Obidos - A Medieval Town

A short drive from our apt was a small medieval town called Obidos. It was a walled fortress and everything is the same as it was then (structure wise). We crossed into the walled area.

beautiful tower

We saw a lot of people taking this small passage beside the tower, turns out it was the way into the town. As we rounded the corner, we saw this beautiful display of tiles. Portugal is famous for its tiles on the outside of the homes.

This was the idyllic little main shopping street. Restaurant and shops lined the way.

There were many side street off that little main street that held the homes of the people who lived there.

Obidos has a chocolate festival every year. Unfortunately, we missed it, but one of the things Obidos if famous for is their "Ginja". It is a sour cherry liqueur in a small chocolate cup. You shoot the ginja and eat the cup. It was really good.

On this little street, it was only 1 Euro a cup for the Ginja. The night before, at the country club of our resort, we paid 5 Euro per cup. Can you say rip off? They tasted the same.

You can no longer read the plaques on this building, but they are pretty to look at.

Inside we came to a square where the church was.

Beautiful side street.

Here is a good long view of the wall.

We all climbed up, but only Greg and Alyssa were brave enough to walk along its 3 foot path.

We finally came to the fortress itself, high on the hill overlooking everything.

It was a very picturesque little town and I really enjoyed it. The quality of their crafts was amazing and just about everyone bought souvenirs, except me, which I now regret.

4th of July Tablescape

Ok, so I did a little shopping in May and came across some great 4th of July things. I'm just saying I spent a little time at Pottery Barn. I got this bunting (20 flags and twine) for $12.00. I figured it was cheaper than making it myself. It is double sided, stiff paper.

I then bought four different types of fabric (about 1/2 yard each) and tied the fabric between the flags. I love how it turned out. Of course, I had to pair it with my fav, paper lanterns.

I'm not 100% happy with the pictures. My back garden gets the afternoon sun and it was full strength this afternoon.

I dug out my tablecloth and napkins from last year and paired with my same old, same old dishes. They have all been purchased throughout the years at Homegoods.

I got the centerpiece stars and the little tin stars at TPT (Tai Pan Trading). There are so many things you could do with those little tin stars.

I got these great plastic straws at Pottery Barn as well. They were 12 for $12.00. They are washable and reusable.

I thought I would show you these cute metal baskets and checked paper I picked up at PB too. The paper comes in a pack of 10 sheets and the wire baskets were only $3.50. I thought that was a steal, especially from PB!

I hope everyone has a great 4th of July. I am truly loving all the different tablescapes. Basically the same colors, but so different!

Please join our hostess Susan over at Between Naps On The Porch to see some more AMAZING tablescapes.

Portugal Apartments

We had the use of our friends beautiful apartment in Portugal. When he found out Greg and Alyssa were coming as well, he asked his friends with the apartment next door if we could borrow that one as well. We had one gorgeous two bedroom and one beautiful 3 bedroom. These apartments were steps from the beach. First was our apt. decorated in Rock Star style, black, purple and lime green.

Loved these chandeliers in the bedrooms.

The master bedroom

This was the other apt. Every room had a different color. This was the master

This was the well appointed, huge kitchen. It was the same in both apartments.

Living room in kids apt.

This was the apt. pool.

The lagoon located a short drive away.

The pristine beach

We spent three of the 6 days on the beach. We all got sunburned the first day even though we put on lots of sunscreen. Some more than others. The beach was totally deserted, one or two other groups of people. No boats, no oil derricks, no nothing. Beautiful.

We stayed at a Marriott Resort called Praia del rey. It had a big hotel, private apartments and villas and a world class golf course. Our friend also owns a villa, but it was being rented the week we were there. This beach community is 80 miles north of Lisbon and 20 miles to the nearest town on Piniche. We were about 8 miles from a medieval town of Obidos, a 14th century walled town. I will show it to you tomorrow.

Can you say bored?

"Mom, can I slide down the bannister?" to which I replied "No". Well, you see what happened. The lady attendant came over and told her not to do it again, then she smiled and said, "Go ahead, I don't care." At the Louvre.

It was raining and we were waiting to go out. Delaney had a little fun with Katie.

Katie loved it.

You've seen this one, everyone around us was cracking up. I few took pictures of themselves doing the same.

I don't even know...

????

Waiting for dinner in Portugal. They like to let you wait at least 10 minutes before they take your order.

Delaney: "Mom, she's touching me!"

Katie: "I'm not touching her".

Take my picture.

Katie: "Put your head in the lion's mouth".

So he did.