The main point of my visit was to attend the Christening of my grand-nephew or great-nephew (apparently there are different names used in England or the US). He was born in San Francisco, but was in Portugal with his Mom and Dad to be baptized surrounded by his family.
The baptism was held at the St Michael Catholic Church in Sintra, followed by a lovely reception lunch at a beautiful estate nearby - Vila Eugenia - with views to the Sintra mountain. It was for sale too, so if you have a few spare millions and would like to wake up with those views, this is for you!
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| Vila Eugenia - beautiful gardens, views and interiors |
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| Left to right - Some of the beautiful girls attending the Christening, a shoe made by my niece as a Christening gift to guests, the tables with food, the Christening cake and our family - from left to right, my daughter, me, my son in law, my niece's husband, my eldest niece (mother of baby), my younger niece, my sister and brother in law. |
I also managed to get together with some friends at my former place of residence near Coimbra and we had a wonderful lunch organized by one of my friends.
Family dinners were also almost a daily occurrence when in Lisbon, when we would all sit around the table for hours chatting away.
And of course there's always the wonderful Portuguese food, cheap and tasty. Oh how I miss such wonderful food...
Family dinners were also almost a daily occurrence when in Lisbon, when we would all sit around the table for hours chatting away.
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Top right to left - 1 & 2 - lunch w/friends 3- family around the table.
Bottom right to left - 1- more friends at same lunch, 2- my daughter and I with my husband's brother,3- family around the table again.
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And of course there's always the wonderful Portuguese food, cheap and tasty. Oh how I miss such wonderful food...
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| Some of the traditional Portuguese food that I ate |
And then we all left the day after the Christening - a niece to Angola, my daughter and son in law to Amsterdam, me back to Perth and my eldest niece, husband and baby, back to San Francisco...
My poor sister and brother in law had to do 4 trips to the Lisbon airport, as we all left at varying times from early morning to late evening.
Half-way through the trip, while sitting in the plane waiting to take-off to Perth, at Dubai Airport I spotted this plane that was being pushed past our plane. Isn't it pretty?
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| African animals painted on an Emirates plane in Dubai |
It's time to start thinking about the next holidays...
The world has become so small, it´s wonderful - now if we invent beaming it would get even easier ;-)
ReplyDeleteSounds like you witnessed a beautiful event. So it´s true what they say about Portugese people! Gatherings, great food, great company (oh, why was I born German?! (LOL)...).
Love that plane. Oh. But I´m kinda with Grace. I so not look forward to our next flight...
Yes, the whole family coming from all parts of the globe to get together, it's a small world after all!
DeleteTrue, gatherings around great food, it was fabulous!
Nunca tinha visto um avião assim. Que giro! :-)
ReplyDeleteBelíssimas colagens, Sami, com tão boas memórias! :-)
God bless you all!
Obrigada Sandra, foi bom recordar estes dias passados com a família.
DeleteBeautiful photos, as always! Your family just radiates with love. Your great-nephew chose well for a group to be born into! :)
ReplyDeleteIf I were lucky enough to be in Portugal, I'd visit the site of Our Lady of Fatima. She promised that the country would always keep the faith. No wonder there is so much happiness there!
Thanks for your lovely comments J. Yes my great nephew, is my sister's first grandchild, my parents first great-grandchild and he has lots of aunties and cousins who adore him.
DeleteYou have a great family spread all over the world. Nice to be together again so now and then.
ReplyDeleteThe problem is not everyone can have holidays at the same time...This time just a few people were missing from the main family group - my younger sister and her family, my husband and my son and daughter in law.
DeleteI enjoyed seeing a recap of some of the events and food you experienced in Portugal. What a wonderful thing that it revolved around a baptism. You are right that he would be called great-nephew in the states.
ReplyDeleteI am SO geography challenged, I had NO idea Dubai was near Portugal. YES, I'm a dunce, but I sure like the way that plane is decorated! You might call it a MOVING mural!
Thanks Elizabeth. Dubai is very far from Portugal, practically half way from Perth to Lisbon, but we have to fly via Dubai as it's about 11 hours from here to Dubai and another 8h from Dubai to Lisbon.
DeleteWell spotted, a moving mural!
Looks like a wonderful time, and some yummy food!!
ReplyDeleteThanks for visiting. Portuguese food is the best!
DeleteDearest Sami,
ReplyDeleteThat was indeed a very loaded, whirlwind trip from Down Under to Portugal and also from San Francisco to Portugal... But what a happy family time and oh so important for celebrating this great tradition!!!
Loved Emirates’ jumbo message against the illegal wildlife trade photos that you took at Dubai's airport.
Sending you hugs,
Mariette
Thank you Mariette, it's always great to meet up with family, it's a pity we are all so spread out around the world.
DeleteI loved the Emirates airplane too, hope the message is clear.
No wonder you're keen to go on another holiday Sami, looks like you had a wonderful time with family and friends! The Emirates plane looks fab with the animals painted on it.. but not as nice as the yummy Portuguese food, is that custard tarts I see there middle of the second row, I'm sure you've shown them before, I think I've been dreaming of them since 😊😊😊
ReplyDeleteYes Grace, I had a wonderful time! And yes, they are custard tarts, so were so delicious....
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