Tantos Primeiros

I know, I know…you’re probably thinking what a lazy dog I am since I haven’t written a new blog since May 13^th. But I have a pretty good excuse you know. After all, there have been so many firsts (tantos primieros) here in Portugal which have kept me (and mom) quite busy the last couple of weeks.

The first “primeiro” was my auntie Natalie and cousin Bennet arriving on Saturday, May 14. We haven’t had any family visit us since we have been in Portugal, so that was pretty cool. And I have to admit that I was quite surprised when they walked through the door as I wasn’t expecting to see anyone from back home. It was so great to cuddle on the couch with my cousin Bennet who I hadn’t seen since Christmas.

 

Of course for their first evening in Portugal we all went down to our local beach and had dinner…well actually, THEY had dinner while Smudge and I rested under the table.

 

On their first full day in Portugal (Sunday), we all went to Guincho, which is a really big beach that I told you about before. We love this beach, even though they have restrictions now against dogs being on certain parts of the beach cuz it is getting busier. (I don’t know what the big deal is though…are they afraid we will pee on an umbrella or beach towel or something…actually that’s a good idea, I think I might try that!)

 

First we went for a walk along the beach so that auntie Nat and Bennet could get a feel and smell of a Portuguese beach and the Atlantic Ocean.

 I think they liked the beach almost as much as we do!

Then we watched dad have his kite surfing lesson.

 

By the way, the Border Collie in the picture is Jade…she is the instructor’s (Marcas) buddy.

It was so hot, but Smudge and I figured out how to keep cool by laying in dad’s shadow (when he wasn’t chasing the kite of course).

After Guincho, we went to Azenhas do Mar cuz’ they have some really cool waterfalls and pools we like and can play in and drink from.

 

 

And then we went to Sintra where auntie Nat, Bennet and dad visited the “Parque e Palacio da Pena”. (Mom, Smudge and I walked through a cool park while they were at the palace.)

 

When we got home, we all relaxed on the deck.

 

It was a really full day and I think my cousin Bennet had a bit of jet lag…so of course I showed him one of my favourite spots for a wee nap.

 

The next day, mom and dad took them to Cascais on the train. Smudge and I stayed home because it was smokin’ hot that day and we needed our beauty sleep. But mom told me about all the fun things they did…like the cool park…

 

where they saw an amazing peacock. (I have never seen a peacock…I wonder if they like dogs)

 

And a restaurant where cousin Bennet was being offered as a menu item.

 

After walking around Cascais, seeing the marina and the park, having lunch (and gelato), they walked along the seawall heading towards home.

 

Mom told me they saw this really neat art exhibition on their walk.

She took lots of pictures of their day (without me and Smudge) so I wouldn’t feel too left out…even though I was stuck at home with the “wee white one”!

 

But then I got another big surprise on Wednesday, May 17^th when my cousin Brenda arrived! This was her first time in Europe and I was so excited that she chose to visit us on this momentous occasion. I really like my cousin Brenda cuz’ she rubs my belly a lot and she (and her three sisters) have always had a special affinity for us four-legged friends. Kin folk like that are really special to me!

So of course on Brenda’s first day an adventure was in order. Mom, Nat, Bennet and Brenda went to Belem for Pasteis, while dad, Smudge and I stayed home since dad had to work and I needed a nap from all the adventures we had been having previously.

 

Then they walked along the water between Belem and Alges to see some sites….

 

 

              Where cousin Bennet almost went for a swim!

Of course they had to stop for some Sangria since it was another first for Nat and Brenda to try in Portugal.

And they ended the day with dinner on Carcavelos beach. (Thankfully dad took Smudge and me for a walk and fed us dinner before he headed off to meet them otherwise I would have been quite peeved off)

The next day, mom, Nat, Bennet and Brenda went to Sesimbra and on their way, they visited a tile factory (Azulejois de Azeitao).

They also made a stop at the Forte do Cavaio that looks over Sesimbra.

                   See the fishing village Sesimbra in the background?

In Sesimbra they had lunch and Bennet collected some seawater from the Atlantic Ocean.

On their way home they stopped at Cabo Espichel, where I think I would have had a lot of fun at since there was lots of space and likely some pretty neat smells since it was so old. But once again, Smudge and I stayed home with dad!

 

 

 

Then the house became empty cuz’ mom, auntie Nat, Bennet and Brenda went to Porto for a couple of days, while (you guessed it), Smudge, dad and I stayed home. Are you seeing a pattern develop?

But at least we get to catch up on our beauty sleep, not that we need it!

(In fact Smudge is so cute, you can hardly tell the difference between him and the stuffy)

They took the train to Porto, which cousin Bennet thought was pretty cool.

And they sure sounded like they had a lot of fun walking around Porto and seeing the sights.

They took a boat tour…

A gondola ride…  

and participated in a few Port tours and tastings. 

 

And even though my cousin Bennet did not participate in the port tasting part, he said he had a lot of fun!

The best part for me was when they came home again and I got to cuddle some more with my cousin Bennet… I like cuddling.

Stay tuned for more adventures ahead with “Familia em Portugal” (Family in Portugal)……

Alas…no blog this week!

My auntie Nat and cousins Bennet and Brenda are visiting right now so there won’t be a blog this week. But look for the exciting pictures and stories next week…we have been doing some fun things!

Adeus for now….

Mais amigos e mais passeios

Mais amigos e mais passeios (more friends and more trips)

As I mentioned on last week’s blog (Tantos Amigos), I knew I had missed some photos of our friends at the dog park. Here’s a few more of the new friends we have made while we are here in Portugal.

Mari and Brownie

 

Joana and Stitch

Sofia and Napoleão

Vasco and Delta

It’s such a great group of people and dogs…we are very lucky to have this park across the street so that we could meet everyone!

 

And did I mention that my dad came home? I was so excited when he walked in the door last Friday cuz’ it had been over two weeks since he had left. I’m so glad he’s back now and I sure hope he stays this time. But the one thing I like about when he goes away is that when he comes home… he is very cuddly cuz’ he misses me too!

Now on to as passeios (the trips). We were very busy last weekend! It started out with us picking up our friend Cristina on Saturday morning. She lives right beside this neat park where they have plants shaped like animals. Unfortunately I could not get close enough to smell (or pee on) them, but they were pretty cool anyway!

And then we went to Evora, where mom, dad and Cristina had coffee while Smudge and I hung out under the table (sound familiar?).

We walked around a bit and saw some pretty cool fountains, churches and other really, really old buildings.

But of course there was plenty of time to stop for pee breaks…it is so handy that there are fire hydrants all over the place!

Then we drove to Monsaraz, which is close to the Spanish border. Monsaraz  is a cool little (and very old) village. I think Cristina told us it was built around the 11^th century.

The village has a wall all around it (to protect the Portuguese from the Spanish…way back when they were fighting a lot), so we had to park outside the wall and take a walk about the village.

…just look at the cobblestone streets we walked on

…and the pretty stone walls we walked by!

On one of the walls there was a very happy gata (cat)…but she is hard to see cuz’ she’s the same colour as the stones. I think she was happy because she was way above us…away from os cães (the dogs), safe and sound.

Unfortunately the place mom, dad and Cristina went for lunch said that they did not allow dogs on the patio…even though there was a little white dog on the patio when we got there (look closely under the chair of the lady with the red shirt).

But mom and dad did not want to make a fuss, so Smudge and I had to go back to the car for a bit while they ate (without us AGAIN…can you believe it?!).

After THEY had lunch, we all walked around some more and explored this really, really old castle.

There was also an old bullfight ring…which was kinda sad as it made me think about all the blood that had been shed there on behalf of those poor bulls.

But on a much more positive note….the view was amazing!

You can’t believe what I could see when I stuck my head through those little holes in the wall.

Take a look for yourself!

It was such a great day and we even made a new friend. I don’t know her name, but she reminded us of Mel, so we took a liking to her right away.

Now after such a busy day, you would think we would have a day of rest on Sunday…but no way. We went on another fun adventure to the Caparica Coast where the beach goes on and on and on!

Of course I enjoyed rolling in the sand…can you see me way in the background?

And dad buried Smudge when he got too warm (cuz’ he doesn’t seem to like to get wet)…

The beach was down below some cool cliffs…

 

And we had to walk through a sandy forest area to get to and from the beach.  Notice the difference when Smudge is excited about exploring a new area….he runs way out in front!

Besides this being a really cool beach, it was also a popular place for people to “kite sail”. I’m not sure if that is what they call it, but it sure looked like fun!

There were so many of them…

 and they even flew right over top of us.

I think dad wants to try it out…

After such a busy weekend…I’m sure you will appreciate what we did next!

A well deserved repouso (rest) of course!

Tantos Amigos!

Tanto amigos em Portugal (so many friends in Portugal)…and they come in all shapes, colours and sizes, especially our four legged friends. We meet in the evenings at the local dog park (across the street from us). There are so many people and dogs coming and going…it’s hard to keep track of who’s who.

 

I thought it would be a good idea to take a picture of all the families so we could remember them even after we go back to Canada (mom helped me take the pictures cuz’ her hand is a little steadier than my paw).

So here’s some photos of our friends here. (I know I missed some…sorry about that)

Sonia, Emma and Enzo

Filipa, Dakota and Than

Lucy and Buana                                                                           

Andrey and Lisa 

Filipa and Ruffus

   Iuri and Kaiser

Ze and Molly

 Sandra and Malu

José and Luna

 Rita and Bolacha

Manual and Noka

  Maria and Pepper

Smudge likes to play with all the dogs…big or small.

And he really likes his people friend Ze too!

But I kind of stick to myself (or with mom). I prefer belly rubs from people as opposed to wrestling with or chasing other dogs.

I think going to the park is the highlight of Smudge’s day. Here are some before and after shots.

Before: Smudge anxiously waiting to go out while watching for the dogs to arrive in the park.

After: Smudge tuckered out after playing in the park and his eating dinner.

You may have noticed that my disposition has not changed much during this time….at least I am consistent if nothing else.

In order to keep everyone in the house happy, we still go on nice walks and to the beach so we can all explore other things as well. I particularly like climbing things and looking over mom’s shoulder to see what she is reading.

 

Mom says that I make her nervous cuz’ I like to get real close to the edge and look over it to see what’s down below.

 

And Smudge likes to go down paths where he is not supposed to go…so mom has to go and catch him.

 As you can see, Smudge mostly just ignores mom and does his own thing.

But when we go for walks, we kind of have our set pattern. I walk way out in front.

 And Smudge takes his time from behind.

Meanwhile mom has lots of time to take photos for me for my blog (cuz’ I’m so busy exploring)…like this cool old (but refurbished) house along the path.

And she got this neat photo of the fishermen out on the rocks…look closely, they are hard to see…and there is a small sailboat on the horizon too.

After all this talk about walking…I bet you know what time it is.

Yup…you guessed it…it’s nap time!

Adeus os nossos amigos…até logo

(Goodbye my friends…until later)