The Portuguese Dream: COL1972 Goes to Portugal!
Bom dia, Life Tribe! A few weeks ago, we published a blog about our trip to Italy (you can read that here). It was so popular that we decided to write about our trip to Portugal! With the end of summer quickly approaching, we love reminiscing upon our favorite moments. Many of those moments are from our Portuguese vacation. Spending time with family and experiencing a new culture during our two-week trip created memories that will stay with us forever. We hope that you and your family can do the same by using our itinerary and DOs and DON’Ts as a resource to plan your trip!
ITINERARY
Friday morning we flew out of Rome and landed in Lisbon. We made Nazaré, known as a surfing and fishing town, our home base for the next two weeks. Our cousins are Portuguese and their hometown is Nazaré, so fortunately we were able to stay near them and they took us on day trips to all the best Portuguese sights. Here are our top recommendations for what you must do:
- The Royal Convent and Palace of Mafra – as a family, this was our absolute favorite. The building was originally intended to be a convent, but quickly turned into a lavish palace. It is over 430,000 square feet, complete with a Royal residence area, one of the largest libraries in Europe, a church, and a convent.
- Óbidos – for the best example of Portuguese medieval town, you must go to Óbidos! It feels like you’re living in a fairytale! A stone-walled castle surrounds the town, which you can walk along for some amazing views.
- Lisbon – what’s a trip to Portugal without visiting the capital city? While you could spend several days seeing all the sights, we spent just one day. We did our own walking tour and saw the Belém Tower, the Padrão dos Descobrimentos (a monument to the discoveries and Henry the Navigator), and the Mosteiro dos Jerónimos (a large, opulent monastery). We concluded our day in Lisbon with a late lunch at Pasteis de Belém, a famous bakery and café.
On our other day trips, we explored several other towns (Alcobaça, Tomar, Batalha) and all were absolutely beautiful. We also spent some time on the beach in Nazaré and exploring the town. Nazaré is home to some of the biggest waves in the world. The tallest wave ever to be surfed (86 feet) was surfed in Nazaré! Overall, it was a quiet, calm town where you can relax and experience local Portuguese life. One thing we did not get the opportunity to visit was the Palace of Sintra due to the threat of wildfires in the area. Guess we will just have to go back one day!
DOs and DON’Ts
DO pack lots of COL1972! Our COL1972 styles were so easy to pack and wear throughout the trip. During this trip, the weather fluctuated significantly, so we had to pack for both 90-degree days and 65-degree nights. Here are some of our favorite pieces we brought that are also great styles to transition your closet from summer to fall!
- Black Bamboo Soft Slip Dress – this dress is the comfiest style we sell. We wore this dress during the day to sight-see but also used it as a cover-up for the beach. In the evenings we paired with a denim jacket to stay warm.
- Oversized Button Down – this is a staple piece for every woman…we paired it with denim shorts for our day trips and wore it as a cover-up by the pool. You can also wear this to church, to the office, or running errands!
- High Rise Straight-Crop Denim with Raw Hem – our COL1972 jeans were a must on this trip! For our evening activities and dinner plans, they were classy but still comfortable and warm. Perfect for the incoming fall weather and back to school!
- Twenty-Twenty-Two Crop Fleece Pullover – 2022 styles representing the Dobbs decision and then end of Roe v. Wade are mandatory for Life Tribe closet! Our exclusive twenty-twenty-two fleece is trendy, soft, and meaningful. Many Portuguese people asked us about the significance of 2022 and we had the opportunity to share the true message of a culture of life with them!
DO taste traditional Portuguese dishes and desserts. Some of the best seafood dishes we ever had were in Portugal. Octopus rice, monkfish rice, clams, and codfish were some of our favorites! If you don’t like seafood, don’t worry! There are plenty of pork and chicken dishes for you that we absolutely loved. In terms of pastries and desserts, you must have a bola (stuffed donut), pastel de nata (egg cream custard cup), and a fartura (basically a giant fluffy churro). We would go back to Portugal just for the food.
DO learn some Portuguese vocabulary. Just like Italy, most people speak at least some English, but it is inevitable that you will meet someone who doesn’t. Plus, the Portuguese really appreciated the effort we put in to speaking their language. Here are some terms we frequently used during our trip:
- Olá – hello
- Adeus – goodbye
- Bom dia – good morning
- Boa noite – good night
- Por favor – please
- Obrigado (masculine)/Obrigada (feminine) – thank you
DON’T visiting durig the high-tourism season. From mid-July through August, Portugal is full of tourists. We visited during the first two weeks of July and it was so easy to travel then! No lines, no traffic, no waits at restaurants…it was amazing! Toward the end of the trip the increase in visitors to Portugal was noticeable and we were thankful to escape the crowds.
DON’T forget cash! One day we went to a local market and they only accepted cash. On the beach, they sold bolas and only accepted cash. Cash is a must-have!
DON’T forget to learn something new! Our family makes it a priority to learn something new every day. It truly adds value to the trip and to our lives when we take time to build our knowledge.
Overall, we are so thankful for our time spent in Portugal. This trip was a wonderful bonding experience for our family and we look forward to many more trips in the future.
Did you take COL1972 on at trip with you this summer? We would love to see pictures! Please send us your photos to vittoria@col1972.com for a chance to be featured on our social media!
Click HERE to check out the highlights from our Portugal trip on our YouTube Channel.