Printemps

That's Spring in French... 

We kept busy at the parks and going out for bike rides.

This was the first time riding over the bridge to Kirchberg.  They loved it!  We even saw a train pass beneath us and now I'm begged to wait for a train every time we cross it.

 

It was also time to garden!  This is my first attempt and it's been pretty successful.  I bought little starters from the market rather than starting with seeds.  I figured it was a higher chance of success.

I haven't purchased lettuce from the store since I started the garden.  Strawberries, on the other hand, were more like bird food than worth anything to us ;)

One afternoon, we took our bikes over to the UNI (University of Luxembourg) Limpertsberg campus on a Saturday.  I've walked circles around it, but never ventured in.  It's small, but beautiful.  

We liked this art!  We are pretty sure it's an elephant!?!

Easter Weekend in Luxembourg

After returning home from Portugal, we had a 3 day weekend at home.  Easter is a lively time in Lux.  Saturday and Sunday are filled with mostly Catholic ceremonies. 

So, we opted for a horse show in Belgium on Saturday!

Happy Easter!!

The Fête du Pâques is a big festival in Luxembourg City on Easter Monday.  the highlight of the festival is the whistling birds, or other hand sculpted whistles being sold at stands.  It is also the start of another 2 week long religious event where everyone eats fried fish in these big tented restaurants in the main squares of the city.  We didn't try them.  Sadly, I didn't take any pictures of the bird whistles either.

Algarve Portugal

We spent a blissful week in the Algarve region of Portugal.

Our time was primarily spent at the most fabulous family resort that I have ever been to.  While I wish that I could have wandered the cobblestone streets of Lagos, paddle surf in the azure blue sea or take a "Coasteering" adventure, I was still on crutches and had to enjoy it with limited mobility.  That said, it was the best resort/beach vacation of our lives (with children).

The boys got to ride in the golf cart to our villa!

A view from our villa... Our location was furthest back in what is developed of the resort so far, so that is all private development leading to the private beach below.  Looks far, but not more than a 1/2 mile to the water.  With it's own garden for the kids to play and big terrace for playing and outdoor dining, there was room for us to enjoy our space.  We thought we would cook dinner and stay here more, but being out was so fun and easy with entertainment for the kids everywhere.

We enjoyed swimming each day  at the various pools around the resort.

They had big bean bags for the kids to lounge in the sun or shade by the pool and beach.

There were several awesome playgrounds for lots of climbing and socializing with other kids.

They boys especially loved this sandy playground with a trampoline, sand and water features.  We especially loved that you could see it easy from our seats at the restaurant!

Jeremy spent more time on the beach than I did (crutches!) but the boys were so happy digging in the sand and wading in the chilly surf.

One cloudy afternoon, we decided to check out the family 'bar'. There was a pirate ship playground and lots of different houses to play in out the front, a gated playground in back of the bar, so kids could go back and play safely, and a kids lounge section with a movie, video games and iPads to play (Colden had fun there). Blakely just loved the VW van and drove it for at least an hour!

We also ventured out a couple times to see the neighboring town of Sagres, it's pretty marina, the old lighthouse and the town of Lagos.  Lagos was pretty, but hilly and all cobblestone...not a good combination for me!

We would have tried a local restaurant. In Sagres, but the food and  childcare at the resort restaurants was so fabulous, we felt like we were going out on dates every night and didn't realize we had two boys with us most of the time!

By the end of our stay, I was begging Jeremy to buy a villa or time share! Here's a picture from  our toast on our final evening overlooking the sea with happy Blakely.

I swear I'm not advertising for this place, but they really should hire me to :). Martinhal is the name for those who are curious!  Anyone who wants to goo... let us know, we'll meet you there anytime!