A Little More Algarve

Here are a few more pictures from Algarve.  We didn't just see beautiful beaches on our holiday break!

The View From the Top of castle

These are "cork" trees.  Cork is a big export item for Portugal along with olive oil.  Notice the bottom of the trunk...it looks darker than the rest.  That is where the 'bark' (cork) has been stripped.  You can only strip the cork off of a tree every 9 years!  We saw them in fields all along the roadside in this southern part of Portugal.

This is proof that our Garmin is secretly trying to kill us!! We were looking for a fairly large city.  We could see it on the map with what looked like pretty main roads leading to it.  We plugged it into our Garmin and 'she' took us on a crazy, winding, narrow road up into the mountains with HUGE drop offs and in pouring rain!!  When 'she' told us to turn onto a one lane dirt road next to a sheer drop off I begged Elder Anderton to turn around.  This is the spot where we made the turn....seeing parts of Portugal that I'm sure few have seen.  Luckily we made it down safely, had we gone off the edge no one would have ever found us!  We plugged in our 'home' address and drove directly home instead...We'll have to keep a close eye on 'Bertha' - you can't believe everything she says

Precious P-days

Everything basically shuts down here between Christmas and New Years day so we decided to take and extra 'P' day and take a little sight seeing trip.  We drove to the southern tip of Portugal in the  Algarve district.  It is a 3 hour drive and we stayed two nights in the city of Albufeira on the coastline. We explored from there and saw some breathtaking beaches...the water temperature and weather left the beaches pretty much abandoned which was great for us as we had no intention of getting wet anyway!  This trip was a needed break from our 3 room apartment when we had so much time on our hands...and we saw some beautiful and amazing views.

This is the view from our window.  From here is a short walk to the beach and "old town" with it's little shops and narrow streets.

Just look at the color of that water!!!

 This is the height of the cliffs in this area...sometimes even higher!  And all  along the coastline there were men fishing.  They would climb out and stand on very scary ledges and then throw their lines into the sea so far below.  I swear it looked like if something BIG grabbed hold of their bate they would be pulled to their death with little help of holding on to anything.  I'm sure I would fall into the ocean just from lack of balance on the little outcroppings some of them chose to stand on.  It was amazing to see so many of them as we walked around about a 2 mile pathway.

This is the puny little fish they were risking their lives to catch???  Unbelievable!!

SomeThings Are The Same in Any Language!

     My husband did give me a Christmas present!...he got tickets to Disney in concert with the Lisbon Orchestra.  It was so great!!!  Along with the familiar Disney tunes being played by an outstanding orchestra, there were four exceptional vocalists and Disney movie clips being played on a huge screen.  I felt like a kid at Disneyland!  I didn't even care that the lyrics were being sung in Portuguese...I was singing along in my head anyway.  I LOVED it so much...thanks to my sweet husband and truth be told- I think he loved it just as much!

 The concert was inside the Bull Fghting Arena! 
Sometimes it's nice to feel like you are 6 years old again!

A Portugal Christmas! ... Christmas Day

We awoke to 3 inches of fresh white snow on the ground and still coming down in big fluffy flakes!  Actually that's what I was dreaming just before we woke up.  All of the pictures from home with the crazy amounts of snow in Utah had influenced me.  It was actually a very beautiful day here with temperatures around 50 or 60....hardly even jacket weather for us but the locals are covered in scarves, fur coats and gloves.  We were excited to spend time together opening the packages we received from family & friends.... kind of silly how much we were looking forward to that!!  We didn't get gifts for each other besides a foam topper for our bed (tired of waking up with an arm or leg numb & tingling!) 

We took turns opening a package, carefully reading cards, looking at beautiful artwork from adorable children and feeling the warmth of love, home and gratitude fill our little apartment!  There was a lot of smiling, holding hands and even some laughing until we cried.  There were also a few tears shed as homesickness got the best of us....but that didn't last long and was quickly replaced by an overwhelming feeling of gratitude for the blessings in our lives. 

This is the AFTER picture...minus a few candy cane hershey kisses!

This looks so great, think I might keep it up all year!!

We received several vinyl sayings to cover some of our bare walls, ensign subscription and some impossible to find 'comfort' items...  the postage was outrageous but so appreciated!!!   These people look like they need some sleep or maybe just toughen up a little bit!!

These smiling faces decorated our tree...well most of them are smiling!  I believe even the newest 'Anderton' is smiling too but the ultra sound just didn't get the right angle!

We were able to add a few new photos to my "Fridge of Fame"...Love all those dear faces!

It was certainly a different Christmas but one that we will always remember. We somehow felt closer to our family, to each other and especially to our Savior.  Christmas 2015 was a great one!

A Portugal Christmas! ... Christmas Eve.

Knowing that this will most likely be my one and only Christmas in Lisbon Portugal, I have been trying very hard not to dwell in past Christmas memories or spend too much time missing what I don't have.  Instead, Ric and I have been looking forward to learning some new Christmas traditions with the friends we have made here.  We were so fortunate to be included in celebrations at two different homes for both Christmas Eve and Christmas day dinners.  I've been reminded that the food, the decorations and the location don't matter as much as the people you are with.  Luckily we have come to care about and enjoy being with these people....SO for a family away from FAMILY they were great substitutes!

 Well this is it!!!  This is Bachalou Conatas...the traditional Christmas Eve dish.  I have heard so much about it, both good and bad that I was excited to try it. The flavor is really pretty good, not anything like the terrible smell I am hit with everytime I enter a grocery store!  This version is made with mashed potatoes, mayonnaise and cheese and drizzled with olive oil.  The problem for me was that the skin and some of the fish bones were in the dish, which I had a hard time picking out as I ate.  We ate another version on Christmas day that tasted the same but with a little less fish, no bones or skin and more mashed potatoes...Ceu called it her Americanized version and I really liked it! 

 Along with Cod Fish...Christmas Eve always includes this green cabbage, boiled and of course drizzled with olive oil.

Made only at Christmas ..fried pumpkin cake balls rolled in sugar & cinnamon

These are like fried cinnamon crisps but homemade.

This is Christmas tradition...something like fruitcake in USA - it's a Queen Cake or could be a King cake with dried fruit.  And like fruitcake...no one seems to ever eat it!

This is Maria...She is 10 and so excited for Christmas...she was filled with that crazy anticipation that only a child can bring.  The tradition is to open presents at midnight on Christmas Eve.  Antonio and his family can't wait that long anymore and start much earlier in the night.

Maria, Sarah & Diana

A rousing version of 12 days of Christmas (in English) complete with actions...lots of fun!   Think I will try to incorporate this into my own family traditions next year.

This Grandma & Grandpa Paulo.  They have worked all day preparing the meal...she wouldn't let me help in the kitchen at all.  They are very sweet people- Antonio is there only living son and they are lifetime Catholics who support and love their son and his family.  Antonio's daughter Diana was just called to serve in the Portugal North Mission which is where they live...maybe she will be an influence on them as a missionary!?

This Joanna- she has opened up her heart, home and family to us

Dinner on Christmas day was spent at the home of another one of our 'bosses' -  This is Ceu (meaning Heaven).  She along with Miguel are over the PEF program in all of Europe.  She is so very sweet and kind to us and we loved being in her home with her husband and 2 handsome sons.  Ceu and her husband are also directors over  FSY (for the strength of youth) program in Portugal.  It is exactly like the EFY program run by BYU.  I just can't say enough about the amazing, hardworking, spiritually superhuman people we work with here...hopefully, some of it rubs off on us!

She also makes the BEST chocolate mouse in all of Portugal...We have tasted it and it is true!!

What could have been 2 very difficult days felt warm, welcoming and fun thanks to these two wonderful families!