Riley, up for another sunrise and some big days ahead.
Both boys journal on a daily basis as part of their “worldschooling”.
Our Euro-African Journey (So Far...)
The boys still love Cover Your Assets, though we’ve had to institute a cut-off time in the evening. They get pretty amped up by the game, so too close to bedtime não é bom.
Typical breakfast these days. Lots of yummy stuff like Jamón Ibérico, French cheese, fresh whole grain bread, Greek yogurt, eggs, fruit and granola—all for pretty cheap.
We were walking around town and it started raining. Luckily, LX Brewery was just around the corner to duck into.
The rain let up and we were able to continue on. Today’s objective: Explore more of Bairro Alto.
We were about half way up this hill when Lori and I realized this was where the tragic tram crash happened just weeks prior. Tram or no tram, it’s really the only way to access Bairro Alto from this direction, hence the amount of foot traffic.
And what’s at the top of this hill, you ask? A beer garden, apparently. And, another miradouro.
São Jorge Castle, viewed from Miradouro de São Pedro de Alcântara.
Every so often, Lori and I like to split up and take a boy to go do special things (we really need to do this more often—it’s always a lot of fun). Today, Lori and Noe are headed to the Alfama, and Riley and I are on our way to the Baixa.
I don’t think any kid on Earth loves to walk as much as this kid. I asked Riley which metro stop he wanted to head to (we’ve got two different lines near our place). He said neither, he wanted to walk. It’s three miles and a solid hour to our first stop, but I wasn’t going to argue. I know this guy. Plus, it was all downhill.
The main stop of the day involved fulfilling one of Riley’s birthday gifts: A stop for gelato at Amorino, a Lisbon institution.
Successful Stop #1!
A mile up the road, Lori and Noe made their rounds to a couple of museums that they thought Riley wouldn’t be interested in. First stop, the Museum of Fado (traditional Portuguese music).
…followed by a quick stop for a pastry…
…then, on to a miradouro and the Lisbon Cathedral.
Cruise ship day in Lisbon. Come to think of it, every day is cruise ship day in Lisbon.
The Alfama district.
The Sé de Lisboa (Lisbon Cathedral).
After ice cream, Riley and I headed down to the waterfront for a walk and to grab some lunch. After that, it was off to climb this thing and find a playground. He happily played with a group of Portuguese-speaking kids he’d never met before for 20 minutes before declaring he’d like to continue on.
Our final objective of our outing was to find Riley his very own comb (he was tired of sharing with his brother). An easy enough request, or so I thought.
Our search led us back up into the Baixa and finally to Praça dos Restauradores, where I finally convinced Riley to hop on a metro (my dogs were barking).
We took the Blue Line and changed to the Red. We could have easily taken the metro all the way home at this point, but I knew better.
On the way down, we passed Alameda Park, which has a pretty cool playground that the boys haven’t played at yet. Riley had asked if we could stop, but it was raining at the time and everything was soaked, so I told him maybe on the way back.
The sun was out now, so we made the stop. Happy kid. From there, it was another 20 minute walk uphill back to the apartment. Riley didn’t seem to mind in the least. He’s an animal.
Looking at the forecast ahead and the dwindling list of things Lori still wanted to accomplish with the boys, we thought that Saturday would be a good day to head up to Parque das Nações, home to the 1998 World Expo and location of a top attraction for kids: the Lisbon Science Museum.
Bustin’ out the last of Riley’s birthday gifts, which incidentally, have been gifts for the whole family.
I’ve never seen anything quite like this. Noe’s our fearless guy. He’ll try [almost] anything once.
And Riley’s our little power lifter.
Afterwards, it was a ride on the Telecabine, then back home.
It started to rain, just as the cable car left the station. Fortunately, they’re fairly weatherproof.
A couple more stops at some free museums to round out a fun, kid-oriented few days.
