...Then on to Portugal...

After five days in Spain, we headed to Portugal.

Our first adventure was finding our bed and breakfast. We rented a car and set off for Sintra--a place Sabrina had never been--and discovered the amazing vertical-ness of Portugal. I felt like I was either driving straight up or straight down (on switchbacks, of course!). Sabrina did an amazing job navigating, especially considering that neither of us had a GPS, a smart phone or a decent map. Heavenly Father truly blessed us and kept us out of major accidents. We certainly came close! Here are some pictures of our adventures.

After finding our bed and breakfast, we braved the terrifying road in and drove out (there is no where to eat there so adventure may not have been our strongest motive). Our first stop was the Atlantic Ocean and Praia Grande.

Then we drove south to Cabo da Roca, the western-most point of continental Europe. It's about 5 miles away from Praia Grande but about 500 feet above sea level--again those narrow, vertical switchbacks!

We made it back to the bed and breakfast (before dark, of course) and started our next day touring the Castelo dos Mouros. This was built in the 9th Century by the Arabs occupying Portugal and was eventually taken over and used by the Christians after the Arabs left the Iberian Peninsula. I can't imagine building something this immense in such hostile terrain but the views were fantastic.

Inside one of the turrets.

And, no, we have not reached the top yet.

Here's the top (finally) and it was pretty windy and more than a little precarious. I didn't want to stand up, that's for sure!

Next we headed back down this mountain and up the next to the Palacio da Pena. This was a much newer place (built in 1847) but still shows the influence of the Moors who had abandoned the area 700 years earlier.

This place is enormous!

After driving back down that mountain, we headed to Montserrat Palace, also a relatively new home (1858) and were stunned by the beautiful carved walls and arches. This was not nearly as large as the Palacio da Pena but was a lovely home with extensive grounds.

Before leaving Sintra, we visited the Quinta de Regaleira. The acreage was small but they had built a beautiful mansion and the gardens were almost terraced into the mountain.

This place had everything: waterfalls, grottos, caves, underground passages, towers, formal and informal gardens, gazebos--you name it.

We finally left beautiful Sintra and headed back through Lisbon and then south to the beach. Here Sabrina is showing off the boardwalk in Sesimbra.

On Saturday we headed back to Lisbon so we could visit some of the families Sabrina knew and loved while serving. Here she is with an adorable family at church on Sunday. The building was so full it was hard to find somewhere to sit in Sacrament Meeting! It was so great because that was the last Sunday they would all meet together. The following week they were going to split the ward!

We went to visit these adorable kids on Saturday but did not find them because they were at a Super Saturday Seminary activity. We finally caught up with them after church on Sunday. Sabrina was so happy to see them and discover that they are very active and planning on missions.

As beautiful as all the castles and scenery were, I would have to say the highlight of Portugal for me was to see how much Sabrina loves (and how much she is loved by) these wonderful people. They have had an enormous impact on the amazing young woman she has become.