The Pettigrews in Portugal

We are wrapping up a great beach weekend here in Lagos, Portugal.  I am taking advantage of the kids nap time to catch up on the blog.  The Aqualuz hotel turned out to be quite nice and just a short drive to a really spectacular beach where we spent both days.  The high season has just ended here so we pretty much had the run of the place.  We were totally unprepared for our first day at the beach and went totally "ghetto".  We had no towels, no chairs, no umbrellas, and Ali and I had no bathing suits (the kids had their normal beach wear minus swim vests).  I swam in my shorts.  We sat in the sand.

The beach was so beautiful it really didn't matter.  The kids had a blast playing in the surf and we just chilled and took in the views.  The Portuguese coast in this region is a series of high cliffs interspersed with beaches such as this one.  Truly amazing.  We tried to use the pool at the hotel later, but it was freezing so we didn't hang out there long.  Today, we went more prepared.  We rented chairs and a shade, brought along a few hotel towels, and I bought some beach toys for the kids.  Great day.

Afterward, we had a nice dinner in Lagos's downtown quarter.  The restaurant is the one in the photo above.  The plaza was perfect for the kids as they could run around while we waited for the food.  The weather cools off nicely in the evenings here, so it made for a very pleasant evening of dining al fresco.