It's Good to be Home!

We've been home a few days now and all I can say is, "WOW!" Olivia's behavior has improved dramatically. She's sleeping 12-hours straight at night, taking really good naps and is, generally, just really happy and easily agreeable. She's been showering mommy and daddy with, "I love yous" and hugs.

We went down into Cascais today, walked around and had lunch. It's so nice to be home. I really do love it here. It's so beautiful and clean (aside from random dog poop on the streets).

I walked into a pottery store with pottery from a few different parts of Portugal. The prices were reasonable compared to the same quality of pottery I saw in Italy. I'm excited to go back without kids and pick out some serving platters, pitchers and, possibly, some dessert plates and decorative wall plates.

Olivia did a great job today compared to any day on our trip. She had gotten a great night's rest, and we got home right around nap time and she went right down. It gets me wondering. Olivia was, obviously, unhappy during most of our trip. We deprived her of proper sleep and while we brought books, her dolls and a few of her favorite DVD's to watch in the hotel room, took her on a few walks/hikes and let her run around, she was just miserable more often than not. So, my question is this: Is it reasonable to occasionally take trips of this kind with toddlers and put them through long days, late nights in places in which they could really care less about? Is it worth it for all involved? At what age does it make more sense to travel to ancient ruins, art museums, etc.,? I understand that every family and every child is different? But, do any of you have any thoughts? Experiences? Things that helped?

Sicily

Well, we made it back from Sicily this afternoon. Matt and I have a few less hairs on our heads and the girls have colds. However, we're all in one piece.

Have I mentioned that traffic is bad in Portugal? It took me a few weeks to get up the nerve to drive here. Narrow streets, round abouts, crazy drivers, etc. Scary. I thought I'd seen it all and adapted to it...until we arrived in Sicily. I have never seen worse driving in my life (Matt tells me it is worse in Naples). We had a motorcyclist hit our car at full speed and drive away (no damage - just a loud thud), we had a driver make us back up 100 yards or more in a dark alley because Matt wasn't quick enough to pass him in the two second chance he had, and we had people cut us off at every single chance they had. Words cannot even explain how bad it was. No wonder there were signs all over the Navy Base stating, "Slow Down Sigonella!" With over 265 military personal car accidents this year, the signs are there for good reason. I was relieved Matt didn't ask me to drive the whole trip and, literally, held on tight and closed my eyes many many times.

We decided, early on during our vacation, to skip the girls naps. We toured around in the mornings, had lunch, and moved on to our next destination while they napped in the car. It worked out okay. We did find two or three restaurants near the base that cater to American families and open early for dinner. Still, the girls got much less sleep daily than they normally do and, therefore, came down with colds. Olivia became more and more grumpy as the trip progressed. When she's grumpy, she's unreasonable. Therefore, it came as no surprise when, on 23DEC, she ruined our anniversary dinner. It's always lovely to have to leave a restaurant early while trying to smile and be polite as your two-year-old is having a complete and utter breakdown/tantrum. The trip, overall, was good. Not wonderful and not bad. Just good. I've always been very honest when writing my posts and I'll continue to be honest here by saying this: For me, traveling with small children sucks about 50% of the enjoyment out of the trip. Itineraries changed at the last minute, scrapped or shortened at a moments notice. You cannot eat a meal in peace! Dirty fingers enter my food, touch my clothes and enter my drink. Just when I start to enjoy my warm meal, someone needs a diaper change or has to pee or poop. Meal is cold upon return. And the crying. Oh my goodness, the crying, whining, and general disagreements to anything and everything. Often, we leave a restaurant frazzled and worn out. Maybe we should consider take-out during travel. I can't skip out on the local food of a new country I'm visiting because that's just stupid. So, I'm not going to eat PB&J if I can avoid it. But, take-out should be an option for us next time.

