Serra da Estrela

That is the name of the highest mountain in Portugal.  And, the only place in the country that occasionally gets snow.  I had always wanted to go and last Sunday we were given the perfect opportunity as some friends of ours invited us for a day trip.  When we told Henry he started jumping up and down and said, “are you serious?  I have ALWAYS wanted to go there!  Alexandre told me it snows there.”  It is common knowledge that it is the only place in the country with snow, but I found it comical that my seven year old also knew this.  I told him not to expect snow right now though…it has been unseasonably dry and pleasant outside.  It was a stunning drive (about an hour and 40 minutes or winding roads and charming old Portuguese villages).  My friend said their was snow there, but I was a sceptic the whole way…I didn’t see a drop.  Thus, I was STUNNED when we rounded a bend and there were people actually snow skiing down a little slope!  Really, my jaw dropped.  Henry (and the others) were elated!  It was really fun to see so many people out playing in the snow…something I have obviously never seen Portuguese people do (due to lack of snow), so it seemed so out of character, but fun!  We enjoyed about an hour of sledding and playing in the snow with our sweet friends…

It was SO much fun…I had forgotten how exhilirating something like that can be…for an afternoon at least

And below are just a couple pictures I snapped while riding along in the car.  I’m pretty sure they don’t do the place justice.  We have decided we want to go back sometime in the summer and just stop and climb and rest and picnic and take pictures all along the way….

Then we stopped in one of the small towns for lunch…

and to check out some of their souvenier shops which specialized in wool and leather products, sleds, pottery and…

….puppies!!!

 It is a dog that is native to that area and super cute.  My kids  enjoyed seeing them sitting out front of EVERY gift shop (which was the funniest thing to me…I’ve never seen a gift shop that sold live animals before) and were even more thrilled to get to pet and be kissed by one!  After that, we actually headed off to a “bread museum”, but I’ll have to post about that later…I’m tired just reliving this fun filled day!  Amazing what all we can pack into a day when we have Portuguese friends to be our tour guides

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