And on to the next tour for Summer 2013 - Portugal! Lisbon and Sintra

 No rest for the weary. We were home for a week and a half, played hard with Sophie and Spencer, had a few Super Saturday rehearsals

 (rehearsals got long and tiring)

and before we knew it, Soph and Spence were sent down to party with Nana and Papa (who took them to Disneyland!) and we were off on a jet plane for Portugal! This trip was a big deal for me. On the Canada tour Gary had a staff of four to plan and execute the tour - he was just the artistic director. For our Portugal tour, it was my baby - I did it all, travel arrangements, show lineups, etc except a few choreographies that Gary contributed and blessed Carole Kelly's help with costumes. It was our first year with a live band and tons of work. Going in to it already drained from the funeral and Canada was tough, but so worth it!

It was Annabelle and Matt's first time on an airplane - some of the other kids told them they had to hold their breath during takeoff or their brains would explode. Matt laughed and knew it was a joke right away, but Anna held her breath... just in case!

James, Mairin, Courtney, Carter, Jarom, Katherine, Josh, Savannah on the jetway!

Next thing we knew, we were landing in Lisbon! First we had a tour of the city on the bus that picked us up from the airport. Then they dropped us off at the hotel; we got everyone divided into rooms, went to a local food court for lunch, then since we still had free time, took the subway back into central Lisbon to see some more!

 The famous yellow trollies of Lisbon!

 Me, Abby, Sarah, Maddie and Maggie... so close to the Atlantic Ocean! Matt actually went swimming in it... don't waste the golden opportunity, right Matt? :-)

I love a lot of things about Portugal - look at this tile! It's all over the place! And the pavements are so beautifully laid. It wouldn't even occur to most American cities to beautify their public spaces like this. 

 The whole team at the Castelo de St. Jorge

 Maggie - all ready to go!

 Such a beautiful city! That's the Vasco da Gama bridge, longest in the world. (I think.)

 Touring the Castle

 Dad, Mag, me

Sarah, Annabelle, Abby, Courtney, Carter, Matt, Tara, Mairin, Hannah

 Monument to the numerous explorers who came from Portugal or sailed from these ports

More gorgeous tile! And great shopping too!

After dinner at the hotel (where Carter fell asleep in his yellow soup!) and a great night's sleep, we had a morning tour to the resort town of Sintra. Its mountainous microclimate made it a favorite getaway for Lisbon's elite, and the whole mountainside is dotted with castles. Pena Palace crowns them all - thank heavens we sprang for the guided tour! It was astoundingly beautiful!

And look at all that tile! :-)

 There's an old Moorish castle on that far hilltop, but you can't see it very well.

Lunch in Sintra, and then an afternoon drive to Faro on the south coast for our first Festival!