Vilamoura (Tuesday 3/28)

To the Algarve!

Our original plan was to rent a car to drive from Lisbon to Vilamoura today, but a tip from an Uber driver when we arrived in Lisbon made us realize that although the car we'd rented would fit six people, it would definitely not fit six people plus their luggage. So we cancelled the car and took the train instead. It was a bit of a to-do to take two Ubers to the train station, but we all made it, and the ride was a pleasant three hours. Dad had brought cards, and Mom and Dad taught the kids to play gin.

We were so happy to check into our hotel, the Hilton Vilamoura As Cascatas, a very beautiful resort with several outdoor pools, an indoor pool, and a spa. Mom and Dad had one apartment, and we had another a few doors down. After our fairly rustic Air BnB in Lisbon, the comfort, amenities, and huge bathrooms were a welcome change. We explored the grounds, and the kids tried to swim, but the outdoor pools are unheated and just too cold. So they took a dip in the indoor pool and then we all relaxed and read on lounge chairs outside for a while. It was a nice change of pace from the heavy mileage of our Lisbon days.

For dinner, we took an Uber to the Vilamoura marina and walked around, going into some shops and, of course, an Ale-Hop. There are Ale-Hops everywhere here, just like there were in Barcelona. We had dinner at Luna Rossa and sat at a table right by the water--a perfect setting. We had pasta and pizza. As they've done during every meal here, the kids played a hundred games of Hang Man in small notebooks they bought at Ale-Hop. For dessert, we got some Milka bars from a small grocery store. 

The kids are sharing a room here, as they were in Lisbon, and it's one of my favorite things about this trip. Before we came, Lucia was sad that she couldn't bring her 36-inch "long cat," one of her favorite plushes, and I was able to find mini versions of their long cats on Amazon--delivered right before we left. The kids have played constantly with these mini long cats, which they've named Rua (Lucia's) and Spawn (Greta's), and when they were supposed to be settling down for bedtime they instead made up songs and dances for the cats and engaged in other hilarity. They're having so much fun.

A return to a common theme of this trip: recalibrating our plans. Andrew and I had originally planned to rent a car to explore Lagos and Sagres tomorrow, but no car was available when we tried to arrange this at the front desk. A private driver was quite expensive, and I hated the thought of having a stranger with us all day. So we decided we'll keep working on this tomorrow and instead will spend the day exploring the areas around Vilamoura.