It's the Simple Things: Portugal Part 1

The Departure to Beautiful Portugal

I honestly can not describe our emotions on our way to Portugal. Words simply can not do it justice. The anticipation was mixed with that of excitement and a little bit of anxiousness. This would be the first time that we have seen our family in over three years, and the very first time that my family would meet Oli in person and vice-versa.

The best of all was the fact that I was going to the place that I long for often. My heart belongs in both places, and I yearn to be in Portugal often to see my family and experience the culture that I love. I have been truly blessed to have such rich heritage, and I am so grateful that I am able to be part of two wonderful countries and receive the best of both worlds.

We have been very lucky to go over as often as we have to Portugal. My dad and mother have taught us since we were very little that possessions do not matter; it's the family and the memories that come with traveling and being together that is most memorable.
For me personally, possessions is something that fills my want for a little bit of time. Experiences created with my family through traveling together is something that is irreplaceable, and it does not lose its value.

Traveling is our passion. It is what brings us closer together and solidifies our love for different cultures and the joy that comes from meeting other people. And best of all, we grow closer together as a couple and as a family as we all spend time together.

This was very special for me to go to Portugal with Oli. I have talked his ears off many, many times of my family over there and my love for Portugal. This is a part of me. It is who I am.
He has been anticipating this day for so long, and it was surreal that we were finally going.

Well, here we go!
Here comes Portugal.

At the Salt Lake Airport at 5 a.m.

Spencer, my cousin, was able to come with our family. He was such a wonderful addition to our family trip and I was amazed and how fast he became so immersed in the Portuguese culture. I am so glad that he came with us!

We made it! Our hearts were just racing with excitement at this point!

It was cloudy when we arrived, and that was the 2nd time I have ever seen Portugal cloudy in all of the years that we have been! It was different to not see the sun shining when we arrived!

My wonderful grandfather! I love him dearly.

In the car on our way to Grandma's.

Here we are!!
We have pictures of us actually greeting all of our family, however that is on my parents' camera. So these pictures are after the fact of greeting everyone. These pictures are of me showing Ols the place that I love so much.
There have been many memories made by sitting out on the front porch at my grandma's playing night games with our friends in the neighborhood, talking with the family into the wee hours of the evening, and having one of my very first crushes at the age of eleven. His name was Bruno and we were in love. :)

I adore my grandmother's veranda. We ate every meal out there and it was the most relaxing thing!

Playing ping-pong with Rodrigo. Oil and I were in heaven ;)

Relaxing after a long plane ride

The beach is honestly a five minute walk from my grandparents house. As soon as we got there, that was one of the first things on our list. I have grown up going to the beach and it is one of my favorite places to be.

Here we are going to the beach!

Oh, and that is Nato, and it is basically a hop, skip, and a jump away from our house. Nato, just the place where very important people meet because of an alliance of countries from North America and Europe committed to fulfilling the goals of the North Atlantic. No big deal :)

oh... the beach. This is the beach we grew up going to and the one I always long to go back to. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the beach.

Tico, my awesome uncle, is cooking up some really delicious din-din while talking to my beautiful grandmother!

My beautiful cousins. They are so dang fun! They had grown so much over the past three years. The little one on the right was just a baby when I had last saw him.

Playing cards after lunch!

Going on our frequent walks. I love those walks. It is so fun to just talk and take in the ocean breeze and smell.

Haha oh Oli and his LOVE for the food. It made me so happy to see how much he ADORED the food. culture, and especially my family. It was a family joke to just hand your left-overs to Oli. It was almost like Oli was a native Portuguese man. :) He just assimilated right in and it was like he has always in the family. It made me incredibly happy having that happen!

I can't help but want to share a funny story that occurred one night. I asked Oli if he wouldn't mind getting me a glass of water before bed. Now we were sleeping in my grandfather's large study, and that is separate from the house. It is behind the house and so it's close by. So when Oli left, I simply assumed that he would be back pretty soon.

I could hear my grandpa greet him when he got into the kitchen. Now, another little fact. All of my family can speak English very well, except for my grandpa and grandma. My grandpa knows a little bit because he practiced law, he is retired now, however he is very educated in the happenings of the world and different languages. This being true, he knows a little bit of English from his readings. And Oli, who although he carried around his Portuguese/English translation notebook, knew just a little bit of Portuguese.

Needless to say, I didn't think that the conversation would last very long :)

Boy was I wrong! I remember asking Sofia where Oli could be. At least an hour had passed by.
All of the sudden I hear laughing and it was coming from my Grandpa and Oli. My heart instantly swelled with quiet pride. I was proud of my grandpa and my husband for looking beyond the language barrier and carrying on a conversation, no matter the inhibitions.

When Oli came back into the study, he was smiling from ear-to-ear. I laughed as I asked him how they were able to converse one with another. He then simply said that they got into the topic of politics and although the language barrier was there, they were on the same page and able to understand one another. They did this for more than an hour! Without having a common language! Hahaha oh man it still makes me laugh. That was a proud night for me.
Grandpa and Oli were close ever since :)

But look... incredibly delicious European cheese. I miss it!

Dance-Dance was a favorite!

Singing Happy Birthday to Grandpa. (Look at all the delicious desserts my grandmother made! There were so many!)

Oli doing the dishes with the women. What a stud :)

Mother and Christina having a push-up competition

Here we are at the local mall. Oli and Daniel both bought the items without my help at all. It was a fun experience to watch!

Oli at the cafe in the mall getting his favorite dessert!

Spence, Sofia, and Aniston playing the flashlight game.

Lounging in the study on the inflatable beds :)

Looking at all the awesome shops in Cascais.

Oli loved this bakery!

Oli wanted to try the sardines My whole family laughed and told him that it is not very good, and that it is not a Portuguese delicacy. However Oli wanted to try something different, and so he ordered the sardines. And guess what? He loved them! haha Oh man!