Heading Home

We set off at 6.00 by private taxi. All is quiet. 

We enjoyed staying at the hotel and would gladly return. 

All goes well at the airport.

The plane leaves on time and is long but uneventful. 

Next time Brina and I will enjoy the express massage service in Terminal 1 and some of the  middle eastern food outlets. 

We have had a great holiday!

Thankyou for tuning in and keeping us linked to home. Looking forward to catching up soon.

Lots of love from the Pereiras!

 

Dubai

We are staying at Al Qasr Hotel and it is lovely. 

We slept well and wake to a gorgeous view. Breakfast is very nice. We started with a watermelon shot which was delicious. I enjoyed red velvet pancakes and a feast of other traditional breakfast food. The kids enjoyed being able to donuts and waffles. 

Breakfast

Cafe

Buffet Restsurant

We took a tour of the three hotels via an Abra tour.

View from our room. 

It took twenty minutes to circle the property. Lots of restaurants and facilities. It would take a few days to enjoy the hotel properly. 

We head out to the Mall of Emirates a shopping complex close to the hotel. 

Mall of Emirates

We opt to taxi it due to the heat. The taxi is cheap and the driver helpful. The Mall is vast and we do not see all of it. There is an indoor ski facility which looks great but you would want to spend a few hours enjoying it. 

Skiing Indoors

We decided to go to the mall closer to the tower and have some lunch. 

It too is huge! The kids buy a book and we admire some amazing stores. The aquarium is mesmorizing and there is an ice rink.

Dubai Mall

Aquarium

Ice Rink

 The air quality is not great so we decide not to go up the tower as we don't think we will be able to see enough. 

We decide to check out the old part of Dubai so off we go. 

There are not many stalls open at the gold and spice souk market but enough to get a feel for it. The spices smell amazing and the gold is over the top. Prices are not bargain basement. The harbour area is congested with thousands of white goods sitting beside the harbour area - I do not understand why they haven't been stolen.

It is hot and we want to enjoy the hotel. We head to the beach and pool. The sea water is approximately 32degrees and feels like a bath. It quickly becomes uncomfortable so back to the pool. We enjoy swimming, lounging around and a refreshment.

Pool area with Al Qasr in the background.

Cocktail by the pool - non alcoholic of coure. 

After cooling off we go back to our room to change for dinner.

Ed and Mitchell in the Lobby.

After dinner we check out the Souk Market in the hotel complex. 

We catch an Abra to the market area.

Off to bed as we have a morning flight home.  

 

Leaving Lisbon

No one wanted to move early so after a leisurely breakfast we decide to go for a walk and check out the suburbs.

Lots of units with a park in the centre of town. All three suburbs we walk through are serviced by metro stations.

We have enjoyed our walk and the kids let off some steam on some play equipment.

We train it to the airport. Not too bad!

Farewell Portugal, until next time.

Lisbon airport is not the most efficient airport. It is lunchtime and they only have two people at customs. 

As a consequence our flight is slightly delayed.

Our flight went smoothly and moving through Dubai airport was efficient but long and tiring- 1.20am. 

We are to our hotel that looks like an Arabian Palace. Wow!

Ed and I have a little trouble falling asleep as we are so excited. 

Goodnight.  

Lisbon

We part ways, Ed is dropping the car off and seeing whether he can restore his citizenship and the kids and I travel to the Calouste Gulbenkian Museum.

We have a little trouble finding the museum as the map is not very accurate and the gallery is badly signed. Eventually we get there and enjoy the eclectic collection. The ancient works are particularly impressive. We all enjoyed the Egyptian, Turkish, Greek, Roman and Asian artefacts. His home must have been like a palace to house all of these azing works. 

Ed dropped off the car and got sent to three different places in the end he left as it was taking an hour to see six people. He had forty in front of him. He would have been there all day!

We met up at the Mercado da Ribeira - a converted market that houses approx 35 stalls that show off Lisbon restaurants and the local chefs. I opt for a tasting plate that os divine, Ed eats two plates fish and suckling pig and the kids eat Pad Thai. We decide to come back for dinner. 

We head back towards the centre window shopping. We move to Bairo Alta  via the elevator and enjoy the view. A drink is needed at this point as it is hot and we are tired. 

Us in the elevator

View from the lift

Selfie/group shot

Sabrina with a guard.

After a rest and a beverage we head back down. We spot Zara Home and check to see if they have the plates Ana is looking for. Alas no luck. We watch some street performers and before we know it it is dinner time. 

No luck!

Back to the market for suckling pig, fish and pork cheeks - delish! We all have dessert: Mitch has italian ice cream, Brina has a Xu Xu, Ed and I have strawberry crumble and it tops off a great day in Lisbon. 

Our meals from the Henriques stall. 

We head home for a well earned rest. We are all sad to be leaving but at the same time looking forward to coming home. 

Good night.  

Porto Again

It is our last day with the family. Ed's parents are very sad so we decide to try to distract them. We go to a park north of Porto near the Crystal Palace. We walk around admiring different parts of the garden and the bird life. 

We look for somewhere to eat lunch and find some contenders near the maternity hospital. We eat at a restaurant called Tropical. Our meals are devoured quickly. 

Ed enjoying his vino!

Mitchell trying to drink milkshake with plastic still on his straw. 

We head to central Porto for a change of pace.

After a walk and a refreshment we head home. 

We finish packing our bags and the kids, Ed and Ana go to say farewell to Aunt Esmeralda.

Yea Hah!

The sun is almost set on our trip.

We head put for coffee and dessert. Ed and Ana chat to former work colleges whilst Mitchell and Jorge torture Ssbrina with card tricks/magic.

Teresa leaving for the coffee shop. 

It has been another great day. 

See you soon. 

Leaving Torreira, arriving in Lisbon

Today the family had to say goodbye to each other as Kylie, kids and I head to Lisbon for the final leg of our trip. It was a very sad moment to leave my parents and my sister behind😞.

We take a last look at the beach and see that they just brought in the nets with fish caught off the beach. Adeus for now.

Sardines

Scouts on a river fishing boat. 

Kylie noticed some nice earings when we last visited Coimbra. So this morning we set off to Coimbra to purchase some presents.

After shopping we head off to Condeixa to visit one of my old bosses. He owns a restaurant in the area so we drop in for lunch which was quite delicious. Kylie and Brina have chamfana and Mitch and I have steak. 

Algusto and his wife.

After catching up and reflecting on some old memories we head to Lisbon. We arrive at our hotel in the afternoon and have a little rest before we head out to have dinner and explore the city.

We have some nice pasta and wine and after some more exploring we have some ice cream. 

Mitchell with the castle in the background.

Time for bed. Goodnight!