We headed out to Belém today because I wanted to see Jerónimos Monastery. The church connected to it was amazing!! Vasco de Gama is entombed there.

While we waited to get in the monastery, we ate some cherries and checked out the gardens. Well, Keely and I did. Wade waited in line. Thanks Wade! The hour wait was worth it imo. My sunburn disagrees.

Then we explored a bit, ate gelato (lemon gelato in the lemon is the way to go!), had dinner and tried some snacks. I added a weird Wade photo for your enjoyment.

Overall, Lisbon is great! Good food, clean and easy subways and train, and it feels very safe.

Off to Porto tomorrow!

We got up at 3 am Phoenix time to finish up packing and head to the airport. After a 5 hour flight to JFK, we waited out the 5 hour layover and a delayed flight before finally boarding to Lisbon. Keely was unimpressed with the food and preferred sleep (she better start getting adventurous with her food!) Wade and I had a little fun with her.

When we landed, (8:15 am Lisbon time and 12:15am Phoenix time) we headed through customs (no document to fill out!) Keely got her first ever passport stamp!

We knew going to bed would only prolong the jet lag, so we got headed out to explore. We took the subway downtown to start checking things out. (The subway is surprisingly clean and calm. It was kinda chill.) Lisbon is beautiful! It’s full of old world charm.

We had a tasty almond croissant as a snack. Then we found a Portuguese version of 5 below with rubber ducks galore. That was followed up by some wine tasting. Now, if you know Keely, you know she is a rule follower. She said she would try some wine and beer in Europe because “It’s okay there.” We got her to try some wine. She is not a fan lol!

We wrapped up our day checking out some landmarks, amazing views, a beer museum, and THE OLDEST STREET SIGN IN THE WORLD.

We are WIPED OUT! We are trying to stay awake until 8pm and then it’s lights out!

Tomorrow, we plan on heading to a monestary (maybe they’ll take Wade) and a few other quick sites with yummy food filtered in there.

In 2020, we were planning on taking K to Europe. We were going to spend 4-5 weeks abroad and hit as much as we could. Then, well……… we all remember what happened in 2020.

Fast forward to now. We are FINALLY going to take her to Europe……for 6 weeks. We are still cramming in as much as possible while still trying to make it memorable. The plan is to hit 14 different countries in that time. Portugal, Spain, France, Switzerland, Lichtenstein, Germany, Czech Republic, Austria, Slovakia, Luxembourg, England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland. (No, we aren’t doing any Italy. That will have to be it’s own trip entirely.) Some countries we are going to multiple cities and some countries we are only going for a day. Most cities we are only spending a day to a day and half there. So, when I say a “Taste of Europe”, I mean just a sample of what Europe has to offer; give her an idea of what else is out there and see where she may want to go back and spend more time.

In the meantime, I am trying to wrap up the school year, which includes packing everything up due to construction over the summer. K will be going to DC for a week (without us) for her 8th grade trip. She will also have her promotion from 8th grade (and I have to process that I will now have a high schooler). We also have a wedding we get to attend.

Here’s to a very active summer! (Below is the general map of our trip)