I had wanted to shop for Italian pottery. I ended up buying barely anything. For one, I just couldn't find a good deal. The American dollar has hit the pooper and I just can't bring myself to pay the equivalent of $20 American for a plate the size of a saucer. Just one plate. The Nex had a decent selection of local pottery. However, by the time I decided what I wanted, it was too late to mail it and it wasn't going to fit in our luggage. The second reason I didn't buy much was because I couldn't find a good deal if it was staring me in the face. I just didn't have the time. The kids were like time bombs and I had to think quick before a bomb went off. I mean, I couldn't dump the kids on my husband more than I already had. I ended up with two roosters to join my Italian rooster collection (three total). I'll just collect Portuguese pottery for the time being unless I strike a deal in another country at some point.

I did, however, "score" at the NEX (that's when I left the girls with Matt for several hours). The Nex here in Portugal (otherwise known as a PX) is about 45-minutes away from our house and mostly carries junk food. It's really a shame. Matt and I frequently talk about how much better it could be if it were under different management and in a better location.

So, I was really exited to be able to visit an "American" store. I was dazed upon entering and didn't know where to begin. I've been looking for new jeans for weeks. I was down to my last pair. I could not find a decent pair of jeans on the local economy. For one, the local look (and, I noticed in Italy too) is tapered jeans with leather boots over them. And, if they don't fit in the butt properly, they just don't care. They'll just let it all hang out or wear long sweaters or shirts with belts around the waste. It's a good look for those who can pull it off. I'm still trying to get over my "Alaska Casual" style and have a lot of work to do in updating my wardrobe. Finally, at the Nex, I found some Levis. A pair of "mommy" jeans and a pair of modern, low-cut jeans. Every mom needs some mommy jeans. The kind that hit your belly button. Throw on a longer sweater or top and no one will know. That way, when you're bending down to pick up a child, you're not baring your stretch-marked arse to everyone. And, if you don't have stretchmarks and/or a "mommy pouch," you suck (I had only one or two very small stretch marks until the last week or two of my pregnancy with Lila - while they aren't too bad, I really don't think my stomach will ever again be truly low-cut jean worthy unless I wear proper length tops).

I also purchased a Bialetti Mukka Express L'Arte del Cappuccino maker. I am so excited about this purchase and have reviewed it on my sister site.

We sampled and bought a dozen or so bottles of Italian wine at the Nex. I like Portuguese wine and try to make that our staple wine while living here. However, I love Italian wine. The wine we were served (house wine) and the fairly inexpensive (by American standards) wine we taste tested was amazing. I've recently read that great tasting wine doesn't have to cost a fortune and I learned how true that can sometimes be in Italy.

I found the food in Sicily to be good. Simple dishes, fresh ingredients, home style flavor. Portuguese food has more depth of flavor. I can't really say which type of food I like more. I'm leaning towards Portuguese food for meals and Italian food for desserts. Though, I think the Gelato tastes the same here in Portugal as it did in Italy.

Sicily is dirty. Dirty in comparison to out part of Portugal. Trash litters roadsides everywhere. One or two towns were clean. Other than that, I was unimpressed. Coastal Lisbon has more beauty than the parts of Sicily we visited.

I always have to point out baby-wearing observations. I saw a few Baby Bjorn-type carriers. Still, no parents wearing their children on their backs. What Matt and I didn't see a lot of, however, were strollers. Yippee! Finally. As I've mentioned before, the Portuguese are stroller-obsessed. They bring them and try to use them in the most inaccessible places. Matt and I've gotten a good many laughs. Most tourist places in Portugal are not stroller accessible. The same is true in Sicily. Of course we brought a stroller and used it a couple of times. But, wearing our kids works out so much better when exploring ancient ruins and narrow streets!
Overall, we're glad we went on the trip. We'll try to "tweak" things for future trips and just keep on bringing our girls with us!

Pictures from top to bottom: Greek Theatre, Orecchio di Dioniso (Ear of Dionysius), Car Ride Nap, Hiker-in-Training, Baby-Wearing in Sicily.