Too Much Smiling

 Last day in Lisbon. This also should have been our last day in Europe, but plans changed. Before coming on this trip I had heard of people hiring professional photographers to take pictures on their vacation. I loved this idea. I did some research and found a company called Flytographer that connect you to photographers around the world. I looked at all the places we were going to be and the "routes" that are available for those towns. I loved the color in all the pictures from Lisbon and found a photographer that had a beautiful portfolio. I've had this photoshoot booked for months.

Knowing we had our photography session this evening we decided to focus on seeing one site today and then squeezing in anything else that made sense, but also didn't exhaust us. Looming over everything was Sao Jorge Castle, so we decided to go ahead and go see that.

We walked up the hill to the castle which was a fun walk. Lisbon is so vibrant. The first thing we noticed when we entered the castle was a couple of peacocks sitting on the wall. The next thing we noticed was the amazing view of Lisbon.

The kids were really getting on each other's nerves and they were getting snippy with each other. So I told them to fight and I'd take a picture. It is amazing how this one picture changed everything and they started getting along really well after that, at least for a little while.

The castle is home to tons and tons of peacocks. We really enjoyed seeing them. I think the girls preferred the peacocks to the castle. This was especially true since there were tons of baby peacocks. There were peacocks in the trees and on the grounds. They were everywhere.

I kept having the kids pose for pictures. It was about this time in our tour that Ammon said I needed to lay off some or we were going to use up all our picture taking quota for the day before we even got to our family photo shoot. 

We didn't do a tour of Sao Jorge and we didn't really do much research. It was neat to see. You can see they are still excavating the site which is neat. After leaving the castle we went and sat in this church for a few minutes to rest and cool off. We then slowly made our way back down the hill peaking in shops and looking for something good for lunch. 

The girls got new earring and were excited to show them off. After lunch we went back to our apartment to get everyone showered. Then we set out to get our pictures taken. We met up with Claudia and had a wonderful time. She was delightful. I already have the pictures back and they turned out amazing. I'm so glad we took the time to do the photoshoot. I'll attach a few of my favorites to the bottom of this post. 

After pictures we found some dinner then headed home to pack and get an early bedtime. The kids and I left a little early while Ammon waited for the check. When Ammon got back he told me his DARE classes really came in handy since we have been in Lisbon. He has been out without us several times and said he had been approached about 5 times in the last 2 days being offered drugs. So random. I guess something about me walking around with 3 kids discourages those sorts of solicitations. Say no to drugs. 

We got our suitcases ready. We decided to just have 1 overnight bag that would have everything we need for our stay on Madeira. Our layover should have been in Boston, but we are all excited to see this new island that we didn't know existed until yesterday. Let's hope it all goes smooth and we don't have any more hiccups.