Plitvice Lakes Croatia (a national park)
Mjlet Island Croatia (a national park)
Dubrovnik Croatia
Split Croatia
Rome Italy
Madrid Spain
Lisbon Portugal
Albufeira Portugal

This trip took us nearly a year, and it wasn't all free time as my husband did actually have to work and I was homeschooling. But to live in a place with children, and yet to live as a tourist is a very special and unique opportunity to really see a place and get to know something about the people who live there.

My goal in sharing these stories and insights is to help others who are ready to venture into the brave new world of traveling with kids, to be able to do it with accurate information and a support system.

That said, I won't be able to help anyone find the best wine in town, the best babysitting services or nightlife of any kind. This wasn't that kind of trip. What I can tell you about are some of the best kid-friendly activities, cities and highlights of our trip. I can give tips, advice and insights into traveling Europe with kids.