Sagres, Portugal vacation

Part of the resort near the beach

The amazing views

A month ago today we were enjoying an amazing, family friendly vacation in Sagres, Portugal.  The fall/early winters here in Switzerland can be quiet dreary (rain, fog, grey, etc), so back in April we started to look for a sunny family friendly vacation destination for October/November. We found, partially through Facebook advertisements, a company called Marinthal. They have four family friendly holiday destinations in Portugal.  They advertise themselves as the finest luxury family resort in Europe. Initially we thought it was going to be way too expensive, but after further research the week we wanted to go was the first week of the off-season. This meant the house rental was cheaper and the childcare/kids club was free. Yes, FREE! We then were pleased to find that the airline tickets were also very reasonable, 125 round trip. That was all we needed to go ahead and book our trip to Portugal.

Indoor Outdoor Pool

The Fox mascot's birthday 

Village Center

Jumping at the Village Center

The resort turned out to be amazing. We were at the most southwest point in Portugal also known as the "End of Europe."  The resort was situated right on the Atlantic ocean, had several swimming pools, a bike rental shop, several restaurants, a spa, and did we mention a Kids club.  Elliott and Hannah went to the kids club every morning and Hannah again in the afternoon. There they did face painting, made treats, played organized games, and so much more. One day when we came to pick up the kids they were all outside playing Duck Duck Goose, it was really cute to see Elliott running around saying "Duck Duck...".

Cutie

manicures with mom

During the kid free mornings John and I enjoyed trail runs, coffees, a massage, and a bike ride. It was really amazing. The weather was perfect for our activities, except for the last day it was windy and rainy. Sadly it was the day we had arranged to rent a kayak to go out on the ocean. Next time!
The restaurants all had a kids corner where there was a supervisor there to entertain the children. Hannah was happy to go there and color while we were finishing dinner.  Two of the nights we went off the resort to eat at a restaurant opened by a few German guys, Three Little Birds.  It was so amazing. The atmosphere was relaxing with a bit of a vintage feel. They also had a little Kids corner equipped with colouring books. Plus the chicken sandwich, fries and then homemade brownie for dessert was AMAZING!  We would definitely recommend going there if ever in Sagres.

Dinner at Three Little Birds

Kids Corner at one of the Restaurants

All in all the trip was definitely the "re-charge" get away we were hoping for when we planned it back in April.

The girls at the beach

Elliott enjoying Mommy and Daddy time

The lighthouse

Grandma and Grandpa came to visit!

Last month I received a great birthday present, my mom and dad arrived in Switzerland on my birthday. It also happened to be a great birthday present for my mom since we share a birthday, October 8th.  We were very excited for them to visit, especially since they initially didn't think they would be able to visit this year.  Hannah and Elliott absolutely loved the attention and the extra people to play with. Grandma and Grandpa helped us out and watched the kids 4 days while I worked... they didn't seem to worn out by all the action.  We wish we got to see them more often, especially since the kids change so fast at this age, but we are thankful for the memories we made.  We will no have to get used to speaking to them on FaceTime, instead of in person.

Enjoying the 4 layer cake Daddy made for the birthday girls. 

Reading books after church.

We went to Luzern for the carnival. This was taken up on the Ferris wheel.

Watch out, Hannah and Elliott at the wheel!

Cutie.

Headed up Mt. Pilatus with the cog wheel train.

We broke through the low clouds on the way up to Pilatus... Blue sky and a sea of clouds. 

Grandpa and Hannah checking out the view and trying to stay warm. 

Going "Nigh Night" on the train ride down. 

Hannah in the town center of Chamonix.

Enjoying a nice meal at the small brewery in Chamonix. 

John and I out on one of many kid free outings while my parents were here. 

Elliott and I on a hike while everyone else went up to  3800 m to get an amazing view of Mt. Blanc. Elliott was too little to go, but we had a nice hike. 

The mini pilot.

Hannah and I going down the Luge in Chamonix, so  much fun!

Hannah having fun on the trampolines in Chamonix. 

Hannah and Daddy at 3800 m standing on a special observation deck with a glass  bottom. 

Checking out the Aare gorge.

Mommy carrying Elliott once again.

view at the beginning of the gorge.

Helping Grandma and Grandpa "pack"... always sad to say goodbye. 

Summer in review

This summer was filled with lots of activity. Two being a mountain run for John and I and a month later my first triathlon in 5 years. Trying to train for two fairly different events was a bit difficult, especially with the unpredictable weather in Switzerland. So we went with the motto that we would just do the most training we could and have fun with the events. We lucked out with fabulous weather for both of our races, although the triathlon was a bit hot at about 85-90 degrees.

SwissIronTrain in Davos

Selfie at the highest peak of the run

John on one of downhill sections

My triathlon support crew

1.5 km Open water swim 

Had to exit and then re enter water for a second lap

I survived the swim! Was happy with my time, I did no pool swimming at all, just open water practice.

Every cheering section needs snacks!

Cruising on the fairly flat 40 km bike course

Finishing the 10 km run!

We also had a very nice visit from some friends, Luke and Jane. It was the second year in a row that we spent time with them in Europe, last year we were together in Croatia and Slovenia.  They (and we) were blessed by a week of near perfect weather. It isn't too often that we have 7 days of sun without any rain here in Switzerland. While they were here, Luke and John enjoyed a night in Canton Wallis for a mountain bike ride. It sounded like quite the adventure. One of the main highlights was having a babysitter so the four of us could enjoy an afternoon and night out in Luzern. 

View from the top of Klewenalp

Beautiful scenery for mountain biking

Ice cream selfie

Now that summer is over, Hannah has been enjoying going to school 3 times a week. She loves the craft projects that she gets to do there. She always puts 100% into her projects and is always so proud of them. She is also getting good at telling me about the book they read at the end.  Of course the teacher reads them in Swiss German and it is fun to see how much she understands. We also went to a fall festival at a farm last weekend. There was an area to pet goats, a maze through an apple orchard, a huge pumpkin and squash display, and of course ice cream!

Getting so big!

Elliott petting the goat at the fall festival... He is wearing a tradition Swiss shirt

So many pumpkins

Hannah and Elliott with their friend Alex.

We had such a wonderful summer, but are happy to be entering into fall... Just hoping to have some nice weather during my parents 2 week visit.