Lisbon, City of VACATION!

We spent 3 wonderful days last week in Lisbon, Portugal. As with all things in this part of the world, this was not without some drama - on the Wednesday, as we were preparing to leave for the aiport in Kyiv, we heard that there was a plane crash in Amsterdam. We were supposed to transfer planes in Amsterdam a few short hours later. I was already in desperate need of a vacation, and this almost pushed me over the edge. But miraculously, we were 15 minutes late to leave, on-time for our transfer, and landed in Lisbon 20 minutes early! (Obviously KLM, not Ukrainian airlines...)
I decided to experiment with VRBO.com and rented an apartment instead of a hotel room. For a cheaper price, we got a full kitchen, a washing machine, and most importantly an extra room, so we weren't all jammed in together. The landlord picked us up at the apartment - he even had a car seat in his car for us. Great experience all around - he ordered us a taxi for 5 AM on Sunday, so we didn't have to, and called halfway through to make sure we were all OK. The ability to stay in our pajamas and make breakfast and coffee was also a huge bonus. As you can see below, I was actually able to relax on the trip!

The first day we saw the Castle of St. George (photo on the parapet above.) We rode Tram 28 - conveniently at naptime so Sarah rested while we photographed. And most importantly, we found the local supermarket and Portugese fast food :-) The second day was in the Belem region - cathedrals and towers and Manueline architecture. Instead of the planned shopping, we went great guns and saw the aquarium, the shopping mall and, I'm embarrassed to say - KFC and Pizza Hut. (You always crave what you don't have - even if you don't want it!)

Day 3, Aaron suprised us and we took a train out of town to Sintra. It was a bit cold and rainy, but nowhere near as yucky as Kyiv weather. We were outdoors all day, and saw this fantastic pink and purple castle there. We really packed a huge amount of living into a short amount of time. A key decision on vacations, though, was to look at direct flights from now on.

I should also note that one of my highlights of the trip was how great M was -engaged and fun and interested in what we did. And as you can see from above, he was a big help with a little, extremely rambunctious, sister